Chapter 64
CHAPTER
“welcome back,” chief pittman said when the applause died down. He shook our hands and gestured to the stacks of reports that had accumulated in our absence. “Pick up your open cases for now. Miller and Mansion are officially closed.”
I sat down at my desk and considered the pile of documents.
I began to sort through the reports and quickly found forensics results from both of the Bulldog murder scenes and a copy of an extensive Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office report on the Brenda Miles crime scene, all of which had come in over the past few days.
I set these aside for deeper study and forged on, looking over various leads and tips.
Several pertained to the now-closed Miller and Mansion cases.
I scanned them but saw nothing to change my understanding of those murders.
Halfway through the stack, I found a note from eight days ago asking me to call Kelsey Girard, a detective with the sheriff’s office in Goochland County, Virginia.
Subject: POSSIBLE KIDNAPPING/OLDER WHITE VAN.
I quickly picked up the phone and punched in the number.
A pleasant Southern voice answered on the fourth ring. “This is Detective Girard.”
I identified myself and apologized for not calling her back sooner. Girard said, “I’ve been reading all about you, Detective, and I know why you haven’t returned my call.”
“Just got back today,” I confirmed. “So, you had an older white van involved in a suspected kidnapping?”
“Correct,” she said. “A white van was seen in the vicinity of what we are investigating as a possible kidnapping down here. When I did some research, I came across notices of a similar white van suspected of belonging to your Berkowitz copycat, so I called you.”
I started taking notes fast as Girard laid out the story of her case. Within five minutes, I’d heard enough to want to know more.
“Can my partner and I drive down and visit the scene?” I asked. “Talk to the witness about what he saw?”
“I guess that would be okay,” the detective said after a moment. “When would you like to come?”
“We can be there in two and a half hours, tops.”
“That works,” she said. “I’ll give you the address and meet you there.”