Chapter 6
As the lead daytime homicide detective, Bill gathered with the captain, Richard Greenburg, and the team of detectives to pass on the conversation he’d had with Dave Mann. He planned to fill them in on Dave’s initial opinion.
“Listen up, everyone. First, the leg didn’t belong to either woman who was reported missing.
That leg has a medical scar on it, and neither woman had a medical procedure on their right leg.
Second, the storm could have washed the limb ashore from nearly anywhere along the Lake Michigan coastline.
And third, according to Dave Mann, the woman was likely killed on Friday or Saturday night. ”
Greenburg raised an eyebrow. “Because?”
Bill grinned. “Because her leg was freshly shaved. I’m not kidding.
That’s what Dave said, and he has a good theory behind it.
Most women shave their legs when they’re dressing up and going out for the night.
Makes sense to me. That’s why he suggested Friday or Saturday night, the night most people go out on the town. ”
Bill’s partner, Tina Redmond, chuckled. “Dave is a smart guy.” She cleared her throat. “He acts more like a detective than half of you slackers.”
She was jeered by the group, but it was all in jest.
The captain slapped his hands together. “Easy enough. Contact every marina and public launch site and find out who has been there at night over the last few days.”
“But public launch sites aren’t usually manned and don’t have cameras,” Bill said.
“Some do and some don’t. That’s what the internet is for.
” The captain glanced at his watch. “Let’s not waste the day.
Get busy and find out from the police departments in towns within a fifty-mile radius if they have missing women with surgical scars along their right knee or if they’ve found dismembered body parts. ”
“Hold up, Cap. According to Dave, he couldn’t say for sure if that limb was actually cut off or if the entire body was thrown in the water and the fish picked at it. Some of those large fish have sharp teeth. He said there were plenty of scrapes on the femur. Even the toes were chewed on.”
“Okay, okay, I get the picture. Ask anyway. Marinas, boat launches, missing women with a scar on her right leg, and found body parts. There’s five of you on the clock. I want information before the end of the day.”
Everyone headed to their desks and got busy.
Bill and Tina looked up the records of women who had gone missing in the last week.
Nobody knew if the woman had been missing longer than that and killed only in the last few days, yet they had to start somewhere.
They would look at towns within fifty miles, and if something raised a red flag, they would call that town’s police department for more information.
The other three detectives would call marinas and boat-launch sites in cities along the Wisconsin coastline that were within twenty-five miles north and the same distance south of Milwaukee.
An hour of mumbling, cursing, and silence passed. Several detectives got up, filled their coffee cups, then got busy again.
“Hey, I might have something,” Tina said after digging deeper into a particular missing woman.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
“This woman was reported missing from Milwaukee on Sunday when she didn’t return to the apartment she was sharing with a coworker.”
“So let’s go interview the coworker.”
“That might be tough. They’re night workers, if you know what I mean, and the coworker, Leah Barnes, is probably sound asleep.”
“Who cares?” Bill said. “Let’s shake her butt out of bed.”
“But why didn’t she show up on the missing persons website with the other women from five days back?” Detective Vasquez asked.
“Because she wasn’t in the system yet.”
“What makes her stand out from the other missing women in other counties?”
Tina cocked her head. “Really, Joe? Night workers are the least important missing women cops care about. They’re either strung out somewhere, sleeping it off at some homeless encampment, or staying overnight with the john.”
Bill sighed. “What’s her description, and does she have a surgical scar along her knee?”
“The report says she had scars on both legs, something about falling off her bike constantly when she was a kid. Maybe the roommate thought they were scars from skinned knees.”
“Okay, and the obvious question is what was her race.”
“Caucasian.”
Bill gave Vasquez a nod. “Call the marina and get all of the footage and the names of everyone who swiped their key card over the weekend.”
“On it.”
“Now, back to that roommate. Do you have the address?”
“Yep, she lives on West Scott Street.”
“Why not pass that chore onto the second district?”
Tina rolled her eyes. “Because the leg was found in our district. It’s our case, Tommy.”
Bill pushed back his chair. “C’mon. Let’s go bang on her door.”
Within minutes, Bill and Tina were heading south on Sixth Street then turned west on Scott Street.
“It’s only a block from here.” Tina pointed at the row of upper and lower duplexes on her right. “It’s the tan one there.”
Bill parked along the curb. “Upper or lower?”
“Upper.”
After exiting the cruiser, they took the sidewalk to the stoop then rang the buzzer for apartment number 201. They waited for thirty seconds, then Bill rang again, that time pressing the buzzer even longer.
The upstairs street-facing window opened, and a woman yelled go away, but before she could slam it closed, Tina yelled back that they were detectives following up on the missing person report she’d filed.
They heard a groan, the window closed, then the sound of footsteps descending the stairs got louder. Finally, the door opened, and within that six-inch width of the door’s chain lock, the woman asked to see identification.
They obliged and were allowed in.
Upstairs, at the less than tidy kitchen table, they were instructed to take a seat. Leah lit a cigarette, sat, and gulped what looked to be cold coffee.
“What do you need to know that wasn’t in the police report?” Her eyes widened. “Or did you find Beth?”
Tina took the lead. “We haven’t found her yet, but we do need to know everything you can think of, even small things, about her description. We want to be sure it’s her when we locate her. There was mention of knee scars? On both legs?”
“Yeah. Both knees were scarred, but the right knee was more like a cut scar. I never made much of it. Kids fall down, scrape their knees, end of story.” Leah shrugged. “Beth never gave me a detailed explanation. It wasn’t important.”
“So tell us about the last time you saw her and when that was.”
“Saturday night around ten p.m. West Greenfield and Twenty-Third, but everyone knows that, even the cops.”
“True, but this isn’t our district,” Bill said.
Leah raised her right eyebrow. “Then why are you here instead of the local cops?”
Thinking fast, Tina cut in. “We’re assigned to work as many missing persons cases as we can and hopefully find the people.”
Leah nodded. “Well, I hope you can.”
“So, back to ten p.m.”
“Yeah, a white car pulled up, Beth headed to the passenger window when the guy lowered it, and they talked for a minute. She looked back at me, grinned, and said she’d see me later.”
“That’s it? Did you get a glimpse of the guy or what type of car it was?”
Frowning, Leah admitted that she hadn’t been paying attention. “Another car was slowing down, and I wanted my turn.”
“Do you remember if it was a sedan or a sports car, large or small, newer or older?”
“I don’t know. It was an average car. It wasn’t a Mercedes or anything like that.”
“That neighborhood has a mix of homes and businesses. Ever notice cameras around there?”
“I think there’s a few, especially at the gas station, but who knows if they’re only meant as a deterrent or if they actually work.”
“Is that where you work, in front of the gas station?”
“Mostly. The bright lights help the guys see us.”
“Would you recognize that white car if you saw the footage?”
“Sure. I’d see Beth walking over to it.”
“What was Beth wearing that night?” Bill asked.
“Here, I have a picture of her from Saturday.”
Tina pulled out her phone. “May I? And maybe grab a few full-body shots of Beth?”
“I guess so. I have a folder with a lot of pictures of her. Take your pick.” Leah opened the folder and allowed Tina to scroll through it.
After Tina got six close-up and full-length pictures of Beth, they thanked Leah and stood.
“We’ll need something to take with us that has Beth’s DNA on it.”
“Her toothbrush is here.”
“That’s perfect. Do you have a sandwich bag or something like that I can put it in?”
“Yeah. I’ll get one.”
Tina nodded a thanks, took the bag, then slipped the toothbrush in it and zipped it closed. “Here’s my card if you think of anything else that might help locate Beth. If we do find video footage, we’ll be back, or you can come to the station to view it.”
Leah snickered. “I’ll pass on the offer, but you’re welcome to come here.”
Before they left, Tina turned back. “How tall is Beth?”
Leah rubbed her chin. “Five foot seven, I think.”
“Okay. Can I have your phone number?”
“Sure, I suppose.”
Leah rattled off the number, and after thanking her again, they left.