“I’ve got a name and an address. Her name is Mali Turner. And the name that she was using in the emails was Mali.”
“Interesting name. Okay,” she said. “I’m heading across the bridge into West Vancouver right now. I’ll stop in and take a look.”
“The address we have on file puts her just off Cypress Street, close to Burrard Street Bridge.”
“Good enough. I’ll head there now.” As soon as she got on the other side of the bridge, she made the series of turns she needed to head back over again. Once turned around, she said to Simon, “I’ll head over and talk to her.”
“I’m coming,” he said. She shook her head, and he said, “Don’t even go there. You know that she wouldn’t recognize you, and it’s likely to scare her.”
“Oh,” she said. “What’ll she do if she’s scared?”
“I don’t know, but do you really want to find out?”
She winced at that. “You’re not a cop.”
“No, but I’m a concerned citizen who’s already spoken to her. You know that, if anybody will get her to open up, it’ll be me.”
“You’ve already terrified her,” she said. “You could also be the final straw.”
“She has to get to a bridge first.”
“No. There are a lot of ways to commit suicide. For all you know, she’s been contemplating several, and you’re about to push her to make a final choice.”
“That’s a horrible thought,” he said.
“I know, but we need to get to the bottom of this, and we need to find answers fast.” And, with that, she pulled up in front of an apartment building. She looked at it and said, “She’s on the third floor, so we need to make sure she doesn’t get a chance to jump out of any windows.”
“Third floor is all about paralyzing yourself. I don’t know that it’s a guaranteed suicide. And we don’t know that she’s actually suicidal either. I got the sense that she thinks it’s her only choice,” Simon replied.
“Well, let’s go have a talk with her. Maybe we can change her mind,” she said.
With that, she shut off the engine and hopped out.
*
Simon didn’t knowif Kate realized that she had saidwe, but he wasn’t giving her a chance to backtrack. As soon as they got into the apartment building and up to the third floor, they walked to her door and knocked. Almost immediately there was a call out.
“Who is it?” Mali said.
Kate looked over at Simon, then shrugged and said, “It’s the police. I just have a couple questions for you.”
First came a shocked gasp, and then the door opened, but the chain was still up on the other side.
At that, Kate held up her badge, so the woman saw it. “May we come in and talk to you, please?”
“What about?” she said nervously.
“Inside would be easier,” she said firmly. So many people were used to authority, and unless they had been brought up in a system that loved to buck it, most people would open the door. And, in this case, that’s exactly what Mali did.
She shut the door, removed the chain, and pulled it open. When she saw Simon there, she paled and stared at him in shock. “How did you find me?” she whispered in horror.
At that, Simon stepped forward, and Kate closed the door behind them.
“First off,” Kate said, “Simon did find you on the bridge. He’s very concerned that you stay healthy and sane and don’t take a chance on another bridge. Second, we believe that you’re being pressured to commit suicide. Is that true?”
Mali stared, her gaze going from Simon to Kate and back again. “Yes, but how did you know?”
“Because you’re not the first one.”