Chapter 19
It was midafternoon by the time we reached Dave’s office. I’d called on our way back, explained what we had, and emphasized the urgency of giving us his medical opinion and extracting a DNA sample to see if it popped on CODIS.
I knew from reading that by using the right technique, prints could be retrieved from decomposed or decaying fingertips. It was unfortunate that Jane Doe’s fingertips had been removed, so checking for a match on IAFIS was impossible.
If anything led us to believe that Jane and Beth’s cases were related, we would take on the whole investigation.
A serial killer was either making the rounds and dumping bodies and body parts along Lake Michigan’s shorelines—including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan—or he was focusing on the Wisconsin waters only and had to be somewhat local.
Until we knew more, we had to press Bill Gavin and his team of detectives to work the marina angles hard.
If they needed to go beyond the twenty-five-mile range north and south of Milwaukee, they should.
With Jane’s discovery, I thought it imperative that they did.
After we passed off the arm to Dave, he said he would have the DNA extracted and a report completed before six p.m. If we had to stay late that day, we would in order to get the DNA information into the hands of our forensic lab.
They would use the rapid DNA-profiling method, and by morning, we would know whether we had a DNA match in CODIS or not.
Back at FBI headquarters, Renz and I went directly to Taft’s office to report in. We were excited and anxious to learn the DNA results. If nothing showed up in CODIS, we would still move forward with the investigation and tell the PD to start calling the marinas north of Sheboygan.
We had a few hours of waiting ahead, and it wasn’t yet five o’clock, when most office employees at car dealerships went home.
We had been sidelined from our calls earlier when the email from the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office came in.
With only five Toyota dealerships each to contact, we had time to make those calls, ask about the 2026 white Camry XSE, and find out if any were sold and, if so, to whom.
With fresh cups of coffee in front of us for renewed focus, Renz and I got busy. I couldn’t see the calls taking more than an hour. One of those dealerships had to be the one. With the right information, we could break the case wide open.
Forty minutes in, I was on my third call and hadn’t found anyone who had purchased a white Camry XSE.
Other Camrys were sold—base models, mostly—and only a few XSEs were sold at those three dealerships.
I was told that even with a fancy name like Wind Chill Pearl, white wasn’t a preferred color.
Disappointed, I hung up and waited for Renz to tell me how his search was going.
With only two more dealerships left to call, I didn’t feel as confident as I had earlier.
Renz finally ended his conversation.
With my chin propped on my fist, I stared at him. “Well?”
He groaned—not a good sign.
“I’ve made two calls so far, and out of both locations, only one 2026 Camry XSE was sold, but it was gray.”
My eyes bulged from the epiphany that had just popped into my head.
“What if the car is a rental? Think about it, Renz. If that killer is actually a serial killer, why would he drive around in his own vehicle, especially if he knows he’ll likely be seen on camera somewhere?
He would be an idiot to do that, and it would be easy to track him down using DMV information.
There’s always a trail left behind, even if he did swap out plates.
We should contact the FBI field offices along coastal cities in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. ”
Renz raised his hands as if to throttle my excitement. “All good ideas, Jade, but there would be a trail with a rental car too.”
I gave him my best scowl as I picked up my phone. “Might as well finish these calls then revisit the rental car idea.”
“Yeah, okay. Let’s get it over with. It did seem like a good idea when I thought of it.”
“It was a good idea, Renz, but maybe not the right one.”
Within a half hour, we were finished. Camrys were popular cars, but it was the LE that sold the most, and white wasn’t a highly desired color.
I slapped my hands together. “There, that’s done.” I waited for Renz to say something, and after thirty seconds of silence, he did.
“Do you have any idea how many car rental agencies there are in Milwaukee, let alone the entire state and three others? That’s if the perp is even from this area. He could have driven here from who knows where and decided to make Lake Michigan his dump site.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Renz. Remember, he has a boat.
The marina personnel would have his name, a copy of his driver’s license, car description, plate number, home address, and phone number.
If that car is a rental, then the fastest way to track him down is still the marinas.
Maybe you, me, and the PD should all work together on that. ”
“We’ll talk to Taft about it tomorrow.”
I followed Renz’s eyes to the wall clock. “Dave should be done by now, shouldn’t he?”
“Yep. Let’s give him a call. If he’s done, we can pick up the sample, bring it back here, and have the lab get started on it. The marinas will have to wait until tomorrow too. I doubt that any office personnel are hanging around after five o’clock.”
After pushing back my chair, I walked to the door. “Go ahead and call Dave, then. I’ll run down the hall and tell Taft that the dealership calls were a bust.”
Renz picked up his phone as I left our office.
A minute later, I gave Taft’s door a rap, and she called out to come in.
I smoothed my slacks then entered. “Do you have a second, boss?”
“Sure. Have a seat, Jade.”
I nodded a thanks, let out a slow sigh, then began.
“We didn’t have any luck with the Toyota dealerships, and we went with a fifty-mile radius around downtown Milwaukee.
Apparently, white isn’t the most popular color.
That being said, it is a common rental car color, plus the car is a 2026 model.
Car rental agencies always use the newest-year vehicles. ”
“Hmm.” Taft rattled a pencil against her desktop calendar. “Not a bad theory, Jade. Did you come up with that idea?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nice work. The problem is, there are hundreds of rental car agencies all over the state and beyond. Most of them buy the cars direct from the automakers in bulk fleets. The vehicles wouldn’t be listed on the DMV database under anyone’s name other than the rental car company.
” Taft shook her head. “It almost seems like an impossible task to find out which agency rented a white Camry XSE to a man whose name we don’t even know. ”
“I understand, so now what?”
“We have a female arm and a leg, and they didn’t come from the same woman, given the fact that Beth has only been missing since Saturday night. They both washed ashore in Lake Michigan.”
I nodded with each fact that Taft presented.
“Dave has the arm?”
“Yes, and Lorenzo is calling him now to see if he’s done extracting the DNA.”
“And what will that tell us?”
I rubbed my brow. Taft had me on the hot seat. “It’ll tell us if the Beth and Jane Doe cases are related, for one.”
“And what else?”
“If Jane is in CODIS. We can’t check on IAFIS since she doesn’t have any fingertips. Nobody has recently reported anyone missing in the Two Rivers or Manitowoc areas.”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“I agree and told the Two Rivers PD that.” I noticed a slight smile cross Taft’s lips.
“Let me chew on it for a while. When will the forensic lab have the test results?”
“They said in the morning.”
“Okay, we’ll revisit this in the morning. How long are you and Lorenzo staying?”
“Until Dave says he’s done and we deliver the sample to the lab.”
“Thank you, Jade, and I promise I’ll have answers for you and Lorenzo tomorrow.”
I left Taft’s office and returned to my own. Renz wasn’t on the phone, so I assumed he had already spoken with Dave. “So? Is Dave done?”
“Yep. Wanna go for a ride?”
“Of course. I’ll let the lab know they should have the sample within an hour. Pick me up by the back door.”
It would take twenty minutes to reach the medical examiner’s office. According to Renz, Dave would have the sample ready and waiting for our arrival. We would immediately take it to our headquarters and downstairs to the forensic lab.
I couldn’t wait until tomorrow, when we would hopefully learn something about Jane Doe and whether she or the killer had any connection to Beth’s case.