Page 10 of Last Girls Alive

“Let me see.”

Katie turned the file to McGaven. “Oh, that means there were police calls to the house. That seems like a lot of calls for assistance.”

“How many?”

“Seventeen.”

“That’s excessive. Make sure we get all those reports and the names of the reporting deputies too.”

“On it,” he said. “Don’t you want to start your profile of the killer?”

“Not just yet. For now I’m more interested in the location, and why the killer thought it was a perfect place to bury a body. Why there and not in some rural area where it wouldn’t be found?” She strained her view to see what McGaven had on the screen.

“Okay,” he said and turned the laptop so that Katie could see it. “The current owners of Elm Hill Mansion are listed as Magnum Development, Incorporated.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“Seems Magnum Development, Incorporated, or MDI, is a company with many offices nationwide, but their main offices are in Miami, Florida.”

“Interesting,” she said.

“Previous owners?”

“Sara and Jonathan McKinzie.”

“Local?”

“No. Well…” McGaven stalled.

“Well what?”

“When I try to get their address, or at least mailing address, it’s like I’m being taken on a wild goose chase.”

Katie frowned and thought about reasons why someone would not want their personal information on public record. “What about the real estate transaction, new ownership, or escrow paperwork?”

“I don’t know. I don’t seem to be able to find anything right off. It looks like it was paid in cash.”

“What is the actual address that the county assessor’s office has on file?” she asked.

“I have 403 Elm Hill Road, but…”

Katie read over his shoulder. “But there’s also an older address of 407 Elm Hill Road. So… which one is correct?”

“Maybe the property was divided up and there is more than one registered address? I just can’t seem to locate them.” He sighed. “I can’t even find the basic info on the house, like square footage or exactly how much land there is.”

Katie stood up and pulled over the movable whiteboard so that they could both see it. “I guess we need to start with what we know right now.” She picked up a black marker and began writing down several headings: Crime Scene, Body, Victim, Elm Hill Mansion, and Killer.

“Okay.”

“Excuse me,” came a voice from behind them.

“Hey, Denise,” said Katie, turning and smiling at her friend who supervised the records division.

McGaven immediately stood up.

“Hi,” said Denise to him.

“Hi.”