Page 40 of The Graveyard Girls (Detective Ellie Reeves #11)
THIRTY-NINE
DAY THREE
Crooked Creek Police Station
Ellie picked up breakfast sandwiches and pastries at the Corner Café to fortify the team for their morning meeting.
The owner and Cord’s former girlfriend, Lola, looked tired today and kept rubbing her pregnant belly.
At one time Cord believed the baby was his and planned to marry Lola, but Lola lied to him about the paternity which triggered their break-up.
She still hadn’t divulged the identity of the baby’s father, but Ellie hoped he’d stepped up to support Lola.
As she entered the station, she set the food on the counter in the conference room beside the coffee station, then poured herself a mug.
By the time she organized her notes, the team was filing in.
Derrick was first and grabbed coffee and a pastry for himself, then claimed a chair across from Ellie and placed his briefcase on the table.
Cord came next, took a ham and egg sandwich and seated himself near Ellie.
The men acknowledged each other with a quick hello, the tension between them palpable.
When they’d first met, the men hadn’t gotten along but over the cases they’d investigated, they’d learned to respect each other’s work ethic and skills.
Deputies Landrum and Eastwood trailed in along with her boss and Dr. Whitefeather. Morning pleasantries were exchanged then Ellie took the lead by placing Bonnie Sylvester’s photo on the whiteboard.
“This is our victim,” she said. “Thirteen-year-old girl from Cleveland, Georgia, whose body was found in Brambletown. She was a foster child, bounced from one home to the other, described as shy and had a difficult time making friends. Her last foster family, the Wileys, claimed she was defiant and ran away.” Ellie placed their pictures on the board under the title Suspects.
“I drove to their house to question them, but their house was cleaned out and they’re in the wind. An APB and a BOLO have been issued.”
She angled her head toward Deputy Landrum. “What did you find on them?”
He shook his head. “Not much. No remaining family members and no paper trail. No properties in their name, no credit or debit cards, and no luck locating their car yet.”
“Keep digging.” Ellie gestured to Shondra.
“Deputy Eastwood canvassed people in Brambletown but no one recognized Bonnie. At this point, we have no information on how she ended up in Brambletown, if she’d been somewhere in town or if the killer snatched her in Cleveland or elsewhere and dumped her body in Brambletown hoping no one would find her.
“So our unsub could either live in Brambletown or another town. With all the curiosity seekers visiting the memorial, he could be hiding among them.” Ellie turned to the ME. “Dr. Whitefeather, do you have autopsy results?”
Laney stood. “I do. COD was strangulation. Particulates on the red scarf found in the grave and ligature marks on her neck confirm it was used to choke her. No signs of sexual assault, but she did have bruises on her arms, chest and legs indicating she fought her attacker. Bruising on her wrists suggests her hands were bound at some point. Other signs are consistent with prior abuse dating back years.”
“Probably from the Wileys.” A muscle ticked in Cord’s jaw. “How long did Bonnie live with them?”
“About nine months,” Ellie answered.
“Nine months of hell,” Cord muttered.
Ellie wondered if he was thinking of his own hell, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Actually, some of the bruises were there longer than that,” Laney said. “Striations on the bones indicate some have been there for years.”
“Then prior, maybe long-term abuse,” Ellie said in disgust. The poor girl had no kind of life and now she died before she had a chance to live.
“There’s one more detail.” Ellie posted a picture of the red sandal on the board.
“Bonnie was found shoeless although Dr. Whitefeather recovered a red sandal from the grave. And Ranger McClain found a necklace by the pond on the Wiley property. We’re testing it for prints. ”
Her boss cleared his throat. “The lab called and confirmed the DNA matched Bonnie Sylvester’s.”
Ellie gestured toward Derrick. “Which brings us to the reason Special Agent Fox is here.”
Derrick headed to the whiteboard with a folder in his hand.
“During my time off, I did some digging into other missing persons cases and discovered several missing teens cases with similar elements to this one.” He added more photos.
“These girls’ bodies were found. In each of these instances, the girls were strangled and one of the victim’s shoes was found with the girls while the other shoe was missing. ”
A hushed silence filled the room as that information sank in.
“There are other instances where the girls’ bodies haven’t been recovered that might be related.
” Next Derrick added a photograph of Ruth Higgins.
“Fifteen years ago, Ruth Higgins disappeared from Brambletown. Ruth’s remains were never uncovered although one shoe was logged into evidence.
” He tacked the photo of a red boot on the board.
Ellie sucked in a breath. Was Derrick right? Were these more current murders connected to the Higgins cold case?