Page 10 of Little Child Gone (Nikki Hunt #10)

“No, I can handle it.” Nikki appreciated the offer, but she wasn’t the same raw live wire of emotions she’d been during that trial several years ago. Nikki definitely wanted to talk to Patrick and Spencer before dealing with Stephanie, or she’d be a step ahead of her the entire conversation.

“You said that you and Miller have a plan for today?” Garcia asked.

“I’m meeting him and a K9 deputy at ten a.m. at Matt’s place.

I know Matt had a shift at the fire station last night, so I left him a message.

He’s supposed to bring Spencer with him.

We’re going to search the entire property, and I hope to interview Spencer.

I’m stopping by the neighbors’ as well, assuming this is all fine with you. ”

“As long as you don’t prioritize this over urgent cases,” Garcia said. Nikki could tell he was still frustrated that they weren’t working on Eli’s case. “I know you’ve got some breathing room right now.” He looked at Courtney. “What about the forensic evidence?”

“I came in early to test the swabs I took from the floor around the chest. It’s clearly a body,” she told them.

“Matt let me take the floorboards, so we’re going to try to get a full biological profile today to run through CODIS.

I also collected hair from the flooring.

Assuming it has epithelial cells, we can test for DNA. ”

He studied her intently. “And you’re good?” Garcia had been adamant Courtney’s mental health take priority after the events in the fall. He’d have no problem keeping her in the lab if she started struggling.

“I’m good.”

“All right,” Garcia said. “I understand you need to be in the field for your mental health. But you need to be honest if you have a setback. There’s no shame in addressing your trauma, Courtney.”

“I will, I promise.”

Nikki headed for her office. The poinsettia on Nikki’s desk had died during the holiday break. Nikki swept it off her desk into the trash.

She pulled the shades down a few inches to block out the glare of the morning sun off the snow outside and then sat down and turned on her office computer.

Her wedding photo with Rory in his tux and Lacey in her pretty flower girl dress made her smile.

Rory was still emotional about Lacey’s request.

Even though she’d checked her messages during her week off, she still had several new ones, including profile requests for crimes in Wisconsin and Iowa.

Matt Kline had also emailed over all of his property paperwork. He and Spencer would meet them at the property at ten, as she’d requested.

Right now, they knew next to nothing about these two poor victims or the Hendricksons, but that was about to change. Her first call was to Matt’s attorney, Brian Cass.

Nikki called the attorney, hoping she didn’t get voicemail. A gravelly voice answered her call. “Brian Cass.”

“Mr. Cass, this is Nikki Hunt. I’m calling at Matt Kline’s request.”

“Yes, Matt said you’d be contacting me,” Cass said.

“You’re not busy?” she clarified.

“Not at all,” he answered. “I’m actually mostly retired. I’ve just retained a few clients. I was the Klines’ estate and wealth management attorney. Matt doesn’t trust many people, especially now.”

“I can’t blame him.” Nikki flipped to a fresh sheet in her notebook. “Did he tell you what we found yesterday?”

“He did. Frankly, I’m still stunned. I debated contacting Stephanie, but I thought I’d speak with you first.”

Nikki caught the edge in his voice. “I appreciate that. I’ve heard she’s tough to deal with.”

“You’re familiar with her, then?” Cass asked.

“More than I’d like to be,” Nikki said. “She’s a great defense attorney.”

Cass snorted. “Ruthless is the better term.” He sighed. “I’m afraid she’s been quite difficult to deal with. I’m certainly no criminal attorney, but knowing how Stephanie operates, I knew that you and I should speak first.”

“How does she operate?” Nikki asked.

“It’s her way or the highway,” Cass said. “Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with her much during the purchase, since their family attorney handled things. She refused to compromise to sell the house. She would have been happy to let it rot. Her words, not mine.”

“What did she want?” Nikki asked. “Twenty acres and a house in desperate need of a remodel seems pretty cut and dry.”

“Her brother Patrick wanted to have the barn and house restored so they could donate the property to the historical society.” He snickered. “Poor guy didn’t have a chance in hell, even though he’s a retired army major. Stephanie wanted to sell.”

“Was she the sole executor of her father’s will?”

“Fortunately, no. They were co-executors. Patrick had a copy of the will. I got the impression the amendment likely would have been buried if Stephanie had been sole executor.”

“What was the amendment to Karl’s will?” Nikki asked.

“I don’t know,” Cass said. “Whatever it was kept the estate from closing for several years.” Cass cleared his throat. “My understanding is that it was only resolved late this summer.”

“When did Matt approach you about buying the property?” Nikki asked.

“September,” he said. “Matt works with Spencer, Karl’s grandson, as you probably know. Matt wants to get into restoration, and this was the perfect place to start.”

“Was it a cash sale?” Nikki clarified.

“It was, and I’m afraid we screwed up with the inspection.

Matt knew the house still had a lot of furniture and other personal items that Karl’s kids didn’t want.

Patrick did take a few things before he went back to Texas, and he took care of clearing the rest of the house out.

We knew it needed major work, so Matt just had a structural inspection done to make sure the foundation didn’t have any cracks. ”

“What about the apartment keys?” Nikki asked. “Did Stephanie or her brother have copies?”

“They both claimed they didn’t,” Cass answered. “Patrick—Major Hendrickson—did clean the house and searched for the keys. They were nowhere to be found, and the apartment had been boarded up. It was going to take some muscle to get inside. Matt just wanted the deal done.”

“Did you have any interaction with Stephanie, or was it all through their attorney?”

“A couple of phone calls,” Cass replied. “I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she’s just a cold person. I have no idea what her relationship with her father was like, but she certainly didn’t appear to mourn him one single bit.”

“Did you ever talk to her or Patrick about the amendment that caused the delay?”

“Stephanie refused to talk about it,” he said.

“Patrick said it had to do with the amount of inheritance money they’d each receive.

He didn’t seem interested in wealth. It’s my understanding that when Karl’s wife passed, the machinery business had been sold, and it was her wish the kids received a share of that after she passed away so that they could enjoy it before they got too old.

Karl honored that, giving them each an undisclosed sum several years ago, making them both wealthy.

Patrick didn’t want any more money from the will and wanted to give his portion to charity.

He just didn’t want Stephanie to have it. ”

“Do she and Patrick get along at all?”

“I know they hadn’t spoken in several years when their father passed.” Cass coughed. “Pardon me. I’m fighting a cold. I suspect that if you met Stephanie Bancroft, you’d understand why.”

Nikki confirmed both siblings’ contact information. She thanked Cass for his time and discretion, reminding him they were trying to keep the media away from Matt and the others for as long as possible.

“Absolutely,” Cass said.

After the call ended, Nikki opened a new browser window and started researching the Hendrickson family, but she couldn’t find anything other than the siblings had spent two years disputing the will before finally putting the property up for sale.

In Minnesota, a will-based estate plan required a probate filing, which made the details of the will public.

She dug through the public records database in search of Karl Hendrickson’s final will and testament but found nothing.

If he had it set up in trusts, those documents were confidential.

Nikki leaned back in her chair and sighed. They just didn’t have enough information. Hopefully Spencer could shed some light on his family’s lives. Stephanie had wanted to sell. Had she had any idea what might have been in the apartment?

She eyed the pile of mail and messages, wondering if she could spend a few minutes to straighten up her office before the onslaught of reports would arrive at her desk.

Half an hour later, her blaring cell phone startled the hell out of her.

Nikki scrambled to grab her phone before the call was sent to voicemail. “Agent Hunt.”

“It’s Doctor Blanchard,” she said. “The forensic anthropologist is on her way. I took samples from the trunk. I’m waiting for Doctor Willard before I clean the bones.”

“What can you tell me?”

“The body in the trunk is an adult female. I believe the remains in the corner are a male that’s at least reached puberty but not passed his early twenties. Doctor Willard will need to confirm.”

So why had there been toys in the room? Nikki wondered. Of course, if the male was a teenager, still having his Matchbox cars wasn’t out of the question. “I assume no cause of death?”

“No,” Blanchard said. “The body in the trunk was wrapped in plastic, which slowed decomposition, but I didn’t see anything obvious like a bullet fragment or ligature.”

“How big do you think the female was?” Nikki couldn’t imagine fitting a person into that trunk without breaking bones.

“Oh, they were forced into the trunk, if that’s what you’re thinking. Femurs and right arm are broken, postmortem. Again, I’d like for the forensic anthropologist to confirm all of this, but I’m confident she was petite. I can’t tell you beyond that.”

“Any sign of clothing or personal items?” Lack of clothing could mean a sexual assault, but the remains were far too decomposed to tell.

“Not that I saw when I opened it, but I haven’t taken anything out other than biological samples,” Blanchard said.

“But, of course, the forensic anthropologist will have the definitive answer. Doctor Willard will be working on reassembling both remains with her assistant while I catch up on autopsies and reports today, but she’s due back in class tomorrow.

If she doesn’t finish, she’ll have to come back in a few days. ”

Nikki understood they couldn’t put cold cases in front of active ones.

“I’m working with Courtney on getting information into CODIS,” Blanchard continued. “I’ve also contacted a friend of mine who happens to be the facial reconstruction artist for the state crime bureau. She’s on standby until Willard has the skull completely assembled.”

Nikki thanked the medical examiner for the update. She couldn’t stop wondering who these two victims were, and if anyone had reported them missing. She hoped Blanchard would be able to find more defining details about them. If she didn’t, how would they identify them?

Nikki needed to talk to Stephanie and Patrick, and she wanted to talk to Patrick before Stephanie to make sure she had as much information as possible before dealing with the defense attorney.

Before she left to meet Miller, she stopped to check in with Garcia. “I’ll let you know what I find out, but I may not be back in the office today.”

“That’s fine,” Garcia said. “Wilson stays here. He’s helping Kendall on a case, and he’s still catching up from being on vacation.”

Nikki started to leave, but Garcia spoke before she reached the door. “How’s Doctor Hart really doing after being back in the field? Coming face to face with death after what she faced can break even the strongest.”

“She’s okay,” Nikki said. “I think the remains being older made it easier to compartmentalize, but I trust Courtney. If she says she’s ready, then she is.”