The Guardian

She told her about the trip to the mall, the man in the sports car, everything.
    The woman sat next to her on the couch. She was taking her in her arms, trying to comfort her. Claire tried to reassure her of something she knew was vague at best. They sat there like that just waiting for the police.
    Chapter 85
    Halloway and Griffin got the call at the same time. Their phones were ringing in chorus. They had been up, dressed and ready for a short time before getting the calls. They had spent the entire morning in bed. Both of them were catching up on all the lonely, frustrated nights. It was a marathon of love making, napping, more love making, then doze off again. It was truly incredible.
    There wasn’t much conversation. It was a bit awkward to say the least. Finally, John said, “last night and today was truly great. I mean, I really enjoyed it.” He was blushing.
    Laura walked over to him, put her arms around his neck, kissed him deeply, and then said, “Ya, it was. Unfortunately, we’re needed elsewhere. We can finish this later.”
    They gathered their things and headed out the door.
    “Well, looks like he got another one.” John said as they got into the car.
    “Jesus, I don’t believe this. How can this bastard keep doing this with over half the city watching?” Laura was visibly pissed.
    “It’s better this time. The girl’s mother says she can ID some guy who she says was hanging around. He kept showing up at the same places they were all the time.”
    “I hope you’re right and this turns out to be the lead we were hoping for.”
    They sped up Las Vegas Blvd. to Sahara, headed west to Jones, and then headed south until they got to Harmon. It didn’t take much to find the house once they made the turn onto Harmon. They could see the reflections of the blue and red lights from the rollers as there were three black and whites parked in front of the lady’s house. Of course, without fail, it was media frenzy. Christ, they were like vultures. They didn’t care about a victim’s emotions or feelings. It was all about getting a story.
    “Good God John, how the hell do they get here so much faster than we do? What ever it is, we need their secret.” Laura said with disgust.
    “Okay, take a deep breath. Pretend they don’t exist and head straight to the house.
    They parked the car and headed straight for the front door. They badged their way in and saw the girl’s mother sitting on the sofa with Officer Stone. The officer was talking to her, taking notes on the girl’s description and other pertinent information.
    “Officer Stone. How we doin’ here?” Halloway said as they approached the two on the sofa.
    Stone stood up, “Lieutenant Halloway, this is Ms. Sanford. Her daughter, Melanie is the one who’s missing,” she said.
    “Ms. Sanford, I’m Lieutenant Halloway and this is Detective Griffin. We’re going to be working on finding your daughter for you.”
    The lady just nodded her head, rocking back and forth; constantly wiping her eyes with the hanky. Laura sat down next to her on one side, John on the other.
    “We’re going to have to ask you some questions. I’m sure that some of them have already been asked of you. I’m sorry if we they seem repetitive, but we need to get all the information we can.”
    “I know that’s fine. Just find Melanie, please, what ever it takes, that’s all I want.”
    “Yes ma’am, we understand. Now, you gave Officer Stone a description is that correct?”
    “Yes, yes I did. She also asked me for a current photograph, but the newest one I had was almost a year old. I knew I should have taken others more recent, what if I never see her again?”
    “Well, we won’t think about that. I think the one you gave us is fine.”
    “Now, you said you think you saw the man who may have taken her?”
    “Yes, it was so odd. It bothered me at the time, but I didn’t really give it any serious thought. The first time was at the mall. We just bumped into him, you know, like you do with so many people everywhere. I’d caught him staring at us. Then again, the other day while I was walking Melanie to school. He was at the crosswalk. Looking at us with an evil kind of smile on his face, it made my skin all prickly feeling. Then later on, I saw his car parked across the street. I don’t know why I didn’t give it more thought?”
    “Do you remember what he looked like? Could you describe him?” Halloway asked, anxious that they were on to