Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
Katie hurried to the forensic division. The lighting was dim in the building and she didn’t hear any voices, which was usual for a Saturday. There would be deputies coming in and out at different times, but other than that it was quiet.
She opened the door to the entrance into the forensic rooms. They too had minimal lights on to help conserve energy and money.
With the new information racing through her mind, Katie headed to the office.
She was surprised she didn’t meet Andrews checking in the evidence, but maybe he would wait until the end of his shift to do so.
Katie switched on the light in her office. The overhead fluorescents were bright and made the murder board look unsettling, which it was, but it seemed more so in that moment. Studying the board, Katie updated the findings from the Collins property.
“What was so important that it made someone search for it?” she whispered to herself.
Family fortune? Stolen artifacts? She thought about Roberts’ secret basement with all the antique property maps.
It made her think of the saying “X marks the spot.” It was a silly thought, but perhaps in this case there could be some truth to it.
Buck had told her adamantly that they needed to trace Bruce Collins’s lineage. Did he know about the possibility of something valuable? It seemed he was telling her a little bit more every time she talked with him. Was he dragging this out or was it his way of telling his story?
Katie sat down and opened McGaven’s laptop, thinking about the holes on the Collins property. She ran through several scenarios and kept coming back to the idea of something being buried that was worth money. It was the oldest motive in the book for people to kill.
An alert popped up on the laptop. Katie opened a file and stared at it.
Bruce Collins == wife: Meredith (Griffin) Collins == brother of Meredith: Ian Griffin.
No known siblings for Bruce Collins.
Parents: William and Brenda Collins.
What caught Katie’s eye was that Ian Griffin had one son, Ian Griffin Jr. That was a new development.
She quickly did some local searches, but the only Ian Griffin who came up was the dead man.
She tried looking up Ian Griffin Jr. to see if he had a record—and he did.
He had done some time for burglary, assault, and battery.
“Interesting,” she said to herself.
Katie accessed a photo of Griffin Sr. and split-screened that with an image of Griffin Jr.
She did various searches for property, employment, and credit reports, but nothing popped up.
Griffin Jr. would be forty-one and it was possible that he could be the man in black, but she couldn’t find a death certificate or marriage license on file in the county.
She thought about where and how they could find him.
Katie went back through his criminal record, which was from five years ago. She saw a last-known address: 1822 Branch Rd., Space 12. That address was on the east side of town, a trailer park that had been condemned and closed for the past year.
She stared at Griffin Jr.’s photo and decided to send it to John to see if he could compare it to the image caught on video at the coffee place.
It was a long shot, but it would make sense if it was him, and there could be a motive of either greed or money if there had been family “treasure.” They just hadn’t yet figured out what was so valuable.
Buried money or coins? Mineral rights? Some type of artifacts?
Paperwork, deeds, bank accounts, investments?
Katie thought about the silver bracelets found on the skeletons of Misty and Meredith.
She dug through other reports and updated the board, rolling ideas through her mind. There were definitely some big puzzle pieces missing but she could almost feel her fingertips grasping the clue that could break the case wide open.
She continued to go through the background records of the property and found that the Collins property had gone through some type of litigation.
There was an identification number: COL-1744.
Katie would have McGaven pull this information.
It may be nothing, but she knew that often when someone died and there were no heirs listed it reverted to being foreclosed with the bank—and investors often tried various ways to obtain the property.
The older property records they had found in the underground secret basement gave her pause too.
They may play a role in all that. Roberts had just recently been hired to work on the construction project for the police and fire training centers.
Why? Was it a coincidence? Perhaps the land and surrounding properties had some kind of secret or property disputes.
It definitely seemed to be an interest of his.
Katie made some notes regarding land ownership, litigation, and who was against the building construction project. She glanced at the time and realized she had been working for a few hours.
The door opened and John stepped in. “Hey, you’re working late. And on the weekend. Where’s McGaven?”
“He’s doing what most people are—spending time with their family.”
John smiled and gently pulled Katie up from her chair. “So that means we’re alone.”
She was relieved and happy to see John. His presence made her relax and feel safe. “Eva gone home?”
“Yep, she’s been working a lot of overtime, so I told her to go,” he said.
Katie wrapped her arms around him. “I say it’s break time.”
John kissed her gently and then with more passion. It suddenly hit Katie that she didn’t want to start something that she couldn’t finish—especially at work.
“Are you at a place where you can leave for the day?” She playfully took his hands.
John kissed her again. “What are you thinking?”
“You know.”
He smiled. “Pizza?”
“Of course, but also something else.”
“Let me close some things down. I got your photo file of Griffin Jr. to compare to the unknown man in black.”
That ignited her investigative thought process, but as much as she wanted to work on it, she wanted to spend time with John more. “First thing Monday morning?”
“Of course.” He caressed her face. “You look tired. You need some rest.”
Katie nodded.
“And…”
She chuckled. “Never too tired for that.”
John managed to break himself away from Katie. “I’ll meet you at your house with pizza after I shut down some stuff here.”
“Deal.”
He disappeared into the forensic examination lab. Katie could still smell the light fragrance of his soap. She was amazed how much she felt like a teenager; everything seemed new and exciting in their relationship.
She moved paperwork around and made sure her notes were visible for McGaven to see if he came back to the office that weekend or first thing Monday morning.
Due to some overtime restrictions at the department, she had to take tomorrow, Sunday, off.
But that wouldn’t stop her from making notes or working on her laptop.
She also looked forward to spending some time with her uncle tomorrow afternoon.
Katie headed home to take care of Cisco, who would probably be unhappy that his dinner was late.
Maybe her uncle had stopped by, but then again, he was probably with his new girlfriend.
It made her smile. She was happy that he had found someone to spend time with—her uncle was a kind, gentle man behind his tough and authoritative demeanor as the sheriff of the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department.
The evening weather had turned chilly, and as she walked to her door she thought it might be a nice thing to have a fire.
She cleaned up, took the trash out, fed Cisco, and began building a fire.
She didn’t know if it was from the past two days of finding evidence and visiting with the Young brothers, but she seemed to carry a chill with her.
She quickly changed her clothes to something more comfortable and debated jumping into the shower, but decided to wait.
She let her hair down because she usually wore it either in a ponytail or twisted up with a large barrette holding it in place.
The fire was burning nicely and she went to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine.
As she was away from work, she finally felt her body relax.
Being with John had been so good for her and she hoped it wasn’t just a new-relationship euphoria period, but rather their chemistry.
She was grateful they had found each other.
A knock at the front door interrupted her thoughts. Cisco jumped up with a couple of barks, but it was clear he knew who was there waiting to come inside. Katie opened the door, where John stood holding a large steaming pizza box. He had changed his shirt to a comfortable-looking sweatshirt.
“Come in,” she said, holding the door. “That smells great. I’m hungry.” She sighed.
John went to the kitchen, and of course was followed closely by Cisco. After they got their pizza slices and glasses of wine, the couple made a comfortable area to eat and relax as they sat on large pillows in front of the fire. It was picture perfect.
Cisco gave up on begging for food and sat on the sofa.
Katie and John were quiet as they enjoyed the first pizza slice and sipped wine.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence; they were enjoying each other’s company without needing words to fill the gap.
There was a feeling of love, safety, and true enjoyment.
“Wow, this is nice,” he said.
“It really is.” She leaned forward, giving him a quick kiss. For some reason John brought out her romantic, lighter side.
“I know when we spend time together, we don’t talk about shop, but…” he said.
“But?” She smiled. Her curiosity got the better of her.
John sat up and moved close to Katie, so they were sitting side by side. “I’ve never seen a case like this. I received the evidence from the Collins farm. I will have an answer soon to the blood type on the bat. There’s enough to test against Bruce Collins and…”
“I know what you’re going to say. He was also murdered, so there’s this strange line of events.”
“Yeah. I mean… I worry about your case.”
“Why?”
“Well, for one, there’s a weird guy dressed in black wandering around out there who attacked you. And then there’s the ex-Marine living off the grid somewhere like a mountain man.”
John’s brows knitted together and his mouth turned down. His dark, intense eyes stared into Katie’s. It was as if he knew her deepest thoughts.
“It’s okay,” she said. “We’ve requested more help due to the paperwork involved and trying to chase down background information to connect all these events.
You know it’s part of the job, more than just about anyone.
” Katie remembered all the cases where John was right there and he had the detectives’ backs.
John couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, I know. And I think I know you well too. You found me when I was giving up because I knew I was going to die. I know how incredibly capable you are, how strong, resilient, and brave.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You are. And I have to admit I’m worried about this case. I think it’s due to the evidence from the trap that was supposed to brutally kill someone to the unknown man who’s following your moves.”
Katie looked down; she knew all too well that this case had unusual circumstances and her safety was at risk. She had a major concern from a profiling perspective and her experience with killers. She hadn’t mentioned her thoughts to McGaven yet, but she felt compelled to bring them up to John.
“I know it seems we’re just following a trail of breadcrumbs to solve old crimes, but I really believe there’s going to be a major event soon. That everything right now seems tame compared to what’s going to happen.” She spoke with a voice barely above a whisper.
“Like another murder?”
“Maybe, but I’m thinking that whatever this entire case is really about… they are going to make their intentions known. And I think it will have to do with the construction of the police and fire training center.”
John digested this before he said, “What makes you think that?”
“Everything began with that site and the other properties involved are connected to it in different ways. I know I’m not making complete sense, but I can’t get it out of my head.”
The fire crackled as if perfect timing that something ominous was coming—a warning sign.
“I think it might possibly involve someone within this construction project—or someone connected to the investigation. Everyone needs to be aware and focused.”
John hugged her. “I will do whatever you need.”
Katie smiled. “I know.”