CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
C HAPTER T WENTY -O NE
Facing the murder board, Matt leaned against the conference table. Behind him, Todd and Bree pored over reports and photos.
Matt waved his sandwich at the suspect column. “Could be worse. At least we have suspects.”
“Three of them.” Bree picked at her salad. “But our list is driven by motive. We’re sadly lacking in actual evidence.”
She flipped a page. “Let’s start with Peter Vitale. Where do we stand?”
Todd lifted his fingers from his keyboard. “He had a beef with Shelly Mason’s legal advice. He threatened her. He also has a gun, which we can’t use for a ballistics match because it’s missing. He claims it was stolen. According to him, the gun was last used at the range two weeks ago. This part we confirmed with the gun range.”
Bree leaned back and studied the board. “He has no alibi that can be verified. He has a tattoo on his bicep, but it’s a dragon, not a tiger.” She looked down at the paper in front of her. “His gun is a 9mm. The bullets used to kill the Masons and the bullets fired at Zucco and us were all 9mm, but that’s a very common caliber. So, by itself, that fact doesn’t prove anything. We don’t have a ballistics report on the bullets fired at us at the playground yet, but I’m willing to bet it’s going to match the others.”
“Do we have any evidence suggesting more than one suspect?” Todd asked.
“No,” Bree said. “But we can’t rule it out.”
“We’ve established Vitale had motive and opportunity,” Matt said. “But without his gun, we have no physical evidence that ties him to the murder scene. We have a partial shoe print, but we need something more to establish probable cause and obtain a warrant to search his house and check his shoe treads for a match.”
“Him having the wrong tattoo will not help get a warrant,” Todd said.
Bree agreed with a nod. “Let’s ask Vitale where he was Tuesday afternoon around lunchtime. So far, he’s been cooperative. Let’s hope he doesn’t lawyer up.”
Matt made a note on the board under Vitale’s name. “Next?”
Todd tapped on his keyboard. “Calvin Wakefield.”
Bree shuffled her papers. “Have we found a connection between Wakefield and the Masons?”
“Not yet,” Todd said. “Wakefield has a criminal record and had access to the vehicle that was seen outside the house the night of the murder.”
“That’s not enough,” Bree said. “Opportunity isn’t enough. We have no motive or evidence.”
Matt underlined the words no tattoo under Calvin’s name. “He doesn’t have a tattoo at all.”
Bree frowned. “We’ll keep him on the list as a potential accomplice, but not as our primary focus unless we establish a firm connection between him and the Masons. Next?”
Matt tapped the board. “Liam Ward. To me, he’s the strongest suspect. His mother works for the Masons. He and his mother both refused to say whether or not he knew Josh and Shelly. They also wouldn’t say whether or not Liam had ever been in the Masons’ house. Liam has a record for running a financial scam. The Masons also ran a financial scam. He dropped his mother at the Masons’ house the day of the murders.”
“Does he have a tattoo?” Bree asked.
“He was wearing sleeves when we interviewed him,” Matt said.
“We need to find out, but he won’t talk to us without a lawyer.” She pursed her lips, studying the board. “We can stake out Liam’s house and try to get a photo of him with his biceps exposed.”
“If he doesn’t have a tattoo?” Todd asked.
“Then we’ll start interviewing local tattoo artists and showing them Adam’s drawing. I have a connection there that might be able to help,” Bree said. “But let’s start with step one and work from there.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Todd left the room briefly to give the order.
When he returned a couple of minutes later, Bree continued. “Now, let’s go back to the Masons. Have you found any emails that relate to a threat or complaints about their fake charity or illegal legal services?”
“Not in recent emails. I’m going further back, but they kept their fraud low-key. They even provided fake receipts for tax deductions. I suspect the reason they weren’t caught is the low dollar amounts of each donation. We have the email addresses of thousands of donors, and we’re working our way through the list. But it’s going to take time.”
“No partners or business associates that you could find?” Bree asked.
“Not yet,” Todd said. “But we’re still digging. The Masons used shell companies to filter the money from the fake charity. It’ll take time to get warrants, receive financial records, and dig into everything.”
It could be weeks before they received all the information. Financial institutions were generally cooperative, but only after every legal requirement had been met. Their clients—rich people—had the resources to initiate lawsuits. Matt understood—law enforcement also needed detailed paperwork to ensure all evidence was admissible in the event of an eventual trial. But in the middle of a double homicide investigation, the time delay was frustrating. The suspect had already shot at them twice. They needed information sooner, not later.
Someone rapped on the door, and it opened. Marge walked into the conference room and closed the door behind her. “Sorry to interrupt, Sheriff. But Madeline Jager is here. She wants to speak with you. She knows you’re here.”
“It’s fine.” Bree exhaled hard. “I’ll be out in a minute to talk with her.”
“I’ll get her some coffee.” Marge withdrew.
Bree’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and read the screen. “It’s Rory. Let’s hope forensics has something for us. We need a lead like nobody’s business.” She pressed the phone against her ear. “Sheriff Taggert. Can I put you on speaker, Rory?”
“Sure,” Rory said.
Bree set down the phone and tapped the screen. “Go ahead. Matt Flynn and Todd Harvey are here with me.”
“So the rapid DNA results came back.” Rory hesitated. “The results are shocking—but then again, they’re not.”
“Tell us,” Bree prompted.
“Claire Mason is a missing child,” Rory said. “Her DNA matches that of Blaire Sawyer, who disappeared twelve years ago in Chandler, New York. Blaire was five at the time.”
Stunned, it took a few seconds for Matt to process what he’d heard. Then he checked the map on his phone. “Chandler is only an hour north of here.”
“That fits the timeline of her fake adoption by the Masons,” Bree said. “You’re right. It’s shocking, but then again, not. Thanks for rushing this.”
Matt reassessed. They already knew the Masons were criminals. Being involved in one more crime shouldn’t be surprising. But they’d been clever to keep their secret this long.
She ended the call and turned to Todd, who was already attacking the keyboard of his laptop. “I want to know everything about Blaire Sawyer, her biological family members, and how she went missing.”