Chapter 9
NINE
Katie left Cisco at home and hurried back to the department. There were a few things she wanted to check and go over before a nice quiet dinner with John she hoped would push the events of the day aside—at least for an evening.
This time when she entered the forensic division it wasn’t quiet.
She could hear voices talking excitedly, and there was no doubt the loudest voice was McGaven.
She smiled and took a moment to really be grateful for such a great partner and co-workers.
When they were deep in investigations, it was easy to forget these sentiments.
Katie walked down the hall toward their office and saw McGaven leaning into the examination room, talking to John.
Her partner turned and saw her. “Hey. It took you long enough.”
“I didn’t want to break any speed limits.”
“Ha! Right, when has that ever happened? Like, never,” he chimed back.
“Anything?”
“Not yet, but the drone footage is on the desk.”
“Great,” she said and quickly went into the office.
“And read the sticky note.”
Katie picked up the carefully printed note. She read aloud, “I took the opportunity to record the areas around the property.”
“What a guy.”
“That’s very thorough and I was thinking about needing to look at the closest house or ranch,” she said as she noticed there were more files stacked neatly at the side.
Without wasting another moment, Katie got to work.
McGaven logged into the computer and began checking the backgrounds of the construction workers, as well as looking into Crowne & Miller Construction LLC and East California Demolition and Construction.
Soon, Katie powered up her laptop and inserted the memory stick.
McGaven rolled his chair next to her to watch.
“Here we go…” said Katie as she clicked the arrow to start.
There was a gray screen at first and then the video came on as the drone rose into the air.
It was amazing how sharp the images were and watching it made it feel as if you were riding along.
The drone took off fast and headed to the south side of the property near where they’d found the trap.
The drone slowed and then headed toward the east and did a very detailed grid formation.
When it got to the area in question, it slowed and then hovered, apparently reading an anomaly, as Detective Rogers had said.
It showed the shades of the trees and branches.
“Stop,” said McGaven.
Katie clicked the “pause” button.
“What is that?” he said. “Do you see it?”
Katie enlarged the image. It was clear there was fake foliage to cover up the retrofitted branches of the trap they’d found.
“You can see the leaves are reflecting a different color that’s not normal or natural.
” She sat back. “It was concluded the trap had been set not that long ago.” She looked through paperwork from the construction companies and from the county budget.
“And this project broke ground barely two weeks ago.”
“Which means that whoever set it knew when the project was going to begin,” said McGaven.
“It had to be someone who didn’t want the project to commence.”
“That’s about half of the town. Lots of people wanted the land kept pristine.”
Katie turned to her partner. “I suppose if the trap killed someone, then the area would have been tied up in lawsuits and whatever else for an indefinite amount of time…” She thought on it some more.
“Or what if, instead, it was someone who knew about the buried bodies… or even the person who buried them? They wouldn’t want them found.
They’d be worried a trail would eventually lead to them. ”
Katie and McGaven worked for another hour building their murder board.
From family research and birth records they were able to find out the name of Misty Collins’s mother, who appeared to be the other skeleton—Meredith Collins.
They added temporary photos of each to the board.
It was clear there were missing pieces in the case, but it was important to put up the facts they knew so far.
Even though the photos were degraded and fuzzy, their faces were still recognizable.
They definitely appeared to be related. If it was proven through DNA from the bones that the mother and daughter weren’t the Collinses, then the detectives would update accordingly.
Katie studied the photos. Having names made it more impactful. It stirred something deep inside her and she was determined to find out what had happened and why.
There was a map of the property showing the “before,” and after they had removed trees to prepare for the foundation of the buildings. The map had also been notated to show the area where they found the trap, and where a person would have entered and exited the property.
Katie added the basics about the skeletal remains as well as the partially decomposed male body. Once they had spoken to John and the medical examiner, she would update.
As she stood in front of the lists, photos, and maps, she realized this particular undertaking would be complicated by several moving parts. Were the bodies related? Was the person or persons who set a trap party to the bodies being dumped? Was it all about murder?
McGaven looked at his watch. “I need to rest my eyes,” he said, rubbing them.
“It’s been a long day,” she said, feeling her sore muscles.
“As long as the area is deemed safe, let’s finish the search tomorrow morning.”
Katie closed files and the laptop. “Good idea. A fresh start.”