Believe No One (13 page)

They had a new discovery, Rita Gaigan, who seemed worth a look. Fallon Kestler, Rita Gaigan and Kyra Pender were all single parents, all former sex workers, each with one prepubescent child and a history of drug abuse. Fallon Kestler had disappeared three and a half years before. Rita Gaigan vanished from her trailer home a year later Kyra Pender a year and a half after that. Neither Rita's nor Kyra's sons had been found. Fallon and Rita had been cremated because their families couldn't pay for interment. Kyra was buried in a communal plot, so they might be able to recover her body if they needed it, but for the other two, they would rely entirely on autopsy photos and Medical Examiners' or coroners' reports.

The temperature outside was in the high eighties, humidity about the same, but the air conditioning kept the room at a steady 65 °F. For four hours, the team scoured the reports, each in their own idiosyncratic way: the CSIs and DCI Simms compiled lists of similarities and differences; Dunlap made summary notes for each woman on sheets of paper that he laid side by side, like playing cards; the FBI analyst used a bullet-point system, and he plotted each case onto a wall map using self-adhesive dots and Post-it notes; Valance seemed to be working with a computer program, while Ellis tore backwards and forwards through the case files like he had lost a hundred-dollar bill in amongst the sheets of paper.

By midday, they were ready to share. Simms went to one of the whiteboards.

‘I'm having difficulty holding all of this in my head – d'you mind?' she said, picking up one of the marker pens.

‘Go for it,' Dunlap said.

She quickly sketched a summary chart, entered the victims' names, last known addresses and where they were found, then invited the team to contribute while she acted as scribe.

‘Kyra and Fallon both had broken ribs,' Valance said.

Simms entered the details into the chart.

‘And all three victims had glue residue in their hair,' CSI Roper said. ‘Fallon and Kyra's autopsies said it was on the skin of the upper face and adhering to the hair at the temples. Rita – we don't know. Cause of death recorded as asphyxia. She had petechiae on the inner surfaces of both upper eyelids, “bruising” to her lower ribcage and liver – no specifics.'

‘Well, who's got the pictures?' Ellis said.

The CSI shook his head. ‘We don't have autopsy photographs for Rita.'

‘So we go back to the pathologist on that one,' Simms said over a huff of disgust from Ellis.

‘Both Rita and Kyra had petechiae on their eyelids,' Dunlap said. ‘Any clue what caused Kyra and Fallon's broken ribs?'

Roper shook his head. ‘The ME couldn't identify the cause, but he was sure they
weren't
caused by blunt-force trauma.'

‘Okay, so, similar pattern of injuries,' Dunlap said. ‘Let's look at other similarities.'

‘Obvious one – they all lived on trailer parks,' Simms said. ‘And they'd all moved into a new area a few months before they disappeared.' She noted the number of weeks under ‘Last known address' on the board.

The FBI psychologist had made no comment. Dr Detmeyer struck Simms as an observer rather than a leader, contributing when he felt he had something that might be useful, but remaining unselfconsciously silent if he had nothing to add.

Valance seemed to be working on a theory, puzzling through something on his computer screen and jotting down numbers into a notebook at his side. He asked her to add an extra column saying when they were found, Simms obliged and they continued. When the physical evidence section was complete, she stood back and studied what they had.

‘There's a hell of a lot of similarities,' Ellis said.

The FBI psychologist considered the question. ‘We went looking for single mothers with one child; sex workers with a history of drug use. All this tells us is that these victims fit our parameters.'

Ellis was offended. ‘A simple “no” would be fine.'

‘But it
is
significant that they moved out of the – area changed counties, even – with a school-age child.' Detmeyer said. ‘Two of those children were Child Protective Services interventions.' He shifted his gaze from the board to Ellis. ‘But when a family moves from one area to another, it can take a while for a social worker to be allocated, paperwork gets jammed up … It almost looks like the killer was trying to cover his tracks, delay the moment when alarm bells would start to ring.'

Valance was staring at Detmeyer with a studious look. Suddenly, he opened his laptop. ‘I think you're right, Doctor,' he said.

Detmeyer raised an eyebrow, but Valance missed it, his attention fully on his computer screen. ‘Okay … when you look at the number of months between the killings, it doesn't look much like a pattern. But when you look at the actual
dates
… Fallon went missing around Thanksgiving. Rita, the same time of year but twelve months later, and Kyra vanished around June of last year.' Valance looked around the room, his eyes bright with excitement. ‘They all went missing just before a school vacation.'

Simms nodded slowly, excitement fizzing under her skin. ‘Schools are often the first line of defence for children like these; if school's out, who else is going to take notice?'

Detmeyer was thoughtful and still.

‘But if it is the same guy,' Valance said, looking a bit downhearted, ‘why'd he change his kill cycle? Two around Thanksgiving – a year apart, but there's a big gap between Rita and Kyra – and nothing for the last year.'

‘Could be he was in prison, or sick, or out of state,' Detmeyer said.

Dunlap was watching the FBI behaviourist. ‘What do you say, Doc, are we on to something?'

Detmeyer tilted his head, doubtful. ‘What we have is still a little sketchy,' he said.

Ellis rolled his eyes, but Dunlap said, ‘What do we need to complete the picture?' He looked around the room, inviting suggestions.

‘Rita Gaigan's autopsy photographs,' Simms said.

‘We'll have to bring in the physical evidence, look at it again. Start fresh.' This was CSI Roper.

‘I'd like to know more about the cord used to bind the cargo netting,' Dunlap said.

‘There's a cordage institute in Maine,' Roper said. ‘I'll talk to them.'

‘We should interview witnesses and the families again,' Detmeyer added.

Simms checked back through her notes for family connections. ‘Wait a minute – Rita Gaigan's son didn't go missing until
after
Rita's body was found. The day before she vanished, she put Trey onto a bus from St James in Phelps County to St Louis, to stay with his aunt. We need to know exactly when he went missing, and what was done to find him.'

‘I'll see what's on ViCAP and NCIC,' Valance said. He swiftly shut down the program he had been using to collate his notes and opened the FBI's LEO portal. He was fast and confident when it came to computer systems, and Simms was reminded of Josh Brown, Fennimore's PhD student.

‘Team Adam must have been involved in the search for Trey Gaigan,' Simms said. ‘Would they be able to give us some background on the search for him?'

‘We can ask,' Dunlap said. ‘Be good to get an unbiased opinion of the investigation. But Rita's body was found across state, practically at the Oklahoma state line. We need more people to bring in all the evidence, get the job done. The Chief here in Brentwood is on the Major Case Squad's board of directors; I'll talk to him, see if they can help out.'

‘Hey.' They glanced over at Valance. He was sitting with his hands frozen five inches above the keyboard, as if he was afraid what he was looking at might vanish if he touched anything.

‘You okay, Valance?' Dunlap said.

Valance was wide-eyed. ‘I didn't check the databases when I got in today – I mean, what's going to change overnight, right? But the entry for Kyra Pender was flagged. Possible link to the abduction–murder of a woman, disappearance of a child.'

Ellis looked up from his note-making. ‘
Another
one, here in Missouri?'

Valance shook his head. ‘This one's in Oklahoma.'

Williams County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma

Deputy Abigail Hicks smoothed her hands over her hair to check for loose strands. Sheriff Launer had called her into his office, and she figured it could not be good.

He sat behind his desk, looking like the realtor he was at heart. His uniform was crisp and fresh, his cheeks smooth-shaved. A box of flyers sat on his desk; a sample stuck to the side of the box showed his smiling face and listed his achievements, which included a reduction in drug crime by 30 per cent.

‘Missed you at the debate last night,' Sheriff Launer said. He and his campaign rival had been in a head-to-head at the local Baptist church in town.

‘Sorry about that, Sheriff. I was working late.'

He chuckled. ‘So I heard.'

Her SUV parked up outside the only motel in town from midnight to 2 a.m.; the small-town gossips must've had the phone lines glowing white hot.
Smart move, Abigail.

Defending herself would only make it worse, so she cleared her throat, said: ‘The debate go well?'

‘Never mind that,' he said, with a smile. Sheriff Launer had the slick good looks of a soap star and the smile of a shark. ‘I don't recall seeing you at the office yesterday.'

‘I had a day owing, sir.'

‘You took a day owing, but were working late,
and
you took your police vehicle across the county line without permission.' His mouth set in a hard line. ‘Explain that to me, Deputy.'

Crap.
She took a breath and launched in. ‘It was police business, sir. The girl found up at the Guffeys' farm? We got an ID – she was from Adair County—'

He waved a hand, cutting her off. ‘Laney Dawalt, yes – I got the memo.'

‘I went over there to—'

‘You can put the details in your report,' he interrupted again. ‘I thought I told you to do the paperwork on the body in the pond, Deputy.'

‘Yes, sir. Paperwork's all up to date.'

He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her for signs of disrespect. Hicks stared at the nail on the wall behind him, where he hung his Peace Officer's certification, and after a few difficult moments, he said, ‘Let me be clear on this: I do not like my deputies swanning off with Sheriff's Department ordnance without my permission.'

The Sheriff did like to call police vehicles and weaponry ‘ordnance': it reminded people of his military background.

‘Laney was murdered, sir,' she said. ‘Her little brother was with her when she went missing, and he is still missing.'

He sat back in his chair, his hands on the desk in front of him, fingers loosely interweaved. ‘Why didn't I know this?'

‘I was going to put it in my report, sir.'

Anger flashed in her boss's eyes and Hicks stood rod straight. She was tired and a little hungover, but throwing Launer's words back at him was plain stupid. She focused on his Peace Officer's certificate again, waiting for the slapdown.

The first surprise was that it didn't come; the anger dissipated, leaving a look in his eye she couldn't quite read.

‘Laney and the boy were from Adair County?'

‘Yes, sir, they were living in Adair, but the killer brought her here, so—'

‘So, technically, the abduction is Adair's case.'

‘Technically,' she said, fearing that her plans to bring in Team Adam had fallen at the first hurdle, but willing to give it one more try. ‘But, sir, Adair don't
want
it.'

He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. ‘Good,' he said. ‘That's good for us.'

‘It is?'

‘Best news I've had all week,' he said. ‘Here's what you do: get everything you got onto the NCIC database. And the whatjamacallit – the Missing Kids website.'