Threads of Suspicion(56)
“I can keep that at bay for a while.”
“I appreciate it, Sharon. David and I both do.”
“I’m hoping it’s just smoke, Evie. Some of these cold cases are going to lead to guys who have committed multiple crimes, we know that. But if that’s our first county, it just gives us more press interest than I would like at this point. We need some light and good news to go along with dark and heavy arrests.”
“Which way is yours looking?”
“The missing wife and two daughters left an abusive situation and are likely still alive somewhere. The woman’s sister is so nervous with my questions, I’m beginning to think they could actually be living in her neighborhood. Theo suspects his missing teenage boy was killed by a high school classmate and has it narrowed down to a couple of names. Taylor knows who killed his businessman; he’s just got to find the body or come up with new evidence so the DA will file charges without one.”
“So you’re all basically flying through your cases,” Evie remarked.
“Pretty much,” Sharon agreed. “But we didn’t step into quicksand, which it sounds like you and David did. Tag us, however and whenever you want help.”
“Thanks, boss.”
Evie clicked off, genuinely pleased the rest of the team was making good progress. Jenna’s case was breaking open and that was a good thing. Add the still-fragile intersect with one of Saul Morris’s clients and it wasn’t bad for the first week of the task force’s time. And it wasn’t so much them. Evie was beginning to see what David already thought—God’s hand was in motion, helping them find justice. “Thanks, Dad,” Evie whispered.
Twelve
Evie heard David’s phone alarm and laid down the report she was reading, shook her head at Ann’s inquiring look. She’d let David decide what he wanted to do, but she thought they needed a break.
He joined them, and Evie thought he looked as stressed as she felt. He’d been making calls. She didn’t ask—he’d volunteer what was useful.
“I talked to Sharon, we’re good there,” she told him, unwrapping a roll of sweet-tarts to share. “We’ve got Indiana detectives on a conference call for Virginia Fawn at three o’clock. I figure we can take it from either here or on the drive to Wisconsin. The full case file sounds a lot like Jenna—missing license, Triple M concert, no sign of struggle at her apartment. Additional facts, her body was discovered, the autopsy says smothered. I’ve got copies of the full report for both of us, and I’ve sent Indiana PD everything we have on Jenna.”
She nodded to the board. “I’ve whittled my seventeen possibly related cases down to twelve, but am still working through them. There are no other matches on Triple M concerts yet, but it’s too early for that to indicate much. To make sure we don’t miss a related disappearance, Ann and I are starting with the first concert date in the band history and working our way forward in time. It’s going to be a few hours of database work to have a solid answer on that question.”
David seemed to relax a bit and nodded his thanks when she was done. “Okay. Good.” He turned to greet Ann. “When the governor asked if you wanted to help the task force get up and running, I don’t imagine you thought you were volunteering for actual case work like this again.”
“I’m glad to help out, David,” Ann replied with a smile. “It’s amazing how seductive a good puzzle can be. You’ve got yourself a mystery, but one that’s going to get solved now that it’s got some links,” she reassured.
David nodded toward additional photos now on the board. “Jenna, Tammy, Virginia. Let’s hope it stays at that . . . or only a couple more.”
“Under five would be good news. The database work is time-consuming,” Ann added, “but the core of it is straightforward. I can keep the search flowing if you two want to head to Wisconsin. Paul’s got some good researchers who can help me out, I’m sure.”
David looked to Evie. “What do you think? I tracked down the detective who has the Tammy Preston case. He’s off today, but he’ll come in if we want to meet with him. I’ve got copies of Tammy’s file printing now. No surprise, it’s rather thin. If we want to do interviews, he’ll make introductions to the family.”
“We wait, we risk January weather issues. The drive will give us time to talk through what we do have. I vote we go.”
“Then we go. I’ll let him know we’re coming.”
Evie handed him a Post-it note from her monitor. “There’s one other data set to put into motion before we leave. I’m sure Maggie has obsessed fans—that goes with the territory, right?”