There was a little click and then peaceful-sounding ambient music came over the line. While she waited, she shrugged at Jack and said, You may as well go ahead and see what you can do about getting the cell providers to get the actual numbers from those private calls. And while youre at it…maybe flag down the waitress. I get the feeling that were going to need to get this pizza to go.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Through the supervisor, Rachel learned two very important things that she felt would help tremendously with the case. First, she learned that Better Days Prevention Hotline was a nationwide service with hubs set up in twenty-one locations across the nation. The New York hub received upwards of eighty calls a week. Secondly, Rachel was also given the physical address of the call center, and it was just twenty minutes away from where she and Jack had attempted to enjoy a pizza. Her hope was that they could speak with the operators who had taken the calls of the victims. If so, that would provide insights into their lives that maybe even family and loved ones would not be able to provide.

The center was on the fourth floor and an unsuspecting building near Yorkville, tucked in among several other buildings that looked exactly alike. When they arrived, each having quickly eaten two slices of pizza in the car on the way over, the supervisor was waiting for them in a small waiting area that also served as a lobby.

Agents? the woman said, greeting them at the door. Im Shelby Elder, the New York supervisor.

Rachel and Jack introduced themselves and after that, Shelby wasted no time. She instantly led them down a small hallway with just two rooms along it, one on each wall. She opened the door to the right and they walked in. She was a trim woman who, in an odd way, looked just about the same way she moved: thorough, to the point, and with no nonsense. As they passed through the doorway, Rachel looked to the end of the hall. It emptied into a large room that was divided by several cubicles. She could hear a phone ringing somewhere further off and she could not help but wonder if it was a call coming from someone on the verge of ending their own life. Something about it was haunting but she managed to shake it off as she entered the office. Shelby closed the door behind them and, perhaps because there were no seats for her visitors, she opted to stand rather than sit behind the desk.

On the phone, you said there were records that showed three recently dead people had called here, yes?