Chapter 50
FIFTY
Katie and McGaven came back to the police department wanting immediately to update their murder board. The deputies were still searching the surrounding area, and John had a lot more to document and collect. Eva was called in to dust for prints, which was going to be a huge undertaking.
Katie had wanted to stay at the scene, but there were so many moving parts, she thought it was better to be updated throughout the day and move through all the puzzle pieces back at the office.
“I’m going to order pizza,” said McGaven. “Trust me?”
“Of course. Extra pepperoni, please. I think we’re going to be here for a while,” said Katie.
“The boxes of paperwork will be arriving soon. Chris said he would bring them.”
“Great.”
Katie thought about the killer. Now they had seen what he looked like and how he moved. The new crime scene remained a bit of a mystery, but it was still telling them about their unidentified man.
“Okay, what do we know now?” she said standing in front of the investigation board with her hands on her hips. It was her battle stance; she intended on making progress and finding a new lead that would take them closer to apprehending this man.
McGaven put down his phone. “That explains it.”
“What?”
“That attorney, Jake Devaroux, doesn’t exist. There never was an attorney.”
“Interesting.”
“Yeah, but annoying.” He printed something from his computer. “This is the face of Martin Sills.” He put it on the board near the pinpoint of the crime scene on the map. The fifty-two-year-old man had a receding hairline, a rounded face, was clean shaven, and looked like an average guy.
Katie added to the killer’s profile and highlighted the new information.
Killer’s Profile:
General Assessments:
Expanded power and control type—more violent tendencies than just control. He wants control of another person’s body.
Lonely.
Understimulated. Overstimulated by everything going on around him. He seems to be watching the world instead of being a part of it.
Empty.
Has control of their bodies.
Unable to express feelings.
Making an example when crossed. Feeling wronged and lashing out.
Unable to express feelings in an appropriate and healthy way.
Possibly a self-mutilator. Fighting the deep inner feelings of low self-worth.
What we know:
A man was seen to be watching the yoga studio from the coffee house.
He targeted Katie with the first dismembered appendage—finger.
Tyler said there was a man who sometimes watched him and Shelby at the hotel—specific or random? A lie. Seems to be working with man.
Shelby was grabbed or lured by the killer away from her home. No indication of a struggle or anything out of the ordinary at Shelby’s house.
Shelby had a boyfriend (Tyler) and a boss (Cindy), who rented the house to her.
Dismembered parts found at the home of a criminal in Rockview. Who left them there? The killer or someone working with him? Is there more than one person??? Tyler? Martin Sills?
Patricia Kahn abducted in front of yoga studio. Camera view obscured.
Shelby’s arm left at Heritage crime scene.
Trap set up near the Heritage crime scene where we almost lost Cisco.
Deputy Chris Anderson attacked by Tyler. Tyler on the run.
Killer watched Katie and McGaven at the hotel. Kept them on a wild goose chase.
Scene at cabin on Bella Lane near Heritage crime scene.
“That’s what we have so far,” said McGaven.
“I think we’re going to find Tyler’s—”
“Body.” McGaven finished Katie’s thought.
“I hate it when you do that.”
“What?”
She laughed. “Finish my sentence.”
“Get used to it; we’re partners.” He smiled.
“We know quite a bit about this killer, but we can’t seem to zero in on him. And that’s what concerns me. Each crime scene is escalating in the horror category,” she said. “There has to be something here to help us.” Katie scanned the board even though she knew every word by heart.
“Maybe we’re looking at it with too much effort?” he said.
“Meaning?”
“Let’s look at each incident without everything else.
For now, the other scenes are white noise.
If we examine each scene or event separately, we can see what’s missing from them.
It’s like we’re spending all our time on a giant jigsaw puzzle trying to make all the pieces fit, only to find out there are several pieces missing. ”
“Partner, I don’t know how you come to these epiphanies.” She said it jokingly but Katie was impressed. Gav had a point—a really good point.
“Okay. And I have another idea. The finger,” he said. “Just play whatever word pops into your head…”
Katie wasn’t sure what he meant or if it was going to be productive, but she was going to join in.
“Finger.”
“Taunt police. Like pointing a finger at us.”
McGaven nodded. “Arm at Heritage.”
“I’m here and you can’t catch me.”
“Cisco rescue.”
Katie flinched a little bit. “I can get to you and your dog.”
“Shelby.”
“Victim.”
“Patricia.”
“I can get to any woman I want,” she said.
“The cabin.”
“I’m going to make your life pure hell.”
“Martin Sills.”
“Expendable.”
“Attorney Devaroux.”
“Ha ha, faked you out.”
“The hotel.”
Katie paused. It was so multifaceted what had happened—and her behavior had been more than reckless.
“The hotel,” he repeated with a serious expression, watching Katie.
“I’ve been watching you and you can’t catch me.”
McGaven leaned back in his chair.
“So what was the purpose of that?” she said.
“I pulled out aspects to this case that you made immediate responses to—so now you’re in his head.”
Gav was right. “I’ve been thinking about the killer. He seems to have knowledge about construction, specialized hardware, bone-cutting devices, and how to dismember a body.”
“Your point?”
“When you sell specialized things like these you have to have a license. And if you’re in construction, you have to have a license.”
“I get where you’re going, but…”
“Run a list of license holders and their addresses and see what shakes out,” she said.
He let out a noisy sigh. “On it. It will take time…”
“Great.” Katie turned to the murder board and studied everything again. This time she seemed to see things a little bit differently. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she began looking at each scene individually, trying to see what was missing before pulling things together.
The wordplay game with McGaven had helped. He knew she was fading and not seeing things the way of a cold case detective. But she was now.
Katie turned to her partner. “Thanks, Gav. For those suggestions.”
“You’re welcome, partner.” He paused. “But, Katie, there’s something that scares me.”
Katie had never heard McGaven say he was scared. “What?” she asked, almost not wanting to know.
“He’s fixated on you. Don’t you see that? I think—now bear with me—his greatest objective is coming for you.” McGaven said this with seriousness; no jokes or making light. “You hear me?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Your safety has to be our priority.”
Katie nodded. “I agree. Thank you.”
McGaven looked relieved. “My pleasure. I want my partner back to her old self… and safe.”
“Special delivery,” said Chris as he toted two boxes into the office, each with a chain of custody and red taping. “Where do you want them?”
“Right there in the corner,” said Katie. “Great, they released them quickly.”
“I think there’s a pizza delivery upstairs too,” said the deputy.
“I’ll get it,” said McGaven. “You got the rest of the boxes?”
“No problem.”
McGaven and Chris left Katie alone in her thoughts. The quiet solace seemed to give her calm instead of the chaos that had been trying to bring her down and off her game. She was determined now to recharge and refocus to work this investigation before more lives were destroyed.