CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
C HAPTER T WENTY -F IVE
Bree stared at the murder board while she waited for Shillings.
How could the Masons’ murders and Dallas Sawyer’s accident possibly be related? Then again, how could they not? Was it a coincidence that three deaths circled around one girl? Bree’s head spun with the possibilities. But there was no point in speculating. The investigation had uncovered one bizarre turn after another.
Matt entered the conference room. Shillings joined them a few minutes later, eyed the murder board, and slapped a thick folder on the table. “Dallas Sawyer’s death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner, but when we discovered a child was missing and we never found any sign of her, I had my doubts. How does a kid disappear without leaving as much as a mitten behind? Anyway, I unofficially kept his case open in my mind even as it was declared cold by the powers that be. Those doubts were reinforced when we discovered an open FBI investigation into Dallas Sawyer.”
“FBI?” Bree asked.
Shilling nodded. “Dallas Sawyer was one of the partners in a start-up tech company called Wall Digital Technology. The FBI suspected the company was a front for a ransomware-scareware scam. They’d target seniors with pop-up messages on their computers alerting them to fake viruses that could only be removed with their software, Safety Sweep. You’d be surprised how many people fall for that. But the FBI could never prove he was behind it. People are reluctant to report these kinds of scams because they either don’t know they were scammed or don’t want to admit it. When you factor in spoofing, anonymous email servers, and a jumble of shell companies, it’s hard to prove who is doing what.” She paused for a breath. “Right after Dallas died, the tech company headquarters burned to the ground. Every piece of hardware was destroyed in the fire, including the backup servers. After that, the case went nowhere. The FBI suspected Sawyer’s partners were foreign and took the operation completely overseas.”
“Must have been a hell of a fire to conveniently destroy all potential evidence,” Bree said. Most modern buildings had fire-suppression systems and alarms.
“Right?” Shillings asked. “Fire department response was rapid, but the place fucking melted like wax. Not surprisingly, an accelerant was found, and the fire was ruled arson. The owners blamed a competitor, but no one was ever charged.”
Matt asked, “But you never tied Claire’s disappearance to the FBI investigation?”
“No,” Shilling said.
“What was Sawyer’s cause of death?” Bree asked.
“He bled to death. He had a chunk of glass lodged in his neck. There was a broken bottle of green juice shattered in the vehicle. The ME theorized he was lifting the bottle when the accident occurred, and the airbag propelled it into him. Shards sliced his face and neck in the accident. His carotid was severed.” She opened her file and pulled out accident photos. She tapped on one showing the interior of the vehicle. “You can see the extra shards here.” Below the collapsed airbag, glass shards and blood covered the seat. “And the fatal piece here.” She pointed to an autopsy photo showing the piece of glass sticking out of the victim’s neck. “This is what having a glass bottle between you and an airbag inflating at two hundred miles per hour can do.”
Airbags saved countless lives, but they weren’t perfect. The force with which they deployed could break ribs, facial bones, even an arm if the driver’s hand was resting on top of the wheel. Anything between the airbag and driver was a potential projectile.
Shillings continued. “The missing person case went cold almost immediately. Actually, it started cold and stayed that way. One of the most frustrating cases of my career. I’m due to retire next year. I’m thrilled that Blaire was found, but I want to know how she ended up with Josh and Shelly Mason. Every cop has that one case they’d sacrifice a body part to solve. This is mine.”
“We’d also like to know how the Masons were involved,” Bree said. “And if it somehow ties to their murders.”
“We need to start by looking for connections between the Masons and Dallas Sawyer,” Shillings agreed. “I’ll show pictures of the Masons to Mrs. Sawyer. Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll recognize them. I’m also going to reach out to the FBI agent who handled the Dallas Sawyer case. I’ve spoken with him before about the case. I’ll include you in any communication and keep you updated.” She gestured toward her folder. “I’ll email you copies of everything.”
“We appreciate that,” Bree said. “We’ll keep working the Masons’ murder case. I’ll update you if we find any link between Dallas Sawyer and the Masons, but so far, Claire is the only connection.”
“If these cases aren’t connected, it’ll be stranger than if they are,” Shilling said on her way out the door.
“I agree.” Matt added the information they’d received about Dallas Sawyer’s death to the side of the murder board. “I’ll make this a sidebar, since we don’t know how or if it’s related to the Masons’ murders.”
“If it’s a coincidence, it’s a big, fat one.” Bree was not a big believer in coincidences, especially not in murder cases. “I’m going to ask Dr. Jones to have a look at Dallas’s autopsy.”
“You think he was murdered?”
“I don’t know,” Bree said. “But the cause of death is unusual.”
“The accident could have been caused by someone. It’s not that hard to run a vehicle off the road. Maybe they didn’t even want to kill him, just give him a warning. Given Dallas’s suspected criminal activity, it isn’t a stretch to think someone could have wanted to threaten or kill him.”
“But did the same person kill Josh and the Masons?”
“We need more information from the FBI to find a link between them, but that is a possibility. Considering the Masons had the Sawyers’ daughter, it’s also possible that they killed Dallas.”