Page 21 of Out of Time (Secrets of Brookhaven #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Sawyer’s gaze was fixed on the large map pinned to the whiteboard on the wall, red dots marking the homes of the victims and yellow dots indicating where their bodies had been found. His jaw tightened as he traced the lines connecting each point.

Cam entered the room, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He glanced at the map, then at Sawyer, and arched a brow. "Long night?"

Sawyer nodded and let out a ragged sigh. "Couldn't sleep. This case is eating at me, Cam. These women... It's like the killer is taunting us."

Cam dropped into his chair and set his coffee on his desk and turned his attention to the photos on the white board. "Let's go over what we know again. Maybe we missed something."

Sawyer stood and walked over to the map, pointing to the red pins. "Jayla, Lindsey, Hilary, and now Fallon. All blonde and blue-eyed. No common threads, no overlap in their lives except for their looks. There's no pattern in where they were abducted, or where their bodies were found."

Cam joined him at the map, studying the pins. "It's almost like the killer is choosing locations at random, but the victim type is specific. There has to be something we're missing."

Sawyer shook his head, frustration eating at his gut. "I've been going over their backgrounds again and again. Jayla worked at a bank, Lindsey was a nurse, Hilary was studying to be a teacher, and Fallon worked at a boutique. They didn't know each other, didn't frequent the same places. There’s no overlap in professions, where they shopped, where they went to school… Not a goddamn thing.”

Cam tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought. "What about the cars? Anything there?”

“Nothing.” Sawyer barely repressed a growl. “I checked everyone close to all of the victims—none of them drive a white van or a dark Honda like the one in the photo. Fallon’s ex, Mark, drives a bright blue Ford Escape, and his girlfriend, Julie, drives a small, white Hyundai. We’ve got shit.”

Cam sipped at his coffee for a moment. “What about the DMV records? Maybe?—”

Sawyer was already shaking his head. “As soon as we got the footage from the store, I had Webb and Landry check the list to see if any of the van drivers also has a black or navy Honda Civic. We didn’t get a single hit.”

He propped his hands on his hips and stared at the board. “They checked all the drivers with criminal records first, but they all have alibis. Every. Single. One.”

He whirled toward Cam. “What the fuck are we missing?”

Cam made a face. “I wish I knew. We’ve tracked every lead and come up empty-handed. Whoever this guy is, he’s damn good.”

“I’m fucking tired of being one step behind,” Sawyer snapped. “We need something, goddamn it!”

His phone rang, and he angrily swiped at the screen before lifting it to his ear. “Reed.”

“Detective, this is Tom Seidel. I have something I think you need to see…”

* * *

Dr. Tom Seidel greeted them at the ME’s office, a folder in hand. “Please, have a seat.”

Sawyer and Cam did as requested, and Sawyer watched the doctor with a sense of foreboding, his stomach twisting into a tight knot.

Dr. Seidel opened the folder, exposing several photographs, and turned it toward them. “As I mentioned in my original report, while performing the autopsy we found a drop of blood behind Ms. Gill’s left ear.”

He glanced at the men. “Lindsey sustained severe wounds, predominantly on her face and torso. The blood droplet we found wasn’t consistent with her injuries, so I took a scraping and sent it to the lab.”

Sawyer arched a brow. “Does it belong to the killer?”

“Not the killer, no.” Dr. Seidel adjusted his glasses before folding his hands on the desk in front of him. “But we did get an immediate hit on the DNA.”

Cam sat forward in his seat. “Who?”

Dr. Seidel paused for effect, his gaze moving between Sawyer and Cam. "It’s a match to Hilary Swanson."

Sawyer blinked at the doctor. "Hilary Swanson? You’re sure?”

“Positive.” The doctor nodded grimly.

Sawyer’s mind spun as Cam turned his way. “Hilary wasn’t found until after Lindsey went missing—that places them together. The cases are connected.”

“All three women had similar physical features—blonde hair, blue eyes. But their deaths were carried out differently. Hilary and Jayla were kept alive for months, but Lindsey was killed only a few weeks after her abduction."

Sawyer rubbed his temples, trying to piece together the new information. "Why the change in MO? If it's the same killer, why the sudden shift in behavior?"

"It's possible the killer's motives evolved,” Dr. Seidel interjected. “Hilary and Jayla were kept alive, possibly for companionship or some twisted fantasy. Lindsey, on the other hand..."

“Wasn't treated the same way,” Cam finished his thought. “It's almost like the killer lost interest or had a different agenda."

Sawyer leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling as he processed the new revelation. "Or maybe there's another layer we're missing. Something that connects these women beyond their physical appearance."

Dr. Seidel cleared his throat. “I’d like to discuss something that bothered me during Lindsey Gill's autopsy."

Sawyer leaned forward, his brow furrowing. "What’s that?”

Dr. Seidel adjusted his glasses and continued, “As you know, Lindsey had a small incision on her upper arm. Initially, I assumed it was a superficial wound, but upon closer examination, I couldn't find any evidence of a birth control implant, which she was supposed to have according to her medical records."

Cam's eyes narrowed as he processed the information. "Are you saying the implant was removed?"

Dr. Seidel nodded gravely. "That's what it appears. And it's not just Lindsey. I went back and reviewed the medical records for Hilary Swanson and Jayla Simms. Both women were also reported to have had IUDs or implants in their upper arms, but I didn't find any during their autopsies either."

Sawyer scrubbed a hand over his face. "Why wouldn't we have noticed this before?"

Dr. Seidel let out a beleaguered sigh. "Because the killer kept the women for nearly a year. The wounds from the removal of those implants would have healed long ago, leaving no visible traces by the time we examined their bodies."

Cam frowned, trying to connect the dots. "So, the killer removed these implants. But why? What's the significance?"

Dr. Seidel hesitated for a moment before answering. "It’s possible the implants were removed as a symbolic act. The killer may have wanted to sever any ties these women had to their reproductive choices, their autonomy. Could be a form of control, a way to assert dominance over them."

Sawyer's jaw tightened. "It fits the pattern of domination and manipulation we've seen in other aspects of the crimes."

Cam nodded in agreement. "And it explains why Lindsey's murder, while connected to Hilary and Jayla's in some way, was executed differently. The killer's motives evolved, but the underlying need for control remained consistent."

Dr. Seidel looked between the detectives, his expression troubled. "I'm sorry to bring such grim news, but I felt it was crucial for your investigation."

Sawyer straightened from his chair. "Thanks, Doc. I appreciate you checking into this.”

Cam nodded to the doctor, then fell into step next to Sawyer as he strode from the room. The bright sunlight outside assaulted him, and he slid his sunglasses into place as he cut across the parking lot toward the cruiser.

Cam caught up to him just as he slid into the driver seat. “This could be what we needed.”

Sawyer turned to face him. “Something about that whole thing has been bothering me since the beginning. Because Hilary supposedly miscarried, we don’t know how far along she was. I kind of assumed that she was pregnant before she was kidnapped, but now…”

He trailed off, and Cam grimaced as he picked up the train of thought. “Maybe that’s what they all have in common—maybe he’s removing the implants to try to get them pregnant.”

Sawyer’s stomach flipped over. The thought was revolting. “That’s a whole new level of fucked up. And that raises another question—if that’s his fantasy, then why get rid of them?”

“Hell, I don’t know.” Cam shrugged, then started the car and steered out of the parking lot. “Maybe the fantasy outweighs reality. Or maybe that’s part of the fascination, too—he holds their lives in his hands and kills them when he’s tired of them.”

“But Hilary wasn’t murdered,” Sawyer argued. “She bled to death.”

Cam propped his elbow on the door and rubbed his temples. “So he wants them pregnant. Why?”

That was the million dollar question. “You know what I don’t understand? Lindsey’s death doesn’t fit. Not at all. He didn’t even keep her long enough to impregnate her.”

Cam suddenly straightened. “Maybe that’s the point. Maybe she wouldn’t let him.”

Sawyer’s brows pulled together as he turned toward Cam. “What do you mean?”

“That level of brutality is born of passion. He had to be furious to do that kind of damage. And then he cut off her fingers.”

“To eliminate DNA,” Sawyer added.

“Yes, but he didn’t do that with the others,” Cam said. “He used bleach to clean them. He cared for them. Because they played into his fantasy.”

“And Lindsey didn’t.” Sawyer dropped his head back. “Fuck.”

Cam nodded grimly, and Sawyer drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know if that bodes well for Fallon or not.”

“It means we need to go back through every single thing. The answer’s there—we just have to find it.”