Free Silent Justice by Rayven T. Hill

Nina’s car had turned up nothing of further interest.
    A fine powdering of glass was also found in the grill and on the hood of the vehicle. Forensics couldn’t ascertain whether or not it came from Nina White’s car, only that it was consistent, but Hank had no question about it.
    A botanical expert was consulted, and he affirmed the rose found in the mouth of the victim was the same species as the ones which grew along the rear wall of the Thorburn house.
    The search of the Thorburn residence turned up nothing incriminating and contained no clues as to where Adam Thorburn might be hiding out.
    His cell phone rang and he answered it. It was Teddy White—again.
    “Detective, do you have any news for me?”
    Hank held his patience. “Nothing yet, Mr. White. You need to allow more time. Adam Thorburn is on the run and we’ll track him down, but at this point, we don’t know where he is.”
    “I’ve hired some private investigators,” Mr. White said.
    Hank frowned at his phone. There were several PIs in this town and he didn’t want any of them mucking around with the evidence and getting in the way of a police investigation. “That’s well within your rights,” Hank said. “But it might be a little premature.”
    “The Lincolns promised they would help.”
    Hank’s vision of an interfering gumshoe vanished. There were none so thorough and as caring as his good friends, Jake and Annie Lincoln, who were always careful to stay out of the way of law enforcement. He had worked alongside them in the past, helping him to crack some tough cases. And though Captain Diego rarely admitted it outwardly, they often had his unwritten blessing.
    “Mr. White,” Hank said, “I’ll call you as soon as we have anything concrete.” He didn’t want to give the grieving widower the brush-off, but he needed to be firm. “I’ll inform you the minute we find the suspect.”
    “Very well. I’ll call you again tomorrow. Thank you, Detective.”
    Hank hung up. He always felt deeply for the victims, and he sympathized with Teddy White. Though he had never personally experienced the loss of a loved one at the hands of a violent killer, he’d seen enough heartache and senseless murders as head of RHPD Robbery/Homicide to do him a lifetime.
    He was a little surprised the Lincolns hadn’t called him regarding their involvement, so he dialed Jake’s number.
    “We just got back,” Jake explained. “I haven’t have a chance to let you know yet.”
    “I’ll drop by and see you guys after work,” Hank said. “It’s been a while.”
    “We’ll fill you in on our visit to Virginia Thorburn while you’re here.”
    Hank hung up and glanced toward Detective King’s desk. He didn’t expect to see King for a while. Hank had him organizing the neighborhood search for Adam Thorburn, and it could easily take him the rest of the day.
    He looked up as the front desk officer approached and handed him an envelope. A scrawl on the front revealed it was from Richmond North High School.
    Hank dumped its contents onto his desk. It was a five-page report on Adam Thorburn, retrieved from the school’s record storage. Hank leafed through it. The neatly stapled report contained Adam’s vital information along with Nina White’s handwritten notes on her meetings with the student.
    Among other things, the report showed Adam had barely made passing grades during the two years he attended Richmond North High School. Those grades were inconsistent with his above-average IQ of 130. In her notes, Nina attributed his poor grades to a lack of applying himself. It was noted Adam was schizophrenic but rarely showed negative signs at school.
    But that was all seven years ago, and according to his mother, his condition had deteriorated since then.
    During Adam’s counseling sessions with Mrs. White, her notes showed she had attempted to encourage him but had been unable to impress on him the importance of a good education. He had seemed distracted and