Roger walked over to where Doug and I were standing. “We need to question Sydney and Officer Murphy.”
In what seemed like an endless parade of questions, I answered truthfully about everything but the flash drive. Of course, they wanted to see the coin and the letter, which were then taken. I knew it was the right thing.
The cops would continue their investigation, but so would I—alone, if I had to. Thank goodness I’d taken pictures of the coin and the letter.
When the police were done with their questions and I was told I could leave, which actually felt like a dismissal, Mike came to the door. “Let me have someone take you home.”
I angled my body away from him. “I can manage on my own.” It came out harsher than I’d meant it to, but I had reached my limit.
Mike touched my shoulder. “Syd.”
I stopped with my hand on the door. “Yes, Officer Murphy?”
It was a bitch move, and I saw his eyes widen infinitesimally at my switch in tone.
“I’ll come by later so we can talk.”
“That’s up to you.”
Sydney
I pushed my way out the door and welcomed the fresh air as I walked away from the welcome center. Each step made me more irritated, but I also felt hollow inside. My best friend was gone. She’d never be found alive or surprise us by coming back. I hated death—hated it so much.
Oh my, Wesley.
He needed to know. I sent a text to him as I hurried my pace.
Me: They found Vickie’s body.
There was no response. I knew I should call him, but if I tried to speak in my current state, I might have fallen apart. My fury at Mike was the only thing keeping me from becoming a sobbing mess. I held on to it—fueled it, even. That wasn’t fair to him, per se, but I was upset.
I walked into my house and went straight to the couch where my laptop was. The jump drive was dirty. I took some alcohol on a cotton swab and carefully cleaned it, hoping it hadn’t corroded too much to be useful.
Please don’t be ruined. Please.
With a deep breath, I plugged in the jump drive, anxious to see if it would work. It loaded, and my heart began to beat double time.
There was one file folder:
Alchemist
I stared at the folder. My fingers shook as I moved my mouse closer.
Make a copy in case the cops need it.
I transferred the file to a miscellaneous folder on my desktop.
Make a hard copy in case they take your computer.