Chapter 58
FIFTY-EIGHT
McGaven arrived at the police impound just as John showed up to help his forensic technician. It was like a garage except there were a few stalls like those used for auto painting or when dissecting and searching a vehicle for evidence that was involved in a crime scene.
“How is it going?” said John as he grabbed a protective jumpsuit and booties, quickly putting them on.
“We’re getting more information and unfortunately another body,” said McGaven.
“In this business, that means you’re making progress,” said John with a grim expression.
“Katie says it’s changing up the game,” said McGaven with a smile. He paused, then added, “I don’t mean to get personal, but is she okay?”
“That is a personal question,” said John as he laughed. “You’re her partner. She confides in you.”
“I know and we’re close, but you know she holds a few things so close she doesn’t let anyone know about them.”
“She does. We all have secrets when it comes to emotions and tough things we’re dealing with.” John looked at McGaven. “Don’t worry, she’s dealing with it. If there’s ever anything I think you need to know about—I’ll tell you.”
McGaven nodded. He knew Katie was in good hands and he respected John. He’d proven to be an excellent forensic scientist and solid backup when things got dicey—proving his expertise and friendship many times over.
“Grab a suit and you can join in all the fun,” said John.
“Oh boy.” McGaven suited up.
A police officer arrived with several plastic packages of evidence. John signed for the items to maintain the chain of custody.
“What’s all that?” asked McGaven.
“I had a rush on Tyler Brandt’s clothes and personal items.”
“Great.”
Katie updated the board with the new crime scene location. There had to be something that connected the locations. She tried to figure it out from their evidence and not just her hunches. There was always a method to a killer’s madness.
She shed some of her tactical gear and was just wearing a T-shirt and pants.
It was much more comfortable; she could move around with ease.
Looking at the large map of Pine Valley and the bordering town of Rockview, she tried to see the reasoning, psychological mindset and motivation of the killer.
She couldn’t quite make sense of it, but she knew it wasn’t random.
The first thing that was clear was that the killer thrived on control of a situation and power over someone’s life or death. He taunted the police and seemed to have the skills to stay ahead of them, like he was leaving breadcrumbs for them to follow.
One of her first questions was why he had addressed her specifically. He used “Katie,” not Detective, not Detective Scott, or even Katie Scott. He was trying to bridge the gap between killer and cop, to make it a closer relationship or friendship. But why?
Katie paced in front of the board, which seemed to help her think. They had some of the most typical information used in an investigation, which made it even more frustrating that they couldn’t pinpoint how to catch the killer or to lure him out.
A lure…
She knew McGaven, John, and the sheriff wouldn’t like what she was thinking.
But if they wanted to catch the killer, they could use Katie as a means to entice him into the open.
It would be intimate and that was what he wanted.
They wouldn’t go for it, but if they waited much longer, another woman would no doubt be abducted and Patricia’s time would already be up.
Katie studied the manufactured home once more—looking at it up close and the clever hiding place for the dismembered human limbs.
Why? What was the purpose? It didn’t seem logical that there would be a barricade at that home, at the time it was storing severed body parts, or that the detectives would be shot at accidentally the one time they went back to check the scene, and that the deeply forgotten homes in Rockview would be connected to one another.
But there had to be a thread—something that made them fit neatly together.
But what?
Katie moved closer to the photograph of the metal hardware that had attached Shelby to the tree—to obviously keep her in a sitting position. Was it for effect? Was it a way the killer could keep control? Or was it a crucial piece to the puzzle?
Katie studied the Bates house next and considered how it was put together. Manufactured homes were made of prefabricated sections that were put together…
She stopped breathing a moment. Looked again at the large metal fastener.
She ran to Gav’s desk and rifled through the pages about the makeup of those houses.
She had it. Hardware pieces like the one used on Shelby, like the other they’d found near the mud trap, were used in the building of those premade structures. And they could easily be put together by a contractor or someone in the construction business.
She needed to go through those lists of license holders.
McGaven stood at a table and began taking Tyler’s clothes out of the bags.
There was a pair of men’s blue jeans covered in dried blood.
He checked the pockets and found a small wallet with a driver’s license, two credit cards, and some gift cards.
In another pocket there was a bundle of twenty-dollar bills—totaling six hundred dollars.
It seemed odd for a young man working in a restaurant as a server or in the kitchen—having that amount of money didn’t fit with what you would expect him to have.
It could have been a payment from the killer.
Just like the money given to Casey Day and his friend to shoot at the manufactured home at a precise time.
McGaven searched the blue T-shirt and shoes, but they didn’t reveal anything more.
“Hey, Gav,” called John from the car stall.
McGaven moved to the car. Eva walked over to meet both of them, holding a bloody knife.
“Found it under the driver’s floor mat,” she said.