Page 30 of The Girl from Devil’s Lake (Joanna Brady Mysteries #21)
“Sorry,” he said, “but it’s never going to work.
In this instance we would have officials from both sides of the border conspiring to effect a warrantless search, and that would be regarded as a violation of Mr. Roper’s constitutional rights.
In addition, any evidence that came in as a result of that illegal search, including evidence found later during the execution of any subsequent search warrants, would be considered fruits of the poisonous tree and also be deemed inadmissible. ”
Joanna had thought that at last they’d be making some actual headway in the case, but she did her best to hide her disappointment.
“Well,” she said lamely, “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“I’m sure it did,” Craig agreed. “Your job is to catch the guy. Mine is to make sure we can prove he did it in a court of law.”
“I understand completely,” she said. “I want to prove it, too.”
“What else have you got?” Craig asked.
“Not much,” she admitted. “There’s a possibility that our guy might be a repeat offender, but so far Roper’s got no criminal history.”
“So no prints or DNA on file?” Craig asked.
Joanna nodded. “None at all. We’re hoping to collect some trash DNA to see if we can connect him to any unidentified profiles in CODIS, but otherwise we’re coming up empty.”
“Look,” Craig said, “I happen to agree with you that there’s a good chance Roper’s our guy, and I want him off the streets every bit as much as you do, but suspicions don’t carry the day.
We have to be able to prove it. So remember that old story about the tortoise and the hare—slow and steady wins the race. ”
Driving back to the Justice Center, Joanna was still disappointed, but she was also grateful. Thanks to Dave Hollicker, she hadn’t made a legal blunder that might have allowed a child killer to walk free.
Joanna made two calls on her way back to the Justice Center. The first was to Arturo, telling him sorry, but the whole deal was off. The second was to Casey Ledford.
“Tell Dave he was one hundred percent correct, and that I’m sending him a big thank-you,” Joanna told her.
“That whole warrantless search thing sounded like a good idea, but whatever evidence was found would have been thrown out as a violation of his constitutional rights, so I guess we’re getting nowhere fast.”
“Not entirely,” Casey told her. “I just got word that Stephen Roper does indeed have a Waste Management account. His garbage pickup is scheduled for Wednesday morning.”
“So tomorrow night you’ll have someone there to grab his trash the moment he hauls it out to the street?”
“Absolutely,” Casey replied. “My wiseass partner has already volunteered to do the job.”
At four that afternoon, Joanna went to the conference room for her previously scheduled press conference.
It wasn’t well attended. None of the Tucson papers or TV stations bothered to send reporters or camera crews for a dead body in a flooded river sixty miles away.
Roy Huggins, a reporter from the Sierra Vista Daily , was on hand, however, and so was Marliss Shackleford. They were it.
Joanna’s comments were brief and to the point.
“DNA results from the State Department of Public Safety have now confirmed the identity of the homicide victim found in the San Pedro River in St. David on Saturday afternoon. His name is Xavier Francisco Delgado, born in Naco, Sonora, on October 14, 2019. His mother’s name is Elena Maria Delgado, also of Naco, Sonora.
“The ME’s autopsy has ruled that the cause of death is asphyxia and his manner of death is homicide. Detectives from the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department are investigating. That’s all I have to say at this time.”
Before Joanna could make an exit, Marliss’s hand shot into the air. “How did the victim end up in the river?” she asked. “Did he just wash up from Mexico, or was he placed in the riverbed somewhere on this side of the border? Do you know where any of this happened?”
“We have yet to identify an actual crime scene,” Joanna replied.
“So you don’t actually know if he was murdered in Mexico or the US?”
“As I said, we have not established where the death occurred.”
“I understand his mother is...well, let’s just say on the colorful side and might have friends or associates who aren’t exactly on the up and up. Is it possible that she or one of her several boyfriends might be involved in Xavier’s death?”
Obviously Marliss had been nosing around enough to know exactly how Elena Delgado earned her living.
“At this point everyone’s a suspect,” Joanna said, even though that wasn’t true. As far as she was concerned, Elena had been ruled out as the perpetrator almost immediately.
“In other words,” Marliss said, “you and your people have made zero progress.”
“And I have no further comment at this time,” Joanna said. “Have a good day.”
With that, she turned on her heel and left the room. It was a good thing, too. If Marliss had asked one more question, Joanna might well have bitten her head off.