4338.210 · July 29, 2018 AD
Two Stops, One Driver
A careless turn from the bottle shop, nearly clipping a parked car. Random traffic stop on a Sunday afternoon—breathalyser reads zero, licence checks out. Then Karl runs the plates. His face changes. They follow her up Berriedale Road where she's texting, almost swerving into barriers. Second stop, same driver, same afternoon. Karl returns from talking to her with information that changes everything. The case just cracked wide open through reckless driving and a woman who won't stop touching her paper bag..
Random traffic stops are supposed to be routine. Careless driving, breathalyser test, maybe a fine. Not the key that unlocks an entire investigation.
But when Karl runs the plates on the silver Honda and his expression shifts, Sarah knows this afternoon just became something else entirely. The car belongs to Jamie Greyson. The missing person they've been chasing.
The woman driving it—Gladys May Cramer—is stone-cold sober, attractive, mid-thirties, with designer accessories and a nervous energy that doesn't quite match her polished appearance. She's also apparently incapable of staying off her phone whilst driving uphill on winding roads.
Second stop in one afternoon. Same driver, escalating violations. Karl approaches whilst Sarah waits, watching him return with a grin that means breakthrough. Whatever he learned during that conversation transforms their Sunday from patrol to pivotal moment.
They follow Gladys to a modern hillside house. She knocks, claims nobody's home, then reluctantly produces keys when Karl points out she has them. Her hesitation at the lock speaks volumes. So does her obsessive protection of that brown paper bag tucked under her arm.
The door finally opens. They step inside, adrenaline flooding systems, knowing the investigation just crossed from theory into whatever truth has been waiting on the other side.
