Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Katie updated McGaven about her meeting with Buck and they pondered on what it all meant as they waited for John to let them know he was ready for them.
“You have to realize that maybe this is all a ruse,” said McGaven.
“Ruse?” She giggled. “I don’t think I’ve heard that word in a long time.”
“You know—like a scam, ploy, or some type of hoax to divert you from the investigation. Maybe he’s feeding you disinformation.”
“I know what ‘ruse’ means—my partner, a walking talking thesaurus.”
“I’m serious Katie. I think we should take anything he says with a grain of salt.”
“I hear you… and yes, we’re following leads that we’ve been given,” she said. “What’s with the term ‘grain of salt’?”
“What about a grain of salt? That sounds like forensic terminology to me,” said John, smiling as he joined the detectives. He carried several folders and two computer memory sticks. Katie noticed he looked tired. “You ready?”
“Yes, we’re ready,” she said.
“Lead on,” said McGaven.
They entered the large forensic examination room. Katie wasn’t sure but the room looked more cluttered with evidence than the last time she had been in there.
“I will send you photos of everything discussed today,” said John. “Let’s start with the fun one.” He led the detectives to the trap apparatus that had been dissected into quarters and cut crosswise to reveal the long metal threaded rods giving the branch more strength and stability to do its job.
“You may think it’s fun, but that thing could have taken our heads off,” said McGaven.
“Yes, it could have. It was constructed with a moderate amount of skill. Meaning that whoever devised it was intent on harm—not just scaring people away.”
Katie shuddered.
“That’s ominous,” said McGaven.
“It was actually genius. The person who prepared this made extra sure that everything used was mostly from the environment—with the exceptions of the fake leaves and a few items from the hardware store.”
Katie and McGaven took a closer look.
“Why those long metal rods?” she asked. “And not screws or some type of rivets?”
“Good question, but screws, nails or any other type of fastener would most likely cause the branch to splinter and lose strength.”
“Okay,” said McGaven as he wrote down some notes. “I’m assuming local hardware stores sell these by the millions?”
“You might want to check stores that sell supplies for construction work,” said John. He eyed the detectives. “But I bet there’s a surplus of these on site.”
“We can have the supervisor meet us there to unlock some of those storage containers,” she said. “And find out who had keys and access. It’s a place to start. Whoever built this had to have engineering or construction knowledge and expertise.”
“And if the supervisor says no?” said McGaven.
“Then we get a search warrant.” Katie looked at where John had cut some of the wire or cable that held the branches.
“This is 3/8-inch wire for this five-inch-diameter branch. It’s definitely sufficient to hold these branches, acting more like a cable than wire,” he said.
“How common is this size of wire?” said McGaven.
“It depends,” said John. “It’s mostly used in large projects, buildings and reinforcing certain types of foundations.”
“Again, it seems to point back to construction supplies,” Katie said.
“The creator used a pulley type of system that would engage when someone broke the tripwire. It’s basic but very effective.”
“I’ve heard the people who set traps, fires or bombs regularly have a type of signature they leave. Like a certain way they tie a knot or a trigger and so forth,” said Katie.
“Good point. Yes, a lot of times they do,” John said, giving her a smile.
“And did they leave a signature?” said McGaven, seemingly extremely interested in the trap.
John moved around the side table and took a small area of the branch, no bigger than a poker chip. “The wire was wound and knotted and then wound again, leaving a small length where they tied three distinct knots.”
“Three knots? Is that usual?” Katie said.
“My opinion is no,” said John. “But most people would tie them on top of one another and not three separate ones.”
“One… two… three,” said McGaven.
“Exactly.”
“It’s such a small detail. How can we be sure it’s a signature?” said Katie.
“That’s the beauty of it. The person who made this didn’t make those knots for everyone to see, they made them for themselves.”
“Like giving them kudos for a job well done,” she said. It made her realize the person who orchestrated this could be very clever and able to put together something like this anytime…and about anywhere.
“Maybe Buck put this up?” said McGaven. “He’s got the means and training to do this.”
“I know. But until I have clues connecting him, I don’t think he did this.” She looked at everything more closely. “He would have to purchase supplies and I think the sales people would notice a big guy like him.”
“There are ways of getting what he needs. You said how clever he was at finding you and not being seen.” McGaven frowned and stared at the apparatus.
Katie nodded. She knew she couldn’t completely disregard Buck yet, so he had to stay on the persons of interest list.
“Okay,” she said while McGaven took more notes.
John moved to the center of the room where the bone remains of Meredith and Misty Collins lay.
Katie sighed. She hadn’t immediately looked at the remains when she entered the room.
She made that a practice so that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
Taking one piece of evidence at a time was the best way for her to process objectively.
“We were able to find almost all the bones for each skeleton with the exception of some rib bones. They were both positively identified from dental records by the medical examiner’s office as Meredith Collins, thirty-four years old and in good health, and Misty Collins, seven years old, and also in good health. ”
“Cause of death?” said McGaven.
“Meredith was kicked and beaten, causing broken bones,” he said.
Pointing out the areas of the ribs and right arm, he continued, “You can see here and here. But that’s not what killed her.
” He turned the skull so that the detectives could see a definite hole, a little bit larger than a quarter, indicating significant blunt force trauma.
“What about the little girl?”
John took a breath. It was clear anything that had to do with children upset him. “She had been strangled. You can see her upper spine and thoracic area was crushed. There are no other indications of injuries either before death or during it.”
The room became quiet.
John walked to another computer and sat down.
“Now Ian Griffin’s injury causing death.
We have the bullet, which is a large caliber .
45 most likely from a Colt, Smith and Wesson, or even a Glock.
We ran it for any potential matches, but came back empty.
If you find the gun or other bullets, we can then compare. ”
Katie took in everything, but remained quiet.
John moved to another group of photos of what looked like strings.
“Here are the threads you recovered. They are cotton-wrapped poly core. The poly core allows them to be strong and withstand wear and washing. They are dyed the typical indigo that produces the blue color and it bonds well with cotton fiber. It would be almost impossible to find its origin and when it was manufactured.”
“So like a needle in a haystack to try and match to anything else—due to the high popularity of blue jeans,” said McGaven.
Katie was listening, but she was still thinking about the trap mechanisms and installation. She wanted to figure out if it had been installed before any construction work, during, or after.
“Here are the bracelets: each with half a heart so that the two make a whole. These were very popular about ten years ago. They still sell them now, but on a more highly manufactured level and not necessarily sterling silver.”
“Anything stand out about them?” she said.
“I did find a hallmark stamped near the clasp. It read .925, which simply means they are sterling silver. Normally, this would mean there would be millions out there. But…” He went to another photo.
“I found this TM* on each bracelet. They aren’t identical, which means they were done freehand.
It’s a bit unusual for basic jewelry design. ”
“Is that the artist’s signature?” Katie said.
“I believe it is. I tried to search for artists that use this TM* but nothing came back. I can keep searching various databases.”
“We can check some jewelers that have been around for a while and see what we come up with,” she said. “I know the one down by Main Street has been around for twenty years.”
“You might want to ask about the silver money clip that was found in Ian Griffin’s pocket too. I found the same artist’s stamp on it.”
McGaven nodded and made a notation. Katie hoped it might be a clue as to where the jewelry was purchased and who bought them. Sometimes the smallest details could produce a big lead.
“We also did a footprint impression of those boot prints you found in the forest near the crime scene area.”
Katie moved closer to the screen.
“We were able—actually, Eva was able—to find out more about the boot from the impression. It is a size eleven and had a leather sole instead of rubber. You can tell by the edges and the tiny stitching surrounding the sole.” He showed the detectives an enlarged image of the details.
“What are those?” said Katie, pointing.
“They are the tiny marks caused by wear from the surfaces you walk on, like concrete or asphalt, or even some rural areas with gravel, wood, and heavy debris. These softer surfaces would indicate more of a scuff than a deep defined groove.” He looked at the detectives waiting for questions.
“So the bottom of your shoes are like a fingerprint, in a way. Everyone has an independent tread based on what they do, where they go, and how they walk.”
It was a good clue, but Katie had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the smoking gun. “Okay. It will help if we have a suspect or person of interest who wears boots,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we can’t pinpoint the boot company. There are many companies out there that could have made this boot. The sole-matching will be key.”
“This gives us a lot to think about and a place to begin,” said Katie. “Thank you, John.” She gently touched his arm.
“I’ll keep you updated on anything else I find,” said John, smiling.
Katie recognized that the new findings weren’t going to catapult them to the killer, but they were more pieces of the puzzle.