35. Lottie
Lottie
“ W hat’s the goal of this meeting?” Teddy asks me from the passenger seat.
I pull into a parking spot at the marina and turn off my car. “A dive team is coming to search the lake again for any potential evidence of Crystal’s disappearance.”
“Didn’t they already do that?”
“They did. Right after Crystal went missing, they swept the lake. Sheriff Lansing refused to comment on whether they found anything, but my guess is they either didn’t or it wasn’t significant. Otherwise, we’d have known about it.”
“So they’re doing it again?”
“Yes. The cadaver dogs I brought in last week alerted us to the potential presence of a body. The next step was inviting divers out to search the water.” A while back, I’d talked to one of the local trainers about using cadaver dogs.
She trained them and offered to show me what a training session looked like.
I messaged her a few weeks ago to see if she knew anyone who would be willing to search the lake for us.
That’s how I met Kelly and Luna last week.
Kelly has been in the business for years, and Luna is a veteran now.
They also brought a new puppy, Jupiter, who had just graduated. The whole day was fascinating.
“Oh, there they are.” I point to the trucks pulling into the marina.
A team of people gets out and starts pulling equipment from the truck bed.
I follow suit, with Teddy on my heels. He insisted on coming with me this morning.
I guess the idea of me being around a large group of people without anyone backing me up was too much for him to handle.
I can’t say I hate having him here with me.
It’s kind of nice to have an extra person around.
One of the team members spots me coming over and calls out to their lead. He meets me before I get to the truck and holds out his hand to Teddy. “I’m Mike. Are you Charlie?”
“That would be her.” He points at me.
Mike gives me a sheepish look. “Sorry about that. Shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s okay.” I shake his hand. “I can’t use the name Charlie and not expect people to be surprised when I’m a woman. This is Teddy. He’s my assistant for the day. Just a heads-up, I am already recording. For some reason, my listeners like to know we’re real people who talk to each other.”
Mike laughs. “This isn’t our first rodeo with a podcast. It’s nice to meet you both. So the plan for today is to do a grid search in the areas where the dogs alerted. I’ll have you go over the specifics with the team, then we’ll get a more detailed plan in place before we go in.”
I narrate what’s happening as Mike’s team gets their equipment in place. They’re a well-oiled machine, working seamlessly together. We mark a map of the lake, turning it into a grid to pinpoint the areas where the dogs alerted. There were only two places, but they were several feet apart.
Once Mike is happy with the plan and the divers are suited up, they get in their boat to start the search .
“I’m glad I’m not them,” Teddy says as he shoves his hands into his coat pocket. It’s pretty chilly this morning, which means the lake is freezing. I know the wet suits help to keep them warm, but I’m also happy I don’t have to go in the water.
As the dive team works, I keep a steady stream of narration going. It’s easier to talk than to write notes, and Teddy helps me carry my equipment around.
After about half an hour, Mike comes over to give us an update.
“The guys just finished searching the first target area. They didn’t find anything suspicious.
It was mostly trash and debris floating around.
We’re getting them back up now and sending our second team of divers down to the second spot. ”
“Is it weird that the dogs would hit on a spot and you guys not find anything?” Teddy asks.
“No, not really,” I answer. This was something Kelly discussed after the dogs marked. “The water is a tough spot for the dogs to be completely accurate. They may alert, but it’s a remnant from something that is no longer there. The water makes it even more difficult for them to be certain.”
“Add in that things deteriorate in the water much faster than on land, and it’s tough to find any sort of evidence,” Mike adds.
“How long until you start searching the second area?” I ask him.
“Should be about ten minutes.”
I nod. “Thank you for the update.” We watch Mike’s team prepare to dive.
I have a feeling some of the audio won’t be the best quality.
We’re close enough to record, but some of their conversations aren’t loud enough for the mic to pick up.
I do my best to dictate what’s going on.
I won’t necessarily use this recording on the show, but it helps me do a more formal voice-over recording later.
I won’t have to remember the details of the day .
My stomach starts to knot when they enter the water again.
This is the worst part of investigating cold cases.
There are times when it feels like I’m making strides forward only to be taken back to the starting point again.
I couldn’t believe the dogs alerted in the first place.
Now, with one of the search areas finished and not a single piece of evidence found, my hopes are dwindling.
Movement on the boat has me standing at attention. “What’s going on?”
“They’re gathered around the monitors the cameras are feeding into,” Teddy answers. “Does that mean they’ve found something?”
“Or they’re trying to decide if it’s something more than random trash.”
It’s as if Teddy and I both hold our breath while we wait for confirmation. The dive team places a buoy in the water to mark the location of interest before the boat comes back to the shore.
Mike is off the boat in a second. “Okay, so we aren’t sure what we’ve found exactly. What we do know is we’ve got three black plastic bags with duct tape closing them off. Now, these could be regular trash bags filled with refuse, but we won’t know until we open them.”
“And we can’t do that without the police present in case they are evidence,” I finish his thought.
“Exactly. I’ve got the number for the local police. I’m going to get a call into them to tell them what we’ve got going on, and hopefully, they get out here quickly.”
“Why am I excited?” Teddy whispers to me.
“Because there could be a clue to a murder in those bags. The intrigue is exciting.” I wrap my arm around his to contain my own excitement.
When I’m putting in the time to cover a case, I never expect anything to come of it.
I want people to remember the victims of these crimes and potentially jog someone’s memory enough to push the case forward.
Usually, when something like this happens, it leads to another dead end, but it doesn’t stop me from getting my hopes up.
This could be the thing that moves the needle in Crystal’s case.
Sheriff Lansing and two of his deputies arrive about thirty minutes later. He shoots a frown my way, making it clear how he feels about my presence. I couldn’t care less. If this results in new information for the case, it’ll be worth it.
The sheriff and Mike work together to plan the collection of the bags and what to do after they get them out of the water.
From there, it’s as if time passes in a flash.
The three black garbage bags lay on the side of the lake.
They’re tied off, the tops wrapped in duct tape, which I find fascinating.
It makes it obvious this isn’t your normal litterbug, trying to rid themselves of their trash in a random spot.
Whoever dumped these bags didn’t want the contents escaping.
The police officers photograph the bags from every angle they possibly can. It seems like overkill, but I know one of those photos could make all the difference when they’re going back over the evidence.
Then they open the bags. My breath stalls in my lungs. Has this all been for nothing? Is there a chance we’re going to find remains? Oh, God, what if we find human remains?
One of Lansing’s deputies lays out a blue tarp to help organize the evidence, and finally, the first piece comes out. It’s hard to define the white object at first. It’s soaked with water and clumped together.
The shape takes form as Lansing unfolds it, and I gasp. “Is that Crystal’s shirt?”
“What was she wearing when she was last seen?” Teddy asks.
“A white graphic tee and a long floral skirt.” As I say it, Lansing pulls out a skirt matching my description.
“Jesus. That has to be hers.”
More items come out of the bags—Crystal’s shoes and a few other items I can’t quite identify. They must’ve been in the water too long to still be intact.
I turn my head toward Teddy. “This could turn the tide of her case.”