Chapter 164: Her Biggest Power (2/2)

I blinked. ”How will we eat so much?” I asked, horrified.

He shook his head. ”I ordered everything at once. Except for the soup that can go stale, we can eat the rest over today. I have enough for when Evie returns, too,” he announced.

I looked at him gratefully. ”You're sure that we will find her today?” I asked.

He nodded. ”I did some thinking all night and came to a conclusion.” I raised my brow, prompting him to continue. ”You know how the BTS Killer sent those notes to the media houses? There was a lot of fear surrounding it. I was going through the paper clippings from the time and one of the letters to a news host said that the killer wanted to meet her, right?”

I nodded slowly. ”According to the profile we have assigned to the killer, if he made the promise of meeting her, he probably did see her in the following few days. He would blend into the community or is revered, so nobody would suspect him.”

He picked up a spoon and took a sip of soup. He closed his eyes and I saw some of his anxiety seep away.

”You want to find out which prominent figures met the host?” I asked finally.

Nash shook his head. ”Not only the host. We can look at guests who were speaking about situations at the time or someone who dropped by for a tour of the news agency.”

”That makes sense,” I admitted. ”But that was from so many years ago. They might not have records of those, right?” I asked.

Nash shrugged. ”It's better for us to look somewhere than to sit like idle ducks until the results from everything else comes in, right?”

That was a good point.

”We will call the studio around seven, then,” I informed. ”Either of us can talk to them.”

”You should do it. You have a better understanding of the case. I will follow up on the lab report from the bag we received and call the prosecutor one last time.” He scratched his head.

”Collins does a lot of high-profile cases, right? You should ask one of the gossipy officers that have been here for a long time to see which powerful people he is chummy with. A search of his name on the internet would bring out some information, too.”

”Good idea. Any lead is a good lead. We might not get conclusive evidence to prosecute the killer, but we can tail him until we find something good.”

Tailing. That meant weeks of wait. But it was, indeed, better than nothing.

The warmth of the soup was welcoming. Until the moment I took the first sip, I hadn't realized I was starving. With a guilt-ridden heart, I finished my portion and went to the next.

Nash was right. I needed my energy so that my mind and body worked. I needed the energy to be by her side after I found her.

”Evie will be fine,” Nash said out of the blue.

I looked up at him incredulously. ”Why would you think that?”

Nash smiled. ”She lives a very healthy lifestyle and doesn't take medication that will conflict with the drugs the kidnapper gave her. She will hallucinate and have a hard time, but trust her to know the difference between what is real and what is not.”

”Evie has a logical mind, but she is also sympathetic. She understands how the victims and their families feel. With her beside the two other victims, she will make sure they are safe. She studied the pattern of the kidnapper, so she will know exactly what to do to preserve her life and protect herself from danger. She will be fine.”

The confidence in his voice was assuring. ”I hadn't thought of it in that way,” I admitted. ”I kept thinking about her as being helpless and bound… I forgot that she was highly trained to protect herself.” I looked down at the packets of food. ”She's not a young girl anymore. I can't help but see her that way, though.” I chuckled humourlessly.

”Do you know why I brought you here and laid out this food?” Nash questioned. ”Because I learned it from Evie. I had never really considered how making the victim and their family comfortable was a part of my job. That by doing so, my work would get so much easier.” He shook his head. ”She treated them with respect and told them what to do. She brought them warm food and water and sat beside them when they were cold, telling them it would be okay.”

I smiled, knowing that she had a peculiar way of affecting people… especially those in agony.

”Before I met Evie, I thought that the worries and the hope of families were… tough. But after meeting her, I realized that their conviction in finding their loved ones unharmed propelled me to work harder and smarter. Their words… the little things they say while they are worried can be of so much help.” Nash shook his head.

”Yeah, Evie has a way with people. Pain is a universal language. And because she has been on the brink, she so easily communicates with people in pain. That's her biggest power.”

”And she will come back and use it to help more people. Trust her,” he whispered harshly.

”I do trust her,” I responded. I don't know if I trusted the system.