Hidden in the Blood: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 5)

Chapter Sixty: Joanie, Saturday

"I'll do it if you want."

Joanie blinked in surprise at how quickly Lauren volunteered. "Really, you'd do that?"

"I call Crime Stoppers all the time when I discover information I think the police should have and don't want it coming back to me or the firm. There's a payphone nearby in Chinatown that I use. I could use a walk."

"Okay, great, thanks, Lauren." She read off the nearest intersection where the dot was. 

"Got it," she said.

"So, if you're at work, is Joe at home?" Joanie asked.

"Yup. He's giving Logan a driving lesson today. I'll probably be clocking out soon anyway. Oh!" she exclaimed as something occurred to her. "I reviewed the footage I got last night."

"Oh, right! And?"

"There's a new hashtag called #creepsoflangley. Have a look at it when you have the time."

Joanie gasped. "Lauren, what did you do?"

"I'm not admitting to anything."

Joanie smiled in spite of herself. "Now you have me wishing it was the end of my shift."

"It'll be worth the wait."

"Thanks again Lauren. Have a good night."

"You too."

Lauren hung up, and Joanie put her phone away just as dispatch radioed in with a call. Back to work.

When she arrived back at Patrick's (now Agnes') house, it was already dark. She didn't see the patrol car looking after the house; most likely they'd decided against watching it when Agnes wasn't there. She wasn't in the mood for a chat anyway. She was tired after a surprisingly busy spurt after hours of no action. That was why she didn't remember to check #creepsoflangley until she pulled up at the house. She pulled out her phone, made sure her data was on, and entered the hashtag in the search bar of her Internet browser.

There was her guy, who called himself Brandon, and it must have been his real name because it was on his insurance papers. He was in a series of entries from still shots to videos posted on an Instagram and Twitter account, all of which must have been harvested from the footage Lauren took on her dress mounted camera. Not that either account bore Lauren's name or had any link to her at all; she was smarter than that.

The pictures were nice and clear, full-on face shots Lauren must have captured while her guy and his friends were chatting up Lauren, Rachel and Tej. They'd made a good team last night, having her back while she was vulnerable, as was most evident in the video footage of Brandon planting the device in her purse while she'd gone to the bathroom. 

It occurred to her that these were the first real girlfriends she ever had. She'd never made them in school and high school; other girls had been intimidated by her height, or cruel to her in ways only girls could be, making her feel like a freak. Lauren had been the closest thing to a girlfriend when they'd attended the Justice Institute together, teaming up with her against the boys' club. Then Joanie had gone to Regina for training in the RCMP, and she'd rarely seen another female, certainly not one she could be friends with. Fatima was a colleague, and maybe after last night she could call her a friend, but Patrick remained a sore point between them, so they might never be close. Lauren, Rachel and Tej had agreed to last night's sting with no questions asked, even though Tej wasn't that close to her, and Rachel had the least incentive to help her because she knew Joanie was still angry at her for Joe. Joanie was grateful to them, because they'd succeeded brilliantly; already the hashtag was getting reposted, with warnings to watch out for Brandon and not accept any drinks from him. Not only that, other posts were getting tagged #creepsoflangley; it appeared other people in Langley were deserving of that moniker.