Page 22 of Three Girls Gone (Detective Amanda Steele #14)

EIGHTEEN

Amanda had considered swinging past Libby’s and grabbing Zoe on the way home last night, but it had been nine thirty, and Zoe would have been sound asleep.

Waking her up just to squeeze her would have been selfish.

But at least Amanda had the option to consider, unlike the Gilberts and Tanners.

It didn’t matter how much they wanted to hold their daughters. It would never happen again.

This morning, Amanda stirred awake before the sun and got an early start on the day. She stopped in at Hannah’s Diner on the way to Central and got herself an extra-large coffee. May wasn’t in, not that Amanda expected she would be. Since she’d hired more staff, she started after the sun came up.

Amanda reached her cubicle at seven thirty but found her desk occupied. “Katherine?”

“Oh, hi.” Katherine pried her gaze from the screen of her laptop.

“You’re in early.” Amanda stayed in the opening because there was no room for her. Katherine had made herself at home. Papers were spread across every surface, including the floor. If that wasn’t enough, the space felt more cramped since Katherine was an Amazon at six feet tall.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Katherine swiveled toward Amanda. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were blotchy. “Any time I shut my eyes… Well, let’s just say the images are worse than when they’re open. Smart choice in coffee, by the way.” She pointed at the Hannah’s Diner cup in Amanda’s hand.

“It’s the best choice around here. I would have picked you one up if I’d known you were here.”

“How could you have though? Don’t worry, I brewed some here, though it’s probably tar by now.”

“How long have you been here?”

Katherine’s gaze diverted for a moment.

“You were here all night,” Amanda concluded.

“I’m sure I don’t have to explain it to you, Amanda. You’re much the same when something nabs your attention. There was no way I’d sleep, and if I’m just sitting around, I might as well be doing something.”

Amanda could only imagine how her friend was suffering. “You realize that none of this is on you? This creep hurt and killed two little girls because he is sick.”

“I know it here”—Katherine tapped her head, then laid a hand on her chest—“but here isn’t buying it. Maybe if I can finally track this bastard down. Assuming we’re looking for a man.”

Amanda staggered a bit, then leaned against the partition. “Why wouldn’t we be? There was evidence of sexual assault in both cases.”

“Was there sperm or DNA for Hailey?”

“I’d assume so. I’m still waiting on the full autopsy report.” It had to be a man, didn’t it? No woman would…

“Well, there wasn’t with Julie. There are many things that can explain no DNA, like the use of a condom. But it might be telling us something else. ”

“Are you suggesting that a woman is the perpetrator?”

“It is possible.”

Amanda looked at Katherine’s laptop, which was still open on the desk. “Do you have someone in mind?”

Katherine closed the lid and rocked her hand. “Kind of, but I need to dig into her more before I name names.”

“Fair enough.” The last thing Amanda needed was to be weighed down with another possibility. “Well, I’ll share a name. Wilson M-Something. That ring any bells for you?”

“M-Something? Interesting surname.” Katherine flashed a smile at her own joke. “No, I can’t say that Wilson does. Do you have a photo?”

“Not this time.”

“I can’t help you then. Oh, look at me. I need to leave. This is your desk.” Katherine scrambled to collect all the paperwork and files she’d laid out.

“You know what? Just stay put. Trent’s not in yet. I’ll just go next door and log on to his computer.”

“Are you sure?”

Amanda dipped her head, smiled, and went to Trent’s cubicle. The partition fabric must have wicked his woodsy cologne because that’s all she could smell.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Amanda logged on to his computer using her credentials. It would pull in her profile and settings. While she waited for it to load, she flipped back the tab on the lid of her coffee cup and savored a long sip.

Katherine was clicking on the other side, her fingertips tapping against the keyboard on her laptop. Amanda was curious about what she was doing but didn’t want to subject her friend to an inquisition. If Katherine had something worth sharing, Amanda had faith she would.

Amanda opened her emails and watched two of importance appear in her inbox. One from Briggs and another from Rideout. She opened Briggs’s message first.

The number associated with Wilson M will require more digging to track down the location where it was sold.

I can request warrant authorization to pursue, but do you have enough to support this?

Let me know. I can, however, tell you it was serviced by Universal Mobile like the number used to contact Mara Bennett, posing as Jean Tanner.

Amanda took another drink of her coffee and sat back satisfied. That both phones linked back to Universal felt too coincidental. Could it be that both tied back to this Wilson M?

She continued reading the rest of Briggs’s email.

Unfortunately, there is no more I can tell you about the first number that texted Mara Bennett, posing as Jean Tanner. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been of more help. Reach out if you need anything else.

BTW, I heard from Katherine, and if you want to pass it along that I’m still working on her thing, I’d appreciate that.

Amanda keyed back a quick response that she’d received his message and would get back to him on justification for a warrant. Then she looked over the partition and passed along Briggs’s message for Katherine.

“Thanks. I didn’t expect a miracle overnight.”

“Then you don’t know Briggs, because that man has pulled them off before.” She smiled, hoping that the expression would lift her friend’s spirits. Katherine put her head back down and was looking at her laptop.

So much for cheering her up… Though, in her place, it would take more for her.

Amanda shook off the low-energy vibe and turned to the next email.

Not that it helped her mood. Rideout’s autopsy report for Hailey Tanner.

Amanda plucked out the highlights, which were more accurately low lights for their depravity. She stopped at the first point.

Evidence of sexual assault. No DNA or condom residue.

Could it be that Katherine was on to something with the perp being a woman?

In Amanda’s opinion, Wilson M deserved more attention.

After all, Mara Bennett placed him at The Nutcracker making a fuss over Hailey.

If only they could establish his identity, they may be on the way to tying him back to Julie Gilbert.

She returned to Rideout’s email.

Concluding that cause of death was manual strangulation. The scarf was not used. The bruising provided an estimated handspan that would belong to a full-grown adult—man or woman. However, it’s not distinct enough to provide a measurement that could be relied upon.

Time of death, as estimated before, is fixed between 11 PM Sunday to 5 AM Monday.

X-rays showed no broken bones or history of such.

Articles of clothing and scrapings from under the nails were sent to the lab for further processing.

Amanda processed one key takeaway. Nothing confirmed a man had done this.

She closed Rideout’s email and saw that a new one had come in from CSI Blair. The subject was Tanner Evidence .

Amanda opened it and took in the bullet-point list that the investigator had laid out.

Carousel: public playground equipment. DNA and fingerprint evidence too plentiful to be helpful. A search of the immediate area never turned up anything of serious note.

Men’s public restroom: garbage bag empty. Nothing definitive as evidence connected to the perp.

Hailey’s clothing: Tutu and slippers showed no trace or DNA other than hers.

Female DNA was recovered from the chiffon scarf and run against elimination samples of Jean Tanner, Mara Bennett, and Susan Butters.

None were a match. Also no hits in the system, period.

But there were a few hairs on it that came back belonging to a rabbit.

Tanner residence: Passed along from CSI Stuart (seems you made an impression…) DNA swabs from the closet door came back a match to Hailey and Jean Tanner.

Also the ballerina tutu and slippers were a match to the ones found on Hailey Tanner in style, size, and brand.

This makes it likely they came from the girl’s closet.

The scuff mark tested from the trellis is a match for rubber used in the soles of commercial running shoes.

Amanda sat back, focused on the one finding associated with the scarf. Female.

A woman’s DNA was on the scarf. But it could have been purchased by a man after a woman had tried it on and returned it to the rack. Or a man could have stolen it from somewhere as yet unknown.

“Amanda?” Trent was standing next to her. Based on the way he looked at her and the volume he’d used, he’d tried to get her attention already.

“Ah, yeah?”

“You’re in my office.”

“Nothing’s slipping past you.”

“Hilarious.” When she didn’t join in his amusement, he became serious. “What is it?”

“We have the results from Briggs, Rideout, and Blair.”

“Sounds like the morning’s off to a good start.”

“Not entirely. We have another mystery.” She ran through the findings with him. By the time she’d finished, he was leaning on the edge of his desk, facing her.

“I’m having a hard time dismissing that Wilson M’s phone ties back to Universal Mobile too.

But they are a large company.” The phone on Trent’s desk rang, and he answered.

A few seconds later, he was saying, “We’ll be right there.

” When she cocked her head, he filled her in.

“That was Malone from the conference room. I guess he’s there with Katherine and the police chief already.

Time to go get briefed on the Gilbert case. ”

She got up, thinking she must have sunk into her work. She never noticed Katherine leave her cubicle.