Atlas Missing - Part 10

'Are you sure you're OK?' I asked.

'I'm not planning to #defenestrate myself or anything. I just need to focus. Let's go through the police, crime scene, and autopsy reports and then we'll work on pinning everything down tomorrow.'

I grabbed the first victim's reports.

***

An agent brought sandwiches while we were reading. I saw Hannah grab one and start eating without conscious thought.

Jaci caught me staring and said, 'Don't #groke at her. Get your own.'

'That wasn't what I was doing.'

'Really?'

'She's not even aware she's doing it.'

***

'Hannah, how's the sandwich?'

'Huh?' She dropped it on a napkin and then sniffed it. 'Do you smell something odd?'

'Nothing unusual. Do you?' I asked.

She nodded. 'I'm #macrosmatic. I have a heightened sense of smell. Something in here smells and it's not the food.'

***

'Could be this book,' I said, holding up an evidence bag. 'It's old. One of the victims had it in her possession. She's a #biblioclept because it was stolen from a rare book store.'

'Maybe,' Hannah said. 'Have either of you learned anything from reading these reports?'

***

'I must've read a #chiliad of pages, and I've learned the Oak Leaf Killer is smart, using forensic countermeasures,' I said to them. 'There's too little physical evidence for it to not be deliberate.'

'That'll make it harder to catch him, but not impossible,' Jaci said.

***

'True,' I agreed.

Hannah sneezed into her elbow. When she looked up again, she had a #meldrop. I tried to point it out to her through gestures, but she wasn't getting it.

Jaci sighed and told her. 'You have a booger coming out of your nose. She was trying to be nice.'

***

'Thanks,' Hannah said, wiping it away. 'I think it's time we get out of here, get something to eat, and show you your apartment. I just need to lock up the evidence.'

'We're not going to #absquatulate with it,' I told her, slightly offended.

'It's not you, just policy.'

***

We left the office and headed to a local restaurant that Hannah said was one of her favorites. Once we'd ordered, Hannah said, 'If a #colporteur comes in, don't buy anything. The books are usually tatty and look like they've been through a landfill.'

'Maybe they have.'

***

'How far is the apartment?' Jaci asked as the sun finished dipping below the horizon.

'It's relatively close, but it takes a while because the road is kinda #anfractuous.'

'Let's wrap this meal up quickly then. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake,' Jaci said.

***

'You don't suffer from #deipnophobia, do you?' Hannah asked.

'What's that?' Jaci asked.

'It means you feel awkward dining with strangers.'

Jaci shook her head. 'No, I just want to sleep. It feels like I've been working for three days straight without any caffeine.'

***