My eyes widened. “Besides the obvious issue of women dying all around us?”
“I’m talking about the lack of consistency. I’ve taken my concerns to my bosses and been told that it is what it is. We report our findings to the National Center for Health Statistics and they compile statistical data. If there’s an unusual occurrence in their findings, they’ll notify the police and Wayne County. But I don’t think there will be a statistically significant occurrence. The victims vary just enough. While men go missing, it’s the women that I’m the most concerned about. The ones I’ve seen, or learned about while going back in the records, also vary in ethnicity.”
I sipped my lemonade and thought about all she’d just said. “You knew that the woman today wasn’t Mindy, didn’t you?”
“I want you to find your friend. I just thought . . .”
I reached out and covered her hand. “I can’t promise anything. I won’t even take any of this to Bernard until I have more, but I’ll look around, ask some questions, do some research. If there’s any chance that this information will help me find Mindy, I’ll do it.”
Tracy nodded. “I can’t go on the record, but if there’s any way I can help, if you need information, I can . . .” She reached into her purse and took out a flash drive. Handing it to me, she said, “Here. Just know that I’ll deny that what’s on there came from me.”
I rolled the drive between my fingers. “What’s on this?”
“Something that you don’t want to view on a full stomach. I started going back through the records and looking into deaths of women in this specific age group who didn’t fit the typical profile. It’s really the only two matching criteria, age and sex. I only went back ten years. That drive contains names and pictures as well as victims who will forever be nameless. The examination results are there too, if an autopsy was done.”
“Isn’t there always an autopsy with suspicious deaths?”
She shrugged. “Not all the deaths were suspicious. In some cases the cause was obvious. I’ve been putting the data together and looking for a connection. I feel like it’s there, but I just don’t know what it is. I was hoping that maybe you could take a look. Maybe you’ll see a pattern that I don’t.”
“I’ll do it.”
“I recognized the man with you today. I know he’s a detective with the homicide and narcotics unit of DPD.”
I nodded.
“I’ve seen him in the lab before. What I haven’t seen before is Detective Richards holding someone’s hand, supporting them. He’s usually a hard-ass.”
I sat up straight. “Detective Richards and I are dating.”
“It’s none of my business, but don’t you see that as a conflict of interest?”
“You’re right, it’s not any of your business.”
Tracy persisted. “Well, what I mean is that you’re an investigative journalist and he works for the people who try to keep all of this shit covered up.”
I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and contemplated my response. “Tracy, you work for Wayne County. Do you believe they handle cases differently than the Detroit Police Department?”
“Unfortunately, no. I don’t blame you for thinking what I said was a dis on your boyfriend. It really wasn’t. It’s this whole city. No city wants to be known for its crime. The mayor, the chamber of commerce, they’re constantly harping about revitalization. They’re bidding on businesses, improved infrastructure, human capital, and social programs. They don’t want to acknowledge that we have a real problem, a new real problem.”
“New? You said you have data going back ten years.”
“I do,” Tracy admitted. “But ten years is new, new for all the revitalization that’s been happening.”
She was right. It was. If we had some pattern of random women being kidnapped and killed, no company would want to invest in Detroit. “So you’re saying that it’s the system, or systems. No one in authority wants to admit this is happening.”
“Yes. And I’d rather you don’t say anything to Detective Richards. If you do, please don’t say it was me that started you on this quest for answers.”
“Don’t worry. Dylan and I keep work out of our private lives. Professional courtesy,” I added.
“Thank you, Stella. If I’m wasting your time, I’m sorry. I just feel like we have something significant occurring, and everyone is turning a blind eye.”