Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Katie rushed to work. She had slept past her alarm and scrambled to get ready.
John had fixed a quick breakfast sandwich for them before he left, knowing she probably wouldn’t get lunch.
Even though Katie had indeed been tired after her eventful night, it had been difficult to get Buck out of her mind.
There was definitely more to his story and she had a feeling that she would see him again.
Someone like me can tell when another has had the experience of seeing horror. I detect that in you.
Katie hurried through the forensic division and it was fired up with voices and movements.
It was as if it had come alive while she was sleeping.
Voices carried down the hallway from the examination area.
She knew they had to solve this case soon; otherwise, the construction project might be on permanent hold, and the county really needed this facility if it wanted to offer its first responders the best training possible.
The door was wide open to exam room one and she walked in to find it full of evidence.
It was clear there was a lot of work to do to figure out what it all meant.
The skeletal remains of Meredith and Misty Collins were carefully laid out front and center, and a large folding table was wedged up against the left wall of the room with the trap from the construction site lying on top.
Between SWAT officers and the help of patrol, they had been able to bring part of the trap, including the mechanisms, fake foliage, and tripwires.
There was a partial limb cut in two pieces lying side by side where small metal pins were lodged.
It was going to be interesting to see what forensics came up with later in the day.
“Hey, sleepy head,” said McGaven, appearing to be in a good mood.
Her partner always had a way to make her laugh. “You need to interrogate my alarm clock.”
“It’s good you’re here.”
John looked away from a computer and gave her a smile.
Eva, his forensic technician, sat on a high stool, studying two large computer monitors. “Morning,” she managed to say as she was lost deep in thought. Her short blonde spiky hair had tinges of pink on the ends. “Cool,” she uttered more to herself than to the group.
“I’ll be ready later today to update you,” said John to the detectives.
“Great,” said Katie.
“That works,” said McGaven. “We have some leads and people to talk to this morning.”
Katie left the forensic room and entered the investigation office.
She immediately noticed there were new folders neatly stacked on the corner of their working table.
She dropped her briefcase and jacket on a chair and then quickly picked up the files.
Scanning through them, she was delighted to see they were the background information on all the construction workers and a list of who was absent that day.
Except for two people with a couple of arrests for crimes of trespassing and drunk and disorderly, the crew seemed to be responsible, hardworking employees.
It listed all their residences, including the two men who were absent during the finding of the bodies.
Katie was updating the board with the details of the drone footage and the coordinates where the trap was located.
She pondered the two main areas and the gravesites as her mind wound back to talking with Buck.
Why would he risk being found or his way of life being jeopardized to tell her the little he had?
There must be more to it than what he let on.
And why now, when he could have let someone know even before the bodies were found?
“What’s up?” said McGaven.
Katie turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve been talking and you’ve been lost in thought. So I thought I would ask what has you so immersed that you didn’t hear me.”
“Just thinking about what Buck said… and what he didn’t say.”
“Fair enough. Hopefully his prints will come back soon.”
“I can’t figure out why he would tell me to do an ancestry check on the Collins family, specifically Bruce Collins. He made it seem like all the answers would fall into place.”
“They might.” McGaven looked at his partner. “You look spooked.”
Katie softly bit the side of her lip, which was customary when she couldn’t fix something into a puzzle they were building.
“The idea makes me unsettled. Not like I fear for my safety, but like there is something more at work… something unusual… as if cracking open the Collins family will have all these dark secrets tumbling out.”
“Wow,” he said. “I’ve never seen you like this. We’ve definitely had weird before…”
She nodded. “I know. There’s just something else going on I can’t work out…”
“Well,” he said. “Let’s get started.”
Katie joined her partner. “Who do we visit first?”
“With all this”—he gestured to the neatly printed-out results from the two construction companies: Crowne & Miller Construction, and East California Demolition and Construction—“everything seems okay on paper, Nothing jumps out. But I think we need to talk to the supervisor and excavator driver.”
“I agree.” Even though she really wanted to know more information about the forensic findings, they had to chase down everything else they could.
“There’s an office not far from here for Crowne & Miller Construction. Road trip?”
“Let’s go,” she said.
When the detectives reached the office it wasn’t what they had imagined.
They pulled into a nice parking lot lavishly landscaped with blooming flowers, grass areas with benches, and green foliage inserted into everything, making it feel like they were at a luxury home.
The office was not large, but it was a two-story building and tucked in an area that wasn’t visible from the road, making it seem like a best-kept secret in some type of high-end neighborhood.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” said McGaven.
“Nope, I can’t say I saw it coming either,” she said and eased the sedan into a parking place on the left side of the building.
The detectives got out of the car and paused a moment. It was hard not to when the area was more like a resort than an office for a construction company.
Katie spied the entrance, where the walk was lined with pots of all types of plants—some she hadn’t seen before. She resisted the urge to touch one of the leaves to make sure it was real. Her mind wandered back for a moment to those fake leaves used to camouflage the trap.
The interior was just as stunning as the landscaping. Up-to-date furnishings were placed purposefully, along with matted and framed photographs of, presumably, their projects. However, the modern simple furniture seemed out of place—at least that was what Katie thought.
“Hello. Welcome,” said a voice.
Katie and McGaven turned to see a man enter the foyer. He was dressed well and seemed to be in his early forties.
“Can I help you?” he said.
“I’m Detective Scott and this is my partner, Detective McGaven,” she said.
“Yes? What can I do for you?”
“We’re here following up on your construction site at Old Mill and Pine Road.”
“Ah yes, the unfortunate situation.” He dramatically turned his expression solemn. His hair was dark and his eyes were vibrant blue.
“And you are?” said Katie, taking the lead while McGaven had a closer look around.
“I’m sorry, I’m the manager. Tom Grand.”
“Well, Mr. Grand, we have a few questions. Would you have a moment?” she said.
“Of course. Please follow me.”
The detectives followed him to an ornate spiral staircase going upstairs.
Katie thought perhaps this office was more for show than actual work.
Maybe that happened elsewhere. She also didn’t remember seeing Mr. Grand’s name on the list of their background research—she made a mental note to check him as well.
With a case like this, due diligence was extremely important.
They reached the top of the intricate black wrought-iron staircase and then walked down a long hallway to a large office.
It was more like a conference area, but rather than having a conference table there were three areas with four chairs and a small table dividing them.
It was interesting and obviously very comfortable for clients—especially high-end clients.
There were glass windows all along the hallway as well as windows overlooking a backyard garden.
“Please, detectives, have a seat,” Grand said.
Katie sat down at one of the areas. She didn’t see anyone else in the building, but there were closed office doors and she wondered if there were employees working inside.
There was no sound of phones or voices, which seemed a bit odd.
McGaven sat next to her as Grand took his place across from the detectives.
“Where is everybody?” she said.
“We have flex schedules here. There are two people coming in at noon while others are off today. Wednesdays are days people can take off because they work the other days during the week.”
“I see,” she said. Deciding to jump right in without pleasantries, she began, “We’ve gone through your employee list of construction workers. Jimmy Cranston and Vince Hugo were the ones who discovered the bodies.”
“Yes.”
“What can you tell me about them?” she said.
McGaven remained quiet, but she knew he watched Grand’s every move.
“You aren’t suggesting they are suspects?”
“We have a duty to look at every angle so that we can dismiss things as well as confirm them.”
“Oh, I see.” He seemed confused and had a difficult time keeping eye contact with the detectives.
“You see, we begin at the beginning and go through all the events,” she said.
After pausing for effect as she retrieved her small notebook and flipped it open, Katie continued, “Jimmy Cranston was the excavator operator. What can you tell me about him?” She knew some of the answers, but she wanted to hear it from Grand.
“Let’s see…” Grand looked out the back windows. “Cranston has been with us for more than eight years and has been a good employee. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any complaints against him. He’s a good guy and an experienced machine operator.”
“Okay. How about anything personal?”
“Meaning?”
“Like anything in his personal life that may have impacted his work?”
“No, nothing. He shows up and does his job.”
“The supervisor, Vince Hugo,” began Katie.
Mr. Grand remained silent.
“Mr. Grand, is there anything you would like to share?” Katie already knew what he could raise, but she was trying to get a read on Grand, to see if he was honest or if he might try to hide things. She quickly glanced at McGaven who was watching the manager closely.
“Well… he does have a bit of a temper. Nothing like hurting anyone, just a short fuse.”
“I see.”
“He got into an altercation with someone at a bar about two years ago,” said Grand. He leaned back and was able to keep eye contact with the detectives.
“Is there anything else you’d like to share about Monday morning?” she said.
“I don’t know anything. I received the call after they found the bodies and everything had to cease.
I moved the workers to another job over in the Wood Field development area until I hear from the police when we can continue.
” He said that with disdain as if it were all the police department’s fault for halting the project.
Katie ignored the comment and attitude. “We also have two employees, Trey Roberts and Bill Garcia, who were absent on Monday.” She looked at Grand questioningly.
The manager seemed shaken by those names and retrieved his electronic device. He searched their names. “It looks like Garcia is out on sick leave due to his wife’s illness and…”
“Trey Roberts,” repeated Katie.
“It shows that he was working on Monday.” He looked at the detectives. “Maybe your list was wrong.”
“It was given to our officers by your supervisor, Vince Hugo.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there, but that’s what the electronic timecards report.”
Katie watched him and he appeared to be telling the truth. “What can you tell me about Roberts?”
Grand shrugged. “Not much. He started about three months ago and has been a good worker.”
“Can you text us his address and number?” she said and slid her card to him.
He hesitantly took the card and used his cell phone to send the information.
McGaven stood up first, followed by Katie. “You will get in touch with us if you find out anything pertaining to our case?” he said.
Grand stood up as well. “Of course.”
“Thank you. We can find our way out,” said McGaven.
Katie and McGaven headed to the door and descended the staircase. They didn’t speak until they were back at the car.
“Did that seem weird to you?” Katie said.
“Double weird.”
“It felt like we were on a movie set instead of a working office.”
“Good analogy.”
Katie got behind the wheel and quickly rehashed the conversation. “I think he was telling the truth…”
“But left some things out,” said McGaven, securing his seatbelt.
“Look into his background. My instincts are telling me he’s not the manager, but someone who takes his orders from a manager.” She looked at her phone where the text message from Grand indicated the address for Trey Roberts. She frowned and sighed.
“What’s the matter?”
“I was hoping there would be an email from forensics or the medical examiner’s office.”
“Soon,” he said.
She nodded. “Let’s go pay Roberts a visit.”