Chapter 23 #2
“No. I’m sure his wife told him Billy was picked up, and Younger was afraid to return to the house where the girls were being kept in case we knew about the house and were watching it,” Rowland said.
“Did Billy take a picture of JE?” Grayson asked. “You know everyone is always recording everything nowadays.”
“You would think he would have mentioned it to us then,” Rowland said.
“He didn’t reveal the information about JE at all until you mentioned him potentially losing the plea deal,” Grayson said.
“You’re right.”
“I had a case like that. The guy wouldn’t tell the police where the murder weapon was. I asked him where it was, and he told me. When I asked him why he didn’t tell the police—figuring it was because he didn’t like them—he said nobody had asked him. Only me,” Grayson said.
“Hell,” Rowland said.
“Yeah. The officers gave me a hard time over it, saying I was the guy’s new buddy.” Grayson smiled. Then he lost the smile. “I figured Billy might be like that too.”
“I’ll ask him. Anything else?” Rowland asked.
The other investigator walked into the viewing room.
“We’re getting a search warrant on JE’s property.
The home belongs to Barney Metcalf. He’s a real estate investor.
He has loads of money, mega lawyers in his court, and supposedly has done a lot of fishy stuff.
” He showed a picture of Metcalf to everyone.
Blond, dressed in a suit, looking like a billion bucks.
“Great. He’ll lawyer up and probably get away with the whole thing,” Kendra warned. She hated it when people with money and power could do anything and get away with it.
“Follow the money trail,” Grayson said. “Though he really made a mistake in involving himself with Younger and not having a henchman or middleman as a go-between to take care of it.”
“Yeah, that’s just what I was thinking,” Rowland said.
“What if that isn’t JE’s house? The guy who met up with Younger that Billy saw?” Kendra asked.
Rowland let out his breath. “Like JE is a middleman who was to meet Younger there, but he didn’t belong at the house himself?”
“Yeah, like setting up the guy who owned the house because he knew he had a past filled with corruption, then you go in with a search warrant, and you learn he didn’t have anything to do with any of this,” Kendra said.
“We already know Younger and Billy are conmen. The guy in charge probably is too. That would be the perfect con, don’t you think? ”
“Okay, you could be right. We’ll have Billy describe JE to the sketch artist and see if we can learn what that guy looked like and if he resembles the owner of the property.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Then Rowland met with the sketch artist and returned to the interview room with the other investigator. The sketch artist said, “Tell us everything you can about what he looked like. Hair style, size of eyes, mouth, jaw, nose.”
Billy began pointing out the pictures of eyes, mouth, and nose that he thought looked similar to the man. Then he pointed out the hairline, ears, eyebrows, and jaw.
After the sketch artist drew the picture, Rowland casually asked, “Did you happen to take a picture of the man on your cell phone? Or of the house?”
Billy shifted in his seat and glanced at his mother. She nodded.
“Yeah. I mean, I took it really fast. I was afraid they would see me in the truck. Especially the man my dad was talking to because Dad had his back to me.”
“Can we see the picture?” Rowland handed Billy his phone.
Billy opened his phone and showed him the pictures he had taken, not only of JE but also of the mansion and the vehicle behind JE. Possibly JE’s car. He hadn’t taken just one photo.
Rowland took the sketch the artist had drawn and compared it with the phone picture.
Kendra was surprised he had been brave enough to take several photos.
Though she suspected he truly thought his dad might end up in jail, and he could take over the family business, since he was the one who was actually luring the girls into their trap.
She could imagine he wasn’t thinking about how he could end up in jail for his own involvement in all this.
Or that JE might want to kill him for identifying him.
She suspected JE wouldn’t want to chance giving a kid that young such a task, afraid Billy would flip on him if he got caught. Just like he was doing now.
So JE would have a good case for it.
“Okay, the photos are really good and look like the description of JE that you gave to the sketch artist.”
“You’re not going to let him know I took pictures of him, are you?” Billy asked, his hands trembling. He was visibly scared.
“We’ll use the sketch and photos to help identify him. If we can’t find him in the database, we’ll post it to get the public to help us locate him,” Rowland said. “We won’t reveal who identified him.”
“What if he thinks my stepdad told on him?”
“Since Younger is free, not incarcerated, and he gets his payments from JE, I’m sure JE wouldn’t believe Younger would give him up to the police,” Rowland said.
“I’m sure others know about JE’s business—criminals like him, or friends and family who know what he’s doing.
So anyone could have turned him in. Even someone who had a vendetta against him. ”
“Okay.”
An officer entered the interview room and spoke privately with Rowland.
He nodded and left the room with the officer.
Rowland joined Kendra and Grayson and told them, “We learned JE is Andrew Kaminski. We’re getting a search warrant for his home in Whitefish.
He was pretending to live in that mansion, as Kendra suspected. ”
Grayson smiled at her.
“Are you going to question Billy further?” Kendra asked.
“Tomorrow. We’ll put him in jail and question him tomorrow,” Rowland said. “We’ll let you know what comes of the search of Kaminski’s home.”
“Okay, thanks, we’re headed home. We’re going to a special activity for the next couple of days,” Grayson said, “to celebrate becoming mated grizzlies. You can just text us in case we’re on the ropes course or whitewater rafting, and we’ll get back with you.”
“Are you sure you want me to bother you while you’re having your special time together?” Rowland asked.
“Yes!” both Rowland and Kendra said at the same time.
Rowland chuckled. “You are perfect for each other. Okay, get out of here and enjoy the rest of your night. Have fun on your adventure.”
“We will,” Kendra said.
Then they left to return to her home. “Shower time,” Grayson said.
“Oh, absolutely.”