“He’s wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a light blue t-shirt.”
“Anything else?”
“He’s bald. Well, almost bald. There’s some dark hair on the sides above his ears. There’s a gold watch on his right wrist, and there’s blood.” A chill ran the length of Poppy’s spine from the memory. “The shorter of the two men carrying him mentions the blood. That’s when I see the dark stain on the man’s chest.”
“We’ll get back to that in a minute. For now, I want you to focus on the other two men. Tell me everything you can see. Height, weight, what they’re wearing, any facial features you can recall…every detail, no matter how small, is important.”
Poppy knew this was the reason she and Jax had been called to the precinct today. This was the information Declan and Grady needed to move the investigation forward. Without it, they may never figure out who those men were.
No pressure or anything.
Drawing in another deep breath, she let it out slowly and forced the memory of that moment to the forefront of her mind. Almost as if she’d been transported back to that same alley on that very same night, Poppy began relaying everything as if it were happening in real time.
She focused on the taller man first. “The one in charge…he’s tall. Maybe six feet? He has a runner’s build and dark hair. It’s short and neat, parted at one side.” The more she spoke, the more details she remembered. “He’s dressed in jeans and a light gray button-up shirt. It has long sleeves, but they’ve been rolled at the cuffs and pushed halfway up the guy’s forearms. His nose is kind of big and long, and I think there’s a tattoo on his left forearm.”
“That’s great, Poppy,” Isobel’s encouragement continued. “Can you see the design at all?”
Poppy tried. She really tried. But it was no use. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m too far away.”
“That’s okay. Keep going. What else can you tell me about him?”
“His voice…deep but kind of raspy. Not really a smoker’s voice, but sort of like that. I’m sorry, but I that’s all I can tell you about him.”
“It’s okay, you’re doing great. Now go back to the other man and do the same thing you did with the one in charge.”
Poppy relayed the details as they came back to her. He was shorter than the other man, probably five-ten or five-eleven. Dark hair, jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket.
“I never got a look at his face, so I can’t really tell you anything more. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” Isobel’s tone lacked any sort of judgement or disappointment. “You’ve given us a lot of great information. We’re almost done, I promise. But I want to go back to the blood on the dead man’s shirt. Do the two men carrying him happen to mention how the blood got there?”
“No. They just start arguing,” Poppy explained. “The shorter one is worried about getting blood in his car, but the taller one…the one giving the orders…he says that’s what the plastic’s for.”
“You mentioned the trunk was lined with clear plastic, is that right?”
Another nod. “They quit arguing and put the body into the trunk. After they slam the door shut, the taller one turns my way.”
“And what do you do, Poppy?”
“I panic. I jerk back behind the dumpster, so they won’t see me, but I lose my balance. Without thinking, I put my hand out onto the side of the dumpster to keep from falling, but when I do, it makes a really loud, echoing sound.”
“Do the men hear you?”
“Yes.” Poppy’s breathing picked up as she spoke. “The shorter man hollers out, asking if someone is there. I don’t say anything, because I know if I do, they’re going to kill me, too.”
“Is that when you run to Mr. Monroe’s club?”
“No. I’m too scared to move at first, so I just stay like that, crouched behind the dumpster. The man in charge tells the shorter one that it’s probably just an animal, but the shorter guy won’t let it go. Not at first, anyway. But then he finally gives in, and the two men start to leave.”
“What happens next?”
“Cam calls me again.”
“Do the men hear your phone ringing.”
Poppy’s pulse spiked, her breaths coming in shallow spurts. “They’re coming for me. Oh, God. I have to get out of here! They’re going to see me, and if they do, they’ll kill me and put me in that trunk, too. I have to run. I have to get someplace safe. I have to—”
“That’s enough!”