Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
Katie and McGaven arrived back at the department early and decided to wait in the conference room on the second floor.
The room was large and the table could easily accommodate fifteen to twenty people if necessary.
There were two large chalkboards and a wall of shelves that housed all the state penal codes, practice exams for the sergeant and lieutenant’s tests, and various law enforcement history and criminal justice volumes.
Katie looked at her phone and saw a short text from John. It just read: Thinking of you… She smiled.
“What?” said McGaven.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. You’re smiling for no reason.”
She shrugged.
“Oh, I get it,” he said, making a soft kissing sound.
Katie stared at her juvenile partner.
“What?” he said. “Just trying to keep everything light.”
The door opened and Detective Hamilton stepped inside, carrying a notepad and file with paperwork.
He was a serious-looking detective, early forties, dark sparse hair, and he moved with purpose as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Katie and Hamilton had a rough beginning working with one another, but they worked through it.
Still, at times, there was some unrest from the detective.
“Hey, Detective,” said McGaven.
Katie nodded her greeting. She was more interested in knowing what they had found out from Grand’s home.
Hamilton sat down across from Katie and McGaven. He shuffled papers, putting things in order. Katie wasn’t sure if he was picky about his notes or if he was being dramatic.
Hamilton put on his glasses. “Okay, I know you were informed about the bullets and shell casing from the scene and the body. John matched these to the bullet found in your victim Ian Griffin.”
“Yes,” she said, wanting him to get on with it.
“Patrol did an extensive canvass and there was no trace of Junior. They checked video cams in the surrounding areas and weren’t able to see him. He left the old truck, but upon a thorough search there was nothing of note except his fingerprints, which we already have on file.”
“There was no indication of where he was going? Anything written down?” said McGaven.
“Nothing. And we double- and triple-checked. It seemed odd the vehicle was so clean.” Hamilton shuffled some papers and pushed over two grainy black-and-white photos to the detectives. “Here are two video stills of a man matching his description, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t him.”
Katie studied the photos of a man in dark clothing heading east. You couldn’t see his face, but she agreed it wasn’t Junior. By the build, he appeared to be a much older man.
McGaven took a long look at the images and shook his head. “No, this isn’t him. I chased him in that direction, but he knew where to duck in and out, most likely avoiding certain areas where he would be caught on camera.”
Katie was disappointed, but not surprised. Junior seemed to be quite adept at surviving without anyone knowing where to find him—and he knew how to disappear as if he were an apparition.
“Okay,” began Hamilton. He seemed to perk up a bit. “We searched Tom Grand’s house. It wasn’t what I had expected.” He pushed a photo of it across the table.
Katie and McGaven squeezed closer together to see a photo of a two-story colonial home.
These were mostly located in the older parts of Pine Valley.
Many had been renovated back to their glory and were quite stunning.
Grand’s house looked like something out of a magazine, transporting you back to another time.
“You can see we had questions, but he claimed he inherited it from family. We have yet to determine that.”
“Wow. He lived alone?” she said.
“Yes.”
“Not married?” said McGaven.
“No.”
“I wonder why he would live in such a big house alone?” said Katie.
“We don’t know. We couldn’t even find a next of kin—yet.”
“Do you have any good news?”
“Maybe.”
That didn’t make Katie feel positive.
“We found a room that resembled that underground room you found at Roberts’ house.”
“With all the antiques and maps?” said McGaven.
“Yes. There was nothing that seemed particularly unusual, but we found this…” Hamilton showed them a photo.
Katie realized she was looking at a map of the property where they were building the training center, but that wasn’t what was shocking.
There were places on it marked in a rectangular symbol, and she realized they showed where the bodies of Meredith, Misty, and Griffin Sr. were buried. The date on the map was years old.
“Is that…?” said McGaven, studying the map.
“Where the bodies were located,” she said. “It’s like a map of where to dig if anything were to happen to him.”
“Where was this found?” said McGaven.
“In a safe along with photos of Junior and two other men we haven’t identified yet. Apparently, they had some kind of pact and now Junior is taking everybody out.”
“But… there are four more of the same symbols on the opposite side of the site. We have to dig,” she said.
“Yes. We’ve put in for a search warrant, but it’s tricky,” said Hamilton.
“Tricky how?”
“There’s lots of money involved in this project—all the way around. So attorneys are now involved and it could take weeks or months to unravel it.”
“There are bodies buried—cold cases or missing victims. We can use cadaver dogs or GPR to make sure first.” Katie was completely astounded by what Hamilton had told her, not to mention angry.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s going to take as long as it takes,” said Hamilton.
Katie turned to McGaven. “So these boys we first thought were just the Young brothers, also included Junior and Grand. Why would the brothers not tell us that?”
“I don’t know.”
Katie looked back at Hamilton. “We need to find out if there are other bodies buried and who they are. Especially if they’re connected to the others.”
“That’s all I know for now,” said Hamilton as he stood up. “I will update you when more things come to light.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Thanks, Hamilton.”
There was a text message on Katie’s phone. She picked it up.
“What is it?” he said.
“Dr. Dean’s asked us to come to the medical examiner’s office as soon as we can.”