Chapter 17 #2
The petite young woman smiled. “I’ll get right on it after the meeting.”
Jude cleared his throat. “One last thing I want to update everyone on. Hayden worked on the potential boyfriend picture found at Kenna’s house yesterday.
There isn’t enough of a face for his facial recognition tools to work.
He did say Nick at the Veritas Center had better equipment and might produce a different result, so he forwarded the information to Nick. ”
Mina stood. “We don’t have any strong leads, and many of our early leads have dried up.
Could be time to go back to square one. Rebuild a minute-by-minute timeline.
Since people often remember new details, reinterview family, friends, witnesses.
Look for inconsistencies in statements that no longer line up.
Reassess whether the case is truly an abduction or something else. ”
“I can get started on that,” Ulrich said.
Mina gave a thumbs up to her detective then peered at Jude. “Could you work on a behavioral and psychological profile of Kenna James, including an analysis of her habits, routines, online behavior? Look at possible offender types, opportunistic versus targeted for this crime.”
One swift nod was all Jude offered. Everyone fell silent and continued to stare at him.
El cleared her throat. “Our biggest win right now would be to get those phone records we’ve requested. Tracking people’s last phone calls or texts can provide major leads.”
“Then let’s get out of here, people, and get this done.” Mina looked around the table, pausing longer on Jude than the others.
El had no idea what was going on with him, but he must’ve had a bad experience in the past and didn’t want to put himself out there with a detailed profile.
She wanted to respect that. Especially since she was going through the same thing, but Lucy needed him, and as the lead investigative officer, El would have to find a way to get him to come through for the sweet little girl.
The drive to Howard Mason’s place had been quiet and introspective for the first ten minutes, but Gabe had a bunch of questions he wanted to ask El before they arrived. No time like the present.
He glanced at her, posture perfect as she sat behind the wheel. “What do you think the guy in the black van meant when he said, ‘We need her to come through for us, and you’re gonna make sure that happens’?”
“We can speculate all we want, but the statement’s too vague to draw a solid conclusion.” Her answer had come quickly, as if she’d thought it through already.
Gabe wasn’t ready to let it go. “You’re probably right, but let’s say this is related to Kenna. That she’s the one who had to come through for him. What could he even be talking about?”
She flashed a quick look at him. “I know you don’t want to believe the rumors of her involvement in drug trafficking, but if she was involved, he could’ve been alluding to that.”
She was right. He didn’t want to think that. “If that’s true, and I’m saying it’s doubtful, the daycare director had to be involved too or she would’ve reported him to us.”
“Maybe not. It wouldn’t be unheard of to funnel drugs through a daycare with or without the director’s buy-in. It’s a place people trust and one that sees constant movement of adults, their bags, and vehicles. Makes it a very effective front or conduit for criminal activity.”
“But not activity that Kenna would be involved in. I’m certain of that.”
El fired a questioning look his way, but didn’t say anything.
He would move on for now. “What about the missing travel trailer? What do you make of that?”
She shrugged. “Stolen like the boat, maybe. Hopefully, we’ll find something at Mason’s place to help with that question.”
The GPS voice announced their destination on the right in a middle-class neighborhood with smaller and older homes that were well maintained and the lawns manicured.
She leaned forward. “Looks like we’re looking for the blue duplex ahead.”
She parked in front and didn’t waste any time, but charged up the sidewalk. Gabe appreciated her sense of urgency. Lucy had been gone for thirty-eight hours by now and every minute counted.
Gabe trailed her steps to the two-story duplex with faded blue paint and overgrown shrubbery. She had to give the door a hard bump with her hip to get it to open. The pungent odor of marijuana seeped out. The inside of the small place smelling even worse.
“Okay, not what I expected a former police officer’s house might smell like.” El pocketed the key. “But it’s legal here, and he’s free to smoke it or take it in any formula he wants as long as he doesn’t get on the road or commit a crime while under the influence.”
Gabe stepped further into the dark living room, the only light inching from the edges of closed blinds. He went to the long coffee table, stacks of papers piled high on top. He clicked on the overhead light then dropping onto a couch, he put on his disposable gloves.
El sat next to him. “If things go our way, he was working on these papers right before he died.”
Before she could touch anything, her phone rang. She answered. “Ulrich. Putting you on speaker with Gabe, too.”
Gabe rested the stack of papers he’d picked up on his knees and sat back to listen. Unless he had an urgent question, he would keep quiet.
“Just got the report on Mason’s autopsy,” Ulrich said.
“Interesting timing, since we’re sitting in his duplex.”
“Yeah. Dr. Briggs said he died somewhere between three and five days ago. Beyond that, we’d be looking more at estimates than facts.”
“Until we can get his phone processed, we can assume he was still alive on Tuesday around ten a.m. when his daughter talked to him. Did Faye find his cell?”
“In his pocket, but that means it spent a few days in the water. Still, I’ll pick it up and get it to Sierra today. Maybe it’ll give us vital information we need.”
“Let’s hope,” El said, but looked disappointed. “What was the cause of death?”
“Multiple stab wounds to vital organs including his heart. The wounds are about two centimeters wide on the surface, and the knife was most likely a single-edged blade. Probably somewhere between half an inch and an inch across.”
“A single-edge blade makes me think of a kitchen or pocketknife. I didn’t see any knives in the kitchen at the boathouse property, but I’d like you to check that out. Did she find a pocketknife on Mason?”
“None in the inventory. You thinking that could be our murder weapon?”
“His daughter described it as more of a penknife that he carried with him every day, but it’s possible.”
“Then where is it?” Ulich asked.
“We’ll keep an eye out for it here. You go back to the crime scene to look for it and other knives.”
“Will do but there’s one more thing. Mason had lung cancer. Dr. Briggs says his lungs showed advanced cancer. An extensive spread. She wouldn’t speculate on the time he had left, but it wasn’t long.”
“Wow.” She shared a look with Gabe. “How terrible for him, but how it affects our investigation remains to be seen. Call me after you finish searching the crime scene again.” She thanked Ulrich and ended the call.
“Crazy when his daughter said he didn’t smoke to avoid getting cancer and then he does,” Gabe said.
“Knowing he didn’t have long to live could make it easier for his family to accept his death.”
“Maybe, but death is final, no matter how it comes.” Feeling Kenna’s loss, he turned to the papers on his lap and started thumbing through them. “These are doctor’s reports and internet research about Small Cell Lung Cancer.”
“So he knew he was dying.” El grabbed another pile of papers.
“Mason highlighted lines that say it spreads fast and initially responds well to chemotherapy. Problem is, it quickly becomes resistant and returns. Survival rate is really low.”
“Exactly like Faye said.” El tapped the papers on her lap. “His will and a trust, recently signed. The cancer would explain why he set these up.”
“Those might not make the loss easier for his family to bear, but at least it’ll save a lot of hassles regarding his estate.” Gabe moved onto another pile. Surprised by the top page, he looked at El again. “You have to see this.” He handed her the document.
She studied it. “A Craigslist ad for his travel trailer.”
“Explains why it wasn’t at his lake house.”
Gabe fanned out the pages on his lap. “He listed many more items for sale.”
She continued to hold the travel trailer posting in her hand. “The cancer is a strong motivator for selling his possessions. Maybe he was getting ready to spend more time with his family instead of fishing, or he could’ve been getting rid of stuff to make it easier for Talia after he died.”
“This could also explain the large deposits in his checking account.” Gabe continued to flip through ads for other items and pulled one out to give to El.
“For his boat. Maybe our killer responded to the ad and met Mason at his boathouse with the intent of stealing it. Maybe even killing him so he didn’t have to pay. ”
“Or maybe the murder was a spur-of-the-moment thing and he took the nearest boat, killing Mason when he tried to defend it.”
“You could be right, but in that case, why go into the house and kill the dog?”
“I can’t explain that, other than he might not have done it. Could’ve been an accident and the dog jostled the bottom television, sending the stack tumbling. I’d much rather believe that than that we’re looking for a man who’d kill a defenseless dog.”
Gabe nodded and stood to look around the room, searching for any electronic devices, and failing. “If Mason kept emails he received for the boat sale, Hayden could potentially find the prospective buyers’ real identities.”
She waved the pages at him. “We need to get this info to him after we finish going through these piles and maybe that’ll be enough for him to go on.”
“I’ll start searching for Mason’s tablet.”
She set the papers on her lap. “I can request the data from Craigslist, too, but it’ll take a warrant, and companies like Craigslist are notoriously slow in providing users’ information.”
“No kidding, but we have to chase the lead down, no matter what it takes.” His gut said if they found the buyer for Mason’s boat, they’d find Kenna’s killer and Lucy’s abductor, but maybe he was oversimplifying things.
“I’ll do my best,” she said, “and I can be pretty persuasive.”
Something else she didn’t have to tell him. He’d witnessed it firsthand.
They separated, starting their house search in painstaking detail and in silence. Finally, finding nothing—including the tablet—they had to admit defeat and headed for the door.
El’s phone chimed. “Text from Sierra. She sent the new DNA results to my email.”
Gabe glanced at his watch. Nearly five. Time had slipped by while they were searching.
El quickly thumbed through a few screens, her hand trembling.
“Here we go. She starts with Kenna’s toothbrush and compares it to the other DNA.
It was found on her cell phone, Lucy’s pink sweatshirt, the car seat, the toy, and the shoe.
At the ravine, it was all over the handle of the screwdriver and in her prints from the boat.
And last, on the pregnancy test, the other DNA on that item is still processing. ”
“Really nothing new. It’s only confirmation of what we suspected.”
El nodded. “Next, she lists Lucy’s DNA, also found on the sweatshirt, the car seat, the unicorn, the bracelet, the shoe, and her prints on the boat. But here’s a new one. It was in the small blood sample recovered from the dock by the nail.”
Important news, but… “That confirms Lucy was there, but did Sierra find any other suspect’s names?”
“They located Mason’s DNA on the boat, but not on the Zippo lighter.
She says that belongs to an unidentified suspect whose DNA was also collected from the car seat, the child’s shoe, the blood outside Kenna’s van, and on her hand, plus on the screwdriver.
No other unidentified DNA except on the boat. ”
“So we’re looking for one suspect for all three crime scenes.”
“It also clearly tells us the boathouse is connected to Kenna’s murder and Lucy’s abduction.”
He squared his shoulders and met her gaze. “Then I need to get my team to work harder to find a connection between Kenna and Mason.”
“Finally.” She lifted her chin. “We have that elusive lead that could bring us the identity of Kenna’s killer and Lucy’s abductor.”
And Gabe could only pray that the abductor had not ended Lucy’s life.