Chapter 11
After discussing the PD’s case with Taft, Renz returned to our office.
I set down my pen and gave him my full attention. “So?”
“So Taft said we can pitch in to a degree.”
“Translation, please.”
“If the DNA matches, if there’ve been similar cases in the surrounding counties that we haven’t caught wind of yet, and if the tech geeks can figure out what kind of car the white sedan is, then we can help out.”
“So if we do the PD’s job for them, then we can continue doing it? Sounds like a good deal for them.”
Renz swatted the air. “Yesterday you said you were bored, now today you don’t want to pitch in with a dismemberment case?”
“No, I do, but it feels like we’re going to be the lead on this, not the PD. If that’s the case, then there isn’t much we need from them.”
An alert popped up on my laptop showing that a new email had come in. I opened it, and it was the video from Bill’s partner, Tina.
“The gas station video came in.”
“Great, let’s have a look.”
I grinned. “Oh, by the way, Bill said Dave Mann called him.”
“And?”
“And the DNA matches.”
Renz fist-pumped the air. “So, now there’s a real reason to dig deeper.
Beth Morrow deserves justice no matter what her profession was.
Besides that, what if there actually is a serial predator going after night workers?
Those girls are the throwaways that nobody cares about.
It’s time that the PD gives them as much attention as anybody else who was abducted under false pretenses and then murdered and tossed in the lake. ”
I grimaced. “Piece by piece.”
Renz scooted his chair closer to mine. “Okay, let’s watch the video, then I’ll make a few calls. I agree with you, though. The PD has to take the lead on this unless there’s enough evidence found to say this perp is a serial offender.” He nodded. “Go for it.”
I clicked on the video file, enlarged it to fit the laptop screen, then tapped the start arrow.
There was no audio that we could hear since the gas station’s mounted cameras were quite a distance from the street.
Less than thirty seconds into the footage, we saw the white sedan slow to a stop, and a blonde sauntered over to the lowered passenger-side window.
“He knows there are cameras at the gas station. He comes from the east so the driver’s side isn’t caught by the cameras. He’s in the shadows all the time.”
“Plus, what girl would run across a busy street to talk to a potential john?” Renz asked.
I laughed. “All of them, but you’re right, he’s deliberately hiding from the camera’s view. The question is, how many times has that car been to that very spot?”
Renz rubbed his chin. “Doubt that the ladies pay attention to that, especially if the perp has nefarious intentions. He’s not going to do much to attract attention to himself.”
“So what’s next?”
“We’ll go to the gas station and ask around but mostly to find out how long they keep their footage. We may have to go back a month to see if there’s a pattern of that car showing up.”
“Shouldn’t we have the tech guys take a look at this video first? Hopefully, they can figure out the car’s make and model.”
“Yep. Let’s pass the footage off to them. I’ll make a few calls, and you can do an online Wisconsin search for dismembered bodies going back six months.”
“Okay, I’ll send the video over then get started on that search.”
I emailed the video to our tech department and to the attention of John Torrez.
He was the daytime lead. The FBI’s tech geeks were the best in the nation, not to mention the fact that they had access to the best technology.
I was sure they would figure out the car’s make and model.
I told them to do their magic and more if they could.
With that done, I began a broad online search throughout the state of Wisconsin for murder victims who had been dismembered since the beginning of the year.
Once I had that information compiled, I would start a similar search targeting prostitutes only.
I was sure my results would be dramatically different with very little information coming up.
Like Renz had said, those women were throwaways, and the PD, no matter what city or state, had more important cases to work on.
Even though the case belonged to the PD, I had to admit that I loved every aspect of searching for the bad guys and getting them off the streets. The investigating gene passed down by my dad was imbedded deep in my blood—and Amber’s too.
With a cup of hot coffee in front of me, I scrolled through the pages of crime reports that had found their way to the online newspapers.
Renz would do the actual calling, and I had no idea what his process—or process of elimination—would be.
Making all of those calls seemed like a daunting task to make up for a hundred-dollar loan that he had already paid back.
I smiled at the thought of my all-time favorite partner.
In the FBI, it was hands down Renz, but back in the day, it was Jack Steele, my partner at the sheriff’s office, who remained my best male friend.
Always was my best bud and always would be.
Okay, enough going down memory lane. Get busy.
After thirty minutes, I still hadn’t had any luck. I pushed my parameters out to a year and found an article from Antigo, Wisconsin, where a woman’s dismembered body was found in a cornfield, but after I’d read the article, it turned out that the husband was guilty of the crime.
My groan caught Renz’s attention. He ended the call he was on and asked how it was going.
“Nowhere, that’s how it’s going. I think we need to talk to the people on the street and at the gas station while the tech department is working on the footage.”
“Okay, let’s go. We’ll stop by Taft’s office on our way out and let her know.”
We updated Taft on our plan, and she gave us the go-ahead.
“Make sure you’re back before the end of the day. I want to know if your time helping the PD makes a difference or not. The city isn’t paying your wages.”
I gave her a nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
As we walked through the parking lot to the assigned car we used when investigating local crimes, I asked Renz about his calls.
“I called Sheboygan County, Ozaukee County, Racine County, and Kenosha County sheriff’s offices.
They’re all counties with access to Lake Michigan.
They said they’d double-check with the local police departments and get back to me.
I told them to email you their findings or lack thereof, since you use your computer far more than I do.
An email doesn’t get missed like phone calls do.
As far as dismemberment murders during the last six months, they weren’t aware of any. ”
“Hmm. That doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, only that the body parts were never found.”
Renz chuckled. “Right. Just like there are thousands of murderers out there that have never been caught.”
I shuddered. “The thought of that gives me goose bumps. So, don’t you think somebody should let Beth’s family know she’s dead?”
“That’s the PD’s job.”
“Are we going to talk to the roommate? What was her name?”
“Leah Barnes, but I didn’t get her address.”
“Call Bill and ask. As long as we’re in that area, we might as well drop in on her too. Who knows? Our questions could be a lot different than what Bill and Tina asked her.”
Renz pointed his chin at my phone in the cup holder. “You call him. His number is already in your phone.”
“Yeah, okay.” I set my phone to Speaker and made the call. I gave Bill a quick update and said the tech department was working on the gas station footage and that if they could positively identify the car, I would let him know. “Anything new with the marina? White car, plate number?”
“Nope, not yet.”
“Okay, what I need now is Leah’s address. We’re heading to the gas station, going to talk to a few ladies if they’re milling around, then go to Leah’s house. Hopefully, she’s there.”
“Sure.” Bill rattled off the address on West Scott Street and said it was the upper unit.
I thanked him and ended the call. “So if we don’t have any luck in the field or from the callbacks from the other counties, then we’re done, right?”
Renz nodded. “Pretty much. If the tech guys can come up with a make and model of the white car, the PD can work that themselves. My commitment will be done.”
I laughed. “Feels more like our commitment.”
“Sorry, but you are my partner. Where I go, you go too.” Renz gave me a grin then merged onto the highway.