Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Katie and McGaven decided to go back to their office to regroup and update the murder board.
Since they hadn’t heard from John yet, they wanted to make all the clues and information they had found count.
McGaven was deep into checking backgrounds in more depth, while Katie updated the board with the information that Dr. Dean had given them.
She also found photographs of people of interest and placed their pictures across the board.
Looking at all the faces, eye to eye, helped to make her feel more connected to them, as if she and each person were in the same room.
There was a quick knock on the door as John poked his head in. “I have a match on the fingerprints for Buck.”
Katie and McGaven quickly followed him into the lab.
“Whoa,” said McGaven as they entered.
The forensic examination room looked more like a science fair than the usual forensic analysis department. Katie had to admit she had never seen this much evidence in one case.
“I will have a lot of information for you early tomorrow morning. Well, how about ten,” said John. “But I thought you’d want to know right away who your abductor is.”
“You found his prints in the system?” said McGaven.
“Well, yes—and no.”
“What does that mean?” Katie was a bit confused. “He’s a living, breathing human being.”
“Of course,” John chuckled. He sat down at one of the computer stations in front of a large screen.
Katie and John moved in close to see what was so elusive.
“I was able to retrieve two clear prints from the index and middle fingers. I double-checked the prints to make sure. You ready?” he said, smiling at the detectives.
“Sometime in this century,” said McGaven.
John clicked on an image. It revealed the headshot of a young man in his late twenties, solemn expression, crew-cut brown hair, and a thousand-yard stare.
“This is Marine Corporal Raymond Anthony Young, a.k.a. Buck. He served eleven years and was honorably discharged after he suffered injuries from about two years ago near Iraq that took half his team.”
Katie immediately remembered the deep scars on Buck’s hands that had appeared to go up his arms. His thick beard must’ve been hiding facial injuries as well.
Her heart sank thinking about what he must’ve gone through, not only with the explosion, but with coping and healing when he got home.
She could understand why he chose to stay reclusive.
“Does he look like your man Buck?” said McGaven.
“Not really. But his eyes tell me it’s him,” she said, studying the photo. “He’s older now. Has a beard.”
“He would be thirty-seven,” said John.
“Is there anything more about his history on record?”
John shook his head. “There’s very little information besides the names of his team and commanding officer. It also looks like he received many awards and medals.”
“What now?” McGaven said to Katie.
“I don’t know. We have more questions about him than answers. Like, how does he know the Collins family members and why is he so interested?”
“It wasn’t any type of coincidence, by the sounds of it,” said McGaven. “He seemed invested.”
Katie nodded, remembering Buck’s eyes and how adamant he was about the information he shared. “I don’t know what his connection would be.” She sighed.
“I’ll send over everything I have on him,” said John.
The detectives turned to leave.
“Oh, there was one strange finding,” said John.
“Here it comes…” said McGaven.
“When the computer was searching for a match, it actually came up with two potential matches.”
“Two?” said Katie and McGaven at the same time.
John laughed. “Yes.”
“Explain, please,” said McGaven.
“I lifted the best prints with the most visible ridges from Katie’s phone and GPS. I ran two through the database. One print had more visible points.”
“So are you saying his prints are similar to someone else’s?” she said.
“Yes. And their prints are in the system for the prison detention bureau. His name is David Leland Young.”
“Young? Are they brothers?” she said.
“Yes.”
“Is he still there?”
“Yes. He’s in for life,” said John.
“Wow. Two brothers going to opposites sides of the spectrum,” said McGaven.
John looked at the detectives. “I don’t think you’re quite understanding what I’m saying. Raymond and David are more than just brothers—they’re twins.”
“What? Wait. I thought twins had identical fingerprints,” she said.
“No, they don’t. However, they have similar traits if they have an arch, loop, or whorl. That’s why when I entered both of these prints with different points, the database came up with these two men.”
“What does this mean?” said McGaven.
“It just makes everything more difficult, not to mention convoluted,” Katie said.
“I’ll have more to share with you tomorrow. We’re still waiting on some tests to come back.”
“Thanks, John,” she said.
Katie was frustrated. Once they had a lead it just seemed to multiply into more questions and leads to run down.
McGaven smiled and followed his partner back to their office. When they were both inside he shut the door. “So is it difficult?”
“This case? Of course,” said Katie. “We’re not getting anywhere.”
“No, is it difficult to work directly with someone you’re… dating?”
“Gav, not now. We need to put all our leads together.”
McGaven sat down and rolled over next to Katie. “It’s just a yes or no question.” He gave her a big smile.
“You’re dating someone you work with,” she said.
“But it’s not like this…”
Katie thought about it. It was true she worked with John on every case. And McGaven often didn’t even see Denise as she was in the records division. “If I answer this, will you give it a rest for a while?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She chuckled. “Yes, it’s difficult because we work closely and there are boundaries at work, not to mention professionalism to maintain.”
McGaven nodded, still smiling.
“And yes, it’s nice because we know what our work is like, whereas most people wouldn’t.” Katie rolled her eyes. “Now let’s get back to it.”
McGaven scooted back to his area. “The guy in the woods… who would’ve thought he was a decorated Marine with a twin brother in prison.”
Katie had thought the same thing. She opened her laptop to print out some of the autopsy reports as well as the file on Raymond Young, a.k.a. Buck. As she took the papers out of the printer, she said, “I wonder if Buck put his fingerprints on my cell phone and GPS on purpose?”
“Why?” McGaven didn’t look up from his computer.
“Well, he seems like a very intelligent guy. So why would he be so careless? John said the prints were clear—not even smudged.” Katie studied the board and looked at the trap device that could have struck either her or McGaven—and by sheer luck didn’t hit any of the construction workers before that.
She began putting up photos of the injuries of Ian Griffin and Bruce Collins, the bullet hole in the back of the head and the perfectly healed pinky finger separation of Griffin, and the deep scourging marks on the bones of Collins.
She also put photos of where the bodies were found and made room for the photos of Meredith and Misty Collins’s skeletons.
She started a basic list of persons of interest along with victims.
Persons of Interest
Jimmy Cranston: excavator operator who found bodies
Vince Hugo: supervisor for Crowne & Miller Construction LLC
Retired Detective Gino Ventura: worked Misty’s missing person case and took information from Ian Griffin
“Buck” Raymond Young: reclusive survivalist abducted Katie to tell her to look at the family tree of the Collins family
Tom Grand: office manager for Crowne & Miller Construction LLC
Employees Not on Site When Bodies Were Found
Trey Roberts: at home and overdosed, recovering in hospital
Bill Garcia: with sick wife in hospital
“Looks like Buck’s brother David is serving life in prison for killing a neighbor in a dispute,” said McGaven.
“Are there any details?” she said.
“Says they had been fighting for a while about some property line and trees. The neighbor, Tim Kane, brought a knife and threatened David. It’s a bit unclear what happened but David stabbed Kane.”
“Self-defense?”
“It would have been if he didn’t stab him eight times.”
“Wow. Sounds like an anger problem,” she said.
“Maybe in combination with drugs?”
“Could be.” Katie read the board, which now flowed with the photos of the gravesites, map locations, and drone footage. She wished she knew where Buck’s cabin was located. Something about it nagged at her. Turning to McGaven, she said, “Was there anything about where he lived?”
“Buck or Raymond?”
“Either one. Can you try to find out where they grew up and their last known addresses?”
“Will do. Oh and I’ll see if we can get an appointment with David Young up at the prison,” he said. “I know it was going to be your next question.”
Katie smiled at her partner. “See, we work so well together… you can read my mind now.”
“What am I thinking?” he said with a chuckle.
“That’s easy.”
“What?”
“You were thinking we could stop at that burrito place on the way to the prison tomorrow afternoon.”
“Exactly. You get me.”