19
“You shouldn’t be here,” stated Noelle the morning after the fire, glaring at Evan from her chair in their case room.
“Me sitting around doesn’t help anyone.” He’d been restless for the last few hours.
“You should be with Rowan.”
“I spent all night and all morning with her. We agreed it was important that I not let up on these cases, and she’s doing fine. Her family is about to swoop in and take over. She won’t need me for a while.” Evan was exhausted. Even if he stayed in the hotel, he’d be thinking about the cases, so he’d gone to work.
Last night, while Rowan had been in the ER getting glass slivers picked out of her torso, Evan had made a sprint through Walmart just before it closed. He’d grabbed sweatpants, T-shirts, socks, underthings for both of them, and a few basic toiletries. For himself he’d also picked out a pair of jeans and a collared shirt to wear to work the next morning. And he’d remembered to get dog food for Thor.
Rowan had brought up dog food five times before he left for the store.
Priorities.
The two of them had nothing, and Evan was overwhelmed by the thought of replacing everything they used daily. After a fitful night’s sleep with Rowan sleeping between him and Thor, they’d had a frank discussion this morning about their priorities.
He would return to work; she would replace the immediate necessities.
And she would call her family, who they knew would promptly help.
Evan had showered while she made the calls and then dressed in the black shirt and jeans he’d bought without trying on last night. The jeans desperately needed a belt, and he’d stared at the sagging pants in the mirror for a long moment, again overwhelmed by what they’d lost.
On his way to work, he’d stopped at Walmart for a belt.
Rowan had watched their camera’s video in the ER waiting room, her face blank. She’d handed the phone back to Evan as he told her it looked like Rod’s truck. She’d been silent a long moment and then said three words. “Why do that?”
Evan had no answer.
Rowan’s family had reacted as expected. Highly emotional and jumping right in to take care of everything they needed. The twins were more than excited to shop for Rowan’s clothes—she didn’t feel up to it. She’d told them to start at a sporting goods store, and Ivy had loudly protested over the speakerphone.
“You know how I dress,” Rowan had said pointedly. “I need clothing I can wear out in the field. You’re wasting time with anything else. No dresses, no heels. That can come later. Much later.”
In the office Evan sat down at the big conference table and opened his laptop. He smelled the smoke that clung to his shoes. He hadn’t been near the fire that long, but it’d been enough to permeate everything he’d worn. After examining the video footage on his laptop’s bigger screen, hoping to see more detail of the arsonists and the truck, he’d sent the video footage to the Oregon State Police Arson Unit detective who handled the Bend area.
Enlarging the video hadn’t helped. He still had no leads.
Noelle’s intense stare burned into the side of his head as he looked at his computer. “Do you need to rent a place to stay?” she finally asked.
“No. We agreed to stay with Rowan’s parents for a few months until my renters’ lease is up. Then we’ll move into my place.”
“A few months? Rowan’s house will probably be rebuilt by then.”
“She’s not sure she wants to live there anymore.” Rowan had been upset about it this morning, saying she couldn’t go back without reliving her terror about losing Thor. But she also felt guilty that she’d have to sell her grandfather’s home. They’d agreed not to make any fast decisions, but Evan suspected she’d hold firm to selling.
“That’s too bad,” said Noelle. “But understandable.”
“She might change her mind.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s doing well.” Evan had watched her closely as he dressed for work and listened to her talk to her family. “Yesterday was traumatic, but she was clearheaded this morning. A little emotional. But she’s tough. I don’t think she’ll be down for long. Her family won’t let her.”
“They’re a force,” said Noelle. “Good people to have on your side during a crisis.”
“You don’t know how true that is.” Evan turned his attention to the whiteboard, ready to stop thinking about the fire. “Where are we at?”
“Same place as when you left yesterday,” Noelle said. “It probably feels like several days have gone by.”
She was right. Rod’s autopsy seemed as if it had happened long ago instead of the previous evening.
Evan gave her a quick recap of autopsy results and enjoyed Noelle’s reaction of delight when she heard they had a bullet.
“We’re going to nail who did this,” she said with relish. “And don’t get mad at me that I didn’t tell you first thing, but I just got the blood spatter results this morning. I’d thought you’d take the day off like a normal person. But forensics says that most of the blood at Sophia’s home was Rod’s.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Evan’s thought process froze.
“The majority of the blood is Rod’s. There is another person’s blood, too, but without that person here to give us a sample, we’re not sure whose it is.”
“Rod was attacked at Sophia’s,” Evan said slowly. He’d known it was a possibility, but he’d honestly thought it was Sophia’s blood. He’d let himself fall into the deadly trap of making assumptions.
I know better.
“What does that mean?” he muttered to himself.
“Well, it raises my hopes that Sophia is alive.” Noelle paused, then asked delicately, “Evan, is there any chance that Sophia could be our suspect in Rod’s death?”
Evan was floored. The question went against everything he knew about Sophia and Rod’s relationship. “Absolutely not.”
Noelle eyed him.
“Absolutely not,” he repeated as a sick feeling filled his gut.
I just told myself to not make assumptions.
Did I do it again?
“I know her,” Evan said slowly. “Of course I can’t say I’m one hundred percent certain, but I will say I’m ninety-nine.”
“We have to consider everything,” said Noelle, an apology in her tone.
“You’re right,” said Evan. “So looking at it from another angle, maybe Rod wasn’t targeted. Maybe they wanted Sophia, and he got in the way. But the missing computer tower and files at his place push me to suspect he was the target. I feel if we knew which files were missing, we’d know who killed him.”
“Or the missing files aren’t related at all,” said Noelle. “Maybe nothing is missing, and Rod was killed trying to protect his daughter.”
“Thank God Zack wasn’t there.” Evan had repeated it a hundred times since the boy had turned up. He stood and walked over to the board, eyeing the list of eleven names of local people who’d gone to prison because of Rod’s investigating and now were out. He’d visited only Archie Crook. “I’ve got to cross some people off this list.”
“I’ve looked at those people,” said Noelle. “I think you’re relying too heavily on location. From what I’ve found online and in our files, none of them seem likely to be a killer.”
Shit. I have the same gut feeling.
“You’re right,” Evan stated. “I went to Archie first because of his size. No one else had jumped out at me. But like we just said, this could all be moot because Sophia was the target.”
Frustration roared through him. It suddenly felt as if they’d made no progress at all. He wanted this case solved . Now. “What else did they get from the blood spatter?”
“She said it’s not as much as it looks like. To me, it looked like the person wouldn’t have any blood left in their body.”
“I thought so too.”
“It was smeared around a lot. Covered more area. She said it looked like there was quite the struggle on the floor. Here are some of the photos from her examination.” Noelle turned her computer for Evan to see. “See these wavy, skinny lines? That’s from hair. Short hair, she said.”
Evan stared at the photo, barely seeing what Noelle indicated. It was a small, faint imprint in blood on the tile floor. “I’m glad these experts know their job.”
She showed him three more photos of impressions in blood on the floor. “Partial palm print. Shoe tread dragged sideways. These straight lines of ribbing are from a sweater.”
“The partial palm print could help when we get a suspect.”
“The specialist said when we have a suspect to request his glasses and belts. They often throw out clothing, but people keep their glasses. They might hand-wash their glasses, but they rarely get all the blood off—if they even think of it. Same with belt buckles. Shoes too. She also said that washing clothes isn’t foolproof and that luminol can unmask flecks of dried blood that even a microscope can miss.”
“There were blood drops outside. Were they Rod’s?”
“No. Those are from our mystery bleeder.”
“Either Sophia or our killer. I hope Rod did some damage to him.” Evan thought for a second. “Can’t they test the blood to see if the person is related to Rod? Some sort of DNA-typing technology?”
“They could. That takes time, though. And if it was confirmed that it’s Sophia, I don’t think that will change our investigation tactics at all.”
“True.”
“I followed up on Ian Martin’s plane ticket to Boston,” said Noelle. “It was purchased Friday afternoon.”
“He bought the ticket the day before the flight?” Evan didn’t like it.
“Maybe that’s normal for him. That’s something we can confirm with his boss today.” She frowned, looking at their whiteboard. “I keep coming back to Charlie Graham. Even though Lori checked his alibi, I still feel he has the personality and motivation.”
The man hadn’t left Evan’s mind either. He sifted through his email, remembering that O’Brien had said that Rod was tailing Graham. “I think I saw a 35-millimeter camera on Rod’s desk, and I’m checking to see if it was collected as evidence. I’d like to know if Rod took any pictures and which might show us where Charlie has been hanging out.” He scanned the list of items from Rod’s office, and his gaze locked on a line. “Got the camera!” He immediately sent an email, requesting all the camera’s photos and video taken within a few weeks before and after St. Patrick’s Day.
“Do we need to talk to Graham again?” asked Noelle.
“I think he’s said all he’s going to say unless we show up with some evidence in hand.”
Someone knocked at the door, and Detective Maxine Nelson stepped inside. “Evan? What are you doing here?” Shock filled her tone. “I thought ...” She let the statement hang.
“I already questioned him about the fire,” said Noelle. “He wants to work.”
Maxine stared at him for a long second. “Okay ... I understand that. It’s a distraction from what happened. Is Rowan all right?”
Evan reassured her that Rowan was fine and in good hands with her family.
Maxine didn’t look convinced. “I’ve got a decent-sounding tip on a Sophia sighting.”
“What is it?”
“This morning I went to the construction area behind Sophia’s home, hoping to catch some of the workers to question.”
“The area where Thor lost the scent?” asked Noelle.
“Yes. Anyway, one of the men said he had come back on Friday night after work because he’d left his sunglasses—he thought it was close to ten p.m. He said there was a sedan parked in the cul-de-sac with someone behind the wheel—he couldn’t tell if it was male or female. And they were wearing a ball cap. He’d thought it was odd and figured someone was drinking or smoking pot. He parked up the street and got his glasses. When he’d returned to his truck and was about to leave, he noticed a woman walk up to the car and get in. He said she had dark hair.”
“He didn’t worry that someone was messing around at the site? There’s some heavy machinery there.”
“He said all the big equipment was where they’d left it earlier in the day. And he knew there was nothing smaller that could be stolen. After seeing the woman, he assumed it was some sort of romantic meetup.”
“Did he see them leave?”
“Sort of. He noticed it appeared they were leaving when he stopped to turn onto the main road.”
“Did he give any details on the woman or car?”
“Not really. He thought the sedan might have been silver or a light color. Said it was a small four-door. Couldn’t tell make.”
Evan met Noelle’s gaze and could tell she’d had the same thought. Archie Crook’s obnoxious mother had a small silver Corolla in her garage. Noelle’s forehead furrowed. “That doesn’t make sense,” she said to Evan. “We asked about Archie’s whereabouts on Friday night to see if he had anything to do with Rod at the junkyard. What would the Crooks have to do with Sophia?”
“Crooks?” asked Maxine, looking confused.
“Archie Crook and his mother,” said Noelle. “He was an old case of Rod’s that went to prison and now is out.” She looked at Evan again. “But neither of us felt them for it.”
“No.” Evan wondered if he’d made a mistake. “Any chance the construction worker felt the driver was a large person?” he asked Maxine. “Both Archie and his mother are ... larger than average.”
“He didn’t.” Maxine thought for a moment. “He said he was unsure if the driver was male or female. I’d think he’d automatically wonder if it was female because of the driver’s size? Meaning women are generally smaller, so he thought a woman was possible. Am I making sense?”
“Yes,” said Evan. “But also making assumptions about his impression of the driver.”
“True. Want me to go back out there and see if I can get something more?”
“Yes,” said Evan. “Make sure not to lead his responses.”
“Got it.” She turned to leave.
“Hang on, Maxine,” said Evan. The mention of Archie Crook had reminded him that he wanted to revisit the cases in Rod’s filing cabinet. Maxine had been the investigator on one of them. “Did you review the Sorelli case from eight years ago?”
“I did.” Maxine frowned. “Tony Sorelli did some time for armed robbery. He’s out now. I read everything thoroughly, and I can’t see why Rod would have a copy of the case. He had absolutely no involvement.”
“Tony in town?” asked Noelle.
“No. He’s in Idaho.”
“Not that far,” said Evan. “But we’re looking for someone focused on Rod.”
“I didn’t see anything that would point Tony at Rod.” Maxine lifted her hands in a “Who knows?” gesture. “I’ll let you know what I find out from the construction worker.” She left the office.
“I want to ask Sam Durette about his investigation in Rod’s filing cabinet too,” said Evan. He went to add the task to his list. “Shit. It’s already on there. This is the reason I write things down.” He rubbed his forehead and wondered how many important things he’d forgotten.
“I immediately write things down,” said Noelle. “I have little faith in my memory these days.”
Evan’s cell phone rang. “Bolton.”
It was a dispatcher.
Sophia’s car had been found.