Crestwood Investigation

Chapter 19: Splitting Up

As the five of them stood outside Ogre's dorm the evening breeze carried a cold feeling,

Joshua spoke up in frustration as he considered their limitations in his mind
"It's frustrating you know" he began his voice tinged with annoyance from work
"Michael and I can only investigate at night when we're off-duty thanks to chief James strict orders, during the day there are so many missed opportunities to gather information, talk to people, and search for clues and it feels so much harder."

Lindsey her expression thoughtful nodded in agreement
"He's right" she said her gaze fixed on the ground as she mulled over the predicament "We should find a way to make the most of our time and resources since we're all working together now basically."

Emma offered a suggestion
"What if Hannah, Lindsey, and I take charge during the day? while you two are at work we can continue the investigation we can question people, scour the campus for any leads and report it all back to you guys at the end of the day."

Michael's gaze flickered with uncertainty as he considered Emma's proposal
"I don't know" he said slowly his voice hesitant "Splitting up like that could be risky, we need to make sure we're all on the same page and that we're communicating effectively if we do this"

Hannah chimed in
"I think it's worth a shot, it's not anything we didn't already do 10 years ago" she said, her tone decisive "We can cover more ground this way and gather more information, it's not like me and Lindsey weren't already doing it with 2 of us, if anything adding Emma makes it safer and we can like establish a system for staying in touch and sharing updates."

Joshua nodded in agreement his expression thoughtful
"Alright, let's give it a try, I think you 3 ladies can do fine, but we need to be careful."

Michael nodded
"You 3 better let us know when you find out who did this, I'm not missing out on this case while I watch traffic."

Hannah laughed
"We got this Michael, you act like this is all a new thing."

As they parted ways for the evening a sense of purpose filled the air, each of them knew that they had a role to play in unraveling the mystery that had gripped their towns college once again.

The next morning dawned with a sense of purpose and determination as Joshua and Michael prepared to head to work, as they climbed into their patrol car, the weight of the day ahead hung heavy in the air.

Michael spoke while driving
"Joshua, you think the girls will find out anything today about the murders?"

Joshua shrugged
"I wish I had an answer to that, I know Emma is very determined though and Hannah and Lindsey seem to have a great communication system I think they'll do fine, and tonight we can investigate more."

Suddenly, the radio crackled to life interrupting the quiet of the morning with urgent news. James's voice echoed through the car speakers his tone grave and urgent
"Joshua, Michael we have a situation" he began his voice tense with apprehension. "There's been another murder at Crestwood University. You need to get to the station you are assigned at as soon as possible, the higher-ups are suspicious of cops in the campus investigating at night."

Joshua's grip tightened on the edge of his seat as he exchanged a concerned glance with Michael
"Another murder?" he exclaimed his voice tinged with frustration "We need to be there to help, we can't just sit idly by while this killer continues to strike like this, it's insane"

Michael nodded in agreement
"James we have to do something" he insisted his voice firm with determination "We can't just stand by and let this happen, we need to be out there on the ground doing everything we can to catch this killer, we need to be in Crestwood again."

But James's response was firm his tone leaving no room for argument
"I understand your frustration but the FBI is already struggling to contain the situation" he explained his voice tinged with regret
"For the safety of the force no cops are allowed in the area it's out of our hands and you two need to report to that station and stay all night to prove you're not the cops getting involved.

Joshua and Michael exchanged a glance, their frustration simmering beneath the surface as they continued towards the station they were assigned to, the weight of their inability to act hung heavy in the air their thoughts consumed by the situation unfolding at Crestwood University.

Meanwhile outside Emma's house Hannah and Lindsey pulled up in their car ready to begin their investigation of Crestwood University, the morning sun cast long shadows across the pavement as they exchanged determined glances.

As the 3 of them set off towards the university the radio chimed and interrupted their music tunes and a man spoke
"Crestwood University has another murder for the 3rd time this week" the voice echoed through the car speakers sending a shiver down their spines. "This time, the murder took place in the cafeteria of the school, the area of the school zone is going to be covered in triple the FBI agents as before, and we urge anyone in the area to be careful, we will have more on this at 6 now back to Jeff with sports,

The sports announcer yelled
"The Crestwood Pelicans blew a 35-14 lead last night!"
As Hannah grabbed the radio turning it off.

Lindsey glanced over at Hannah her expression grave
"Another Crestwood murder how do they keep getting away with this." she said her voice showing concern "And this time it's right under the nose of the FBI whoever we are dealing with is dangerous."

Emma added in
"We need to be very careful today once we arrive at the campus."

The 3 of them would have a lot to face today as they headed to the campus.