The Polaroid Girls

Chapter 4

A/N: Hello, my lovelies! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you think!

I attached Bailey Russo's picture above. Because she is sassy and bold and I truly love writing her character.

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"Okay, yes, thank you Ms. Cotreau, this has been a huge help, really. Alright, goodbye."

Royce hung up his phone and typed up the contact information along with the details he just gathered.

After Natalie's disappearance, he, along with many of the other officers on the case, interviewed all the surrounding neighbors on the street and even the next street over but no one had seen anything in relation to Natalie that afternoon. The leads had been thinning and the case was already running cold, until he received a call that afternoon from a Ms. Cotreau.

Ms. Cotreau lived three houses down and on the opposite side of the street from Natalie Cabell's house. She claimed that on the 23rd she was home, as she was retired and had a weak immune system and didn't go out much anyway. Around the time Natalie disappeared, she had opened her front door to let her dog out to do its business outside. She had waited for it to finish, leaning on the wall just inside the door. While she waited, she glanced down the street when she heard an engine approaching. She looked up to see a white Dodge pick-up truck pull up just to the right of Natalie's front yard.

She paid attention because she knew nobody on her street had a vehicle like that as it was a pretty tight knit community. She said she watched a man step out of the truck and up toward Natalie, only sticking to the pavement. He appeared to talk to Natalie as she bobbed her head up and down a few times and even smiled at him when he pulled something from his pocket for her. He bent down and talked to her for, at most, three minutes, before he stood back up, Natalie took his hand with a smile on her face, and he led her into his truck. He opened her door for her and helped her up into it then shut it and got back into the driver's seat. He drove away moments later.

Royce had asked her a million questions: what did the man look like? What was he wearing? Did Natalie show any signs of resisting? Did the man look familiar at all? What exactly did the truck look like? Did it have any distinguishable marks? Did she catch the license plate number?--

She answered each to the best of her ability but she admitted she didn't get a good look at his face and didn't recognize him or his truck. Nor did she get any license plate numbers. But she did describe the man as tall, maybe six feet, he was white and younger, maybe around 30, he wore a dark blue t-shirt and jeans, and was wearing a baseball cap pulled low. Royce had scrubbed his face at the weak description, it helped, but barely. Her description of the suspect could have been half the men in this county.

He thanked her anyway and told her he'd call if he had any more questions. She mumbled an 'uh huh, goodbye' before hanging up.

He let out a deep sigh and printed copies of the descriptions he had written on the man's appearance and his truck. He went over to the printer and grabbed them all, dispersing them on the desks of the other officers in Rosemont. A few were in and quickly read over his paper, shaking their heads and offering comments, the rest were out in the field still interviewing anyone else who knew Natalie.

Royce knocked on the sheriff's door and peeked inside.

"I have a description of our suspect."

The sheriff turned around in his chair, gave him a look, and told whoever was on the phone with him that he would call them right back. He dropped it on its receiver.