Chapter 20
“It was a mistake,” Gus said, his voice a low monotone. “I can admit that. At the time of my interview with the defendant, I wasn’t thinking of him as a person of interest.”
Jamie Simmons’s face was frozen on the large screen in front of the jury. They had just finished watching the brief, videotaped interview Gus conducted with Simmons in the days after Ellie Luke disappeared.
“Twenty-two years ago,” I said. “What changed, Detective?”
Gus pulled at his tie. I hadn’t liked his color from the moment he took the witness box almost an hour ago.
“Hayden Simmons,” he said. “Mr. Simmons’s daughter came forward with new evidence. The box in the defendant’s possession contained items that were connected to the crime scene, to Ellie Luke’s body.”
One by one, we reintroduced the contents of Simmons’s box. I projected the earring on-screen.
“Detective,” I said. “What’s significant about this earring to your knowledge?”
“Its mate was found near Ellie Luke’s body. Her parents identified it as belonging to her. They produced a photograph of Miss Luke wearing it. They had been a gift from her father on her sixteenth birthday. They were apparently her favorites.”
I showed another picture previously admitted. Ellie Luke’s senior portrait, both earrings on prominent display.
“Detective, who else knew Ellie Luke was wearing those earrings the night she disappeared?”
“I can’t say for sure. Certainly anyone who saw her that night and the following morning.
Her mother provided a description of the clothing she wore when she left for work that evening.
She wore a top with the Lennox Caregiving company logo.
That was her standard uniform. She wore a pair of jeans and sneakers.
Mrs. Luke indicated Ellie had been wearing the earrings. ”
“Was it ever made public?”
“Yes. At the time of Ellie’s disappearance, we disseminated a current photo of her along with a description of what she was wearing. But after her body was found several months later, we did not disclose to the public what was found with it.”
“Meaning her clothing?”
“Her clothing, the earrings, the condition of the body … none of those things were disclosed to the public. Only someone who’d seen how the body was found or was privy to the evidence collected would have known what items we had.”
“Objection,” Cutler said. “Calls for speculation. Detective Ritter is making assumptions here.”
“Detective Ritter has firsthand knowledge of what was found at the scene and what was disseminated to the public,” I said. “He’s not speculating. He’s stating the facts as he knows them.”
“Overruled,” Judge Saul said.
“Detective,” I said. “Can you tell me about Ellie Luke’s vehicle? Where was it found?”
“We found her car, a 1995 blue Ford Taurus, about a mile away from the Cornings’ residence on Chalmers Road. The right rear tire was completely flat. We later determined that it had been slashed. There was a small cut in the tread.”
“Was the car locked?”
“It was. Mr. Luke, Ellie’s father, had a spare key so we used that to gain access.”
“What evidence, if any, did you find inside Ellie’s vehicle?”
“Well, there were some personal items. A makeup bag. A blood pressure cuff. Some empty fast food bags. Her insurance and registration cards were in the glove box under her father’s name.
The trunk had a snow scraper and an unmatched pair of gloves in it.
But it was relatively clean. No traces of blood.
We found hair on the floor belonging to Ellie Luke, but nobody else. The key was gone.”
“Either she or someone else took the key. Is that what you’re saying?”
“I’m only saying we never found the other key to Ellie’s car.
We also didn’t find her purse, wallet, or anything like that.
Mrs. Luke indicated she had her purse with her when she left for work.
She would have also been wearing an ID badge clipped to her scrubs.
But we never found any of that to this day. ”
“Okay. How did you first become aware of Jamie Simmons?”
“I spoke to Ellie’s classmates. From them, I compiled a list of people in Ellie’s social circle. The people she hung around with the most. Jamie Simmons’s name popped up. I interviewed him along with several of her classmates at the time.”
“Did you form a theory of the case after your investigation?”
“Yes. Based on the condition of Miss Luke’s car and the statement of the last person known to have seen her, I believed that Ellie Luke either left with someone she knew and felt safe with, or she was taken from that vehicle at gunpoint or under threat.”
“Why did you think that?”
“The last person to see her was Tracy Jones. She was another home health aide with Lennox. Ellie did the night shift with Mrs. Corning. Tracy relieved her at seven a.m. the next morning. Tracy had no indication that there was anything unusual about their exchange. She was in good spirits when she left Mrs. Corning’s home.
Ellie’s car was found facing north on Chalmers Road.
She appeared to be heading home as was her custom after that shift.
Her tire was flat. She appeared to have pulled off to the side of the road.
She had a flip phone but hadn’t used it to call for roadside assistance or her parents.
As I said, her purse wasn’t in the car so she presumably had it with her when she exited the vehicle.
There was no sign of a struggle. The car was locked.
The windows were rolled up. All indications are that she exited that vehicle of her own volition with her purse.
So, as I said, she either left voluntarily with someone she knew or someone coaxed her out of that vehicle under threat.
There were no footprints leading away from the car.
No other tire tracks. Unfortunately, we had a pretty good rain that started late that morning.
Chalmers Road wasn’t paved at the time. It was pretty mushy out there. ”
“Understood,” I said. “Thank you, Detective. I have no further questions.”
I smiled at Gus. He remained stoic. We both knew the worst was yet to come.