Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 347: An Anonymous Tipster

Aaron rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Perhaps the best course of action regarding the reward was for Aiden, as the anonymous tipster, to tell the police station that he wanted them to hold onto the reward for him until an arrest was made.

If Gray was already in custody he wouldn't be able to see who picked up the reward and they could send anybody without worry. That could work.

Besides, hadn't Brann Knighton said the reward was for information leading to catching his daughter's killer? He might not give the reward out until after an arrest was made anyway. This shouldn't be a problem.

"Make the call and tell the police that you were a witness on the street and saw someone matching Lacy's description being pulled into a cab and that you happened to catch the license plate. If you tell them where it happened, they'll probably check the surveillance cameras anyway," Aaron advised.

"Sure thing, boss. Should I call the detectives who have been in contact with Sophie?" Aiden asked, finally sitting up on the couch.

"No. I have a very specific officer I'd like you to call. He's the only detective in all of New York I'm sure I can trust. Detective Darren Johnson of the 19th precinct. Be sure to ask for him specifically. He'll know what to do."

Aaron trusted that he would check the footage and find what Aiden had already based on what little information was given. It was exactly what he had done in his first life when Aiden left an anonymous tip about the footage of Lacy killing Max.

Aiden hadn't been able to say explicitly that there was video footage because evidence obtained illegally couldn't be used in court. Darren Johnson had to figure out that the surveillance footage existed on his own.

"So…when do you want me to do this?" Aiden asked.

"As soon as possible. Not everyone is as fast as finding things as you; after getting the tip it will probably take some time to be able to move forward with the investigation."

He stood and gave Aaron a joking salute. "You got it, dude. Is there anything else you want me to do or am I back to taking actual IT calls?"

Aaron pitied the kid a little. He was clearly understimulated being a regular member of the IT department based on the disappointment in his tone. But what was he supposed to do? He didn't need a hacker monitoring everything anymore.

He could hand some of his work over to Aiden…he always had to be a meticulous researcher before partnering with anyone. If he had Aiden look into the people and companies instead and type up reports to give to him it would take up at least some of his time.

"Find me all the information you can about these potential investors. I don't want to work with them if there is even the slightest chance of it backfiring on the company," Aaron said as he handed Aiden the list of people he had been meaning to look into himself.

He grinned as he headed out the door, as if he knew Aaron was making up things for him to do. "Thanks boss man!"

This would be a win-win. Aaron's work had been piling up and Aiden didn't have enough to do. His skills would be underutilized now that things were relatively peaceful.

He didn't want the kid to be poached by someone else or leave the company if he got too bored. What if Aaron needed him again someday? There were a lot of things a tech genius could do that were better than working in an IT department.

If this didn't provide Aiden with enough to do, he would have to come up with something else. Maybe it was time to branch out from simply being a financial management company.

Aiden broke through enough encryptions and firewalls that he should know how to strengthen them. They could open a cybersecurity division, starting with making Hale Investments' websites impenetrable. There had been a lot of data breaches from other financial institutions causing mass panic lately.

Putting the kid in charge of such an important project would be enough to keep him interested, right?

===

Detective Darren Johnson had been about to leave for the day when Shirley, the woman who operated the tip line, said that someone had specifically asked to speak to him. He sighed. Of course this would happen on his wife's birthday when they were supposed to go out to dinner.

"This is Darren Johnson. May I ask who is speaking?" he asked as politely as he could manage despite his annoyance.

"My name isn't important," a muffled voice said. "I have information about Lacy Knighton's murder but I'm afraid the killer will come after me."

What cop in New York City hadn't heard about the Knighton case? It was a big deal because the woman was a high profile socialite who had mysteriously been in a sketchier part of town she never visited.

"That case is being handled by the 46th precinct. I can transfer you over to them."

"My friend said you're the only trustworthy cop he knows. Do you want the information or not?"

Darren barely held back his sigh. If this guy was on the level, of course he wanted the information. But did it have to be right now?

"I do."

"I saw a tall, dark-haired man pull Lacy Knighton into a cab in front of the building to the left of the Appzoid offices shortly before 1 PM on the day she was killed. The license plate was weird so I remembered it. It's LEG100. Can you believe they actually made a license plate like that?"

This was the kind of evidence every detective hoped for on a murder case. Wasn't it a bit too convenient? Who was this anonymous tipster?

It was even more suspicious that he waited this long before saying anything. Lacy Knighton had been dead for weeks. Although…Brann Knighton had raised the reward money for any useful information yesterday. This might be related to that. Some people could be so greedy.

Darren scribbled down everything the mystery man said on a notepad despite his overall suspicions. A tip was a tip and needed to be looked into, no matter how shady.

"Thank you for the information. If this lead pans out, someone will need to be in touch about the reward offered by the victim's father. How can we contact you?"

"I'll contact you about it if an arrest is made. I don't want to collect while the murderer could be watching."

This guy seemed awfully paranoid. Darren would bet money he recognized the face of the man who brought Lacy Knighton into that cab. Who could make him that afraid?

"How will I know it's you?" he asked. "We can't give out money to just anyone."

"When I come to collect I'll be wearing a World of Warcraft tee shirt," the mystery man said shortly before hanging up.

Darren wrote that down, as well as his impressions about the caller while they were still fresh in his mind. He snapped his little notebook shut and put it back in a locked drawer in his desk.

He would look into this tomorrow. If he left right now, he would still make it to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet his wife and some of their friends on time.