De la Peña pointed to the screen. “Tashara found it in the ’89 missing person case file. Some hairs were discovered on a knitted cap in the woods behind the victim’s home. The analysis showed they weren’t human hairs, so it was considered a dead end. Maybe these are dog hairs. We phoned the evidence Storage Facility and asked them to find the sample. I thought we would take it directly to the lab.”
“Half are blonde, half are married, half are old…where is this getting us?” Duncan asked. “How are we going to know which cases to include and which to exclude? Don’t we need something more?”
Moffat nodded “Definitely. For now, we just want to lay out different commonalities and see if this gets us anywhere. We’re going to need some more leads to make sense of this. Maybe the DNA will help. For now, let’s finish filling in the data and following up Davies leads.”
When Lang mumbled to Schoenberg that it was a “fucking waste of time,” the four younger officers glared at them. Moffat sat at his computer, placed his head on his right fist and stared at the spreadsheet. The others walked back to their tables.
* * *
Moffat thought that Duncan’s observations were all correct. There were too many overlaps in the case attributes to zero in on the subset he was looking for. He smiled slightly as he admitted to himself what he was looking for: a middle-aged psychopath who had kidnapped and murdered women like Nicole for a number of years, hiding the bodies and completely avoiding detection. Of course, Moffat told himself, the likelihood of this investigation turning out the way he imagined was very small. He would settle for apprehending the man who attacked Nicole Davies. Either way, he was hopeful that the investigation would turn up some leads that would allow them to move forward.
Moffat’s hopes were raised when Dr McDonald phoned with the news that there appeared to be enough DNA in the rape kit swabs and the blood sample to perform successful testing. She promised to phone again as soon as she had any results.
Schoenberg and Lang reported a steady stream of negative results. Nicole Davies had phoned to tell them the date her cable TV and phone were hooked up. She explained that she was getting phone, cable television and Internet service all from the same company. She read the installer’s name from the service receipt and realized immediately why the policemen lost interest. A woman had done the work. Later, they reported no leads from the utility’s employee list. Fifteen men’s names were checked for prior arrests as well as height and weight from driver’s license data. None had a record and only three were over six feet. A quick check revealed alibis for all three, two were working overtime and the third was out of state on vacation. Schoenberg and Lang timed their follow up interview with the fry cook at Denny’s to coincide with their lunch break. They made sure to finish their meals before challenging the fry cook on his whereabouts last Thursday night. He said, and the records confirmed, that he had been working that evening. They found the source of the waitress’s rumor. There had been a lewd conduct charge but it turned out to be related to an unchaperoned high school pool party, charges were dropped and did not indicate likely status as a sex offender.
When the call came early in the afternoon that the Evidence Storage Facility had located the animal hair sample from the 1989 missing person case, Officer Fat drove over to pick it up and take it to the DoggieAncestory.com lab. Fat remained at the site to guarantee safeguarding of the evidence and so that the police would be able to demonstrate in court, if it came to that, that there was no chance of contamination.
While Fat was out, Moffat took one of the case folders from the table he shared with Duncan. This was the sole stalking case and involved a victim who at 21 years, was the second youngest of the group. One day in December 1982, Ingrid Boyd had seen a man watching her from a car as she left work. Two days later, at the same time of day she thought she saw the same man standing in a shop doorway, near where he had been the first time. When, later in the week she saw the same car parked in front of her house as she returned from work, she went to a nearby market and phoned police. Investigators discovered signs that the bedroom window of her ground floor apartment had been pried open and the victim reported that her bureau drawers had been rummaged through.
Moffat considered whether this could be the same perpetrator in the Nicole Davies case. The height was right. Assuming the man who attacked Davies was between 50 and 60, he would have been between 25 and 35 when the stalking occurred. The victim’s guess was that the tall, dark-haired man was around thirty.
The suspect’s height and age and the probable use of a back window to break in fit with the Davies case. It looked promising, but the links were tentative. Moffat knew they would need a lot more that that if they were ever to determine the identity of this man.
Later, Moffat picked up two folders from the table Lang and Schoenberg shared: two missing persons, one from 1985 and one from 1986. The first involved a married woman, age 42 with dark hair and a stocky build. The second missing person was 26 with light brown hair, medium height and a slim build. There were no suspects, no leads and no trace of either woman after she had disappeared. The first woman’s family had hired a private investigator in 1991. The investigator also came up empty handed. Neither Lang nor Schoenberg had completed the database entries for these files. They had not yet contacted the next of kin for new information and had not yet checked current voting or social security records, but as far as the case files showed, both women had vanished.
At 4:30, Moffat and De la Peña met to discuss the direction of the investigation. There was still frustratingly little evidence to reveal a culprit or even create a consistent modus operandi for most of the cases. They were still hopeful that testing of the old evidence and their new inquiries would provide a lead but they were seriously considering the admittedly long shot path of investigating schnauzer owners. Officer Fat already had a list from the Department of Animal Control and had plotted the best routes for visiting those addresses. Schoenberg claimed to be allergic to dogs and, based on his and Lang’s lack of enthusiasm for the task and Tashara’s condition, the schnauzer investigation would be conducted by Officers Fat, Duncan and Peake.
Moffat and De la Peña were on a dinner break when Dr. McDonald called with DNA results for the evidence. Her voice message stated that there were two intriguing matches with the tests. Both men were encouraged that, while this information didn’t provide the lead that would resolve the Davies/Price cases, they were at least moving forward.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER 24
At seven ten, Moffat phoned the night shift watch commander and was told that Mrs. Haugen and her mother had arrived a half hour earlier. She was directed to an interview room. The mother had asked to accompany her but Haugen had told her that it would not be necessary, that the Captain would probably want to talk to her alone.
De la Peña arrived first and passed Mrs. Martius without speaking as he entered the interview room. He checked the recording equipment and he and Mrs. Haugen waited in silence. Moffat was about five minutes behind the Sergeant. In the hall outside, he greeted Mrs. Martius politely and with some warmth.
“I understand Major Franke died last weekend. I’m sorry. It must be a difficult time for you.” Moffat imagined this interaction from the elderly woman’s point of view. It must be strange to find herself with her middle-aged daughter in a police station as part of a homicide investigation. That, with the recent death of someone to whom she must have grown close, seemed to have the makings for a stressful situation. Moffat observed that Mrs. Martius, however, was calm and alert. She seemed to be searching Moffat’s eyes and face for clues just as he was hers.
“It was a long, painful illness. He had lived a long life. It was a blessing his suffering ended.” She said these words gently, as though she were consoling Moffat. Moffat was slightly unsettled and thought he had better excuse himself before…he didn’t know before what…but thought he would hurry on to the interview room.
* * *
“Mrs. Haugen, we need to gather some more information about the afternoon and evening of Veronica Gillis’ murder. Moffat noticed that Haugen was quite flushed and seemed overheated. He thought to turn down the thermostat but the interview room was already cool. Instead he offered her a bottle of chilled water that she declined. Haugen was dressed in a turquoise knitted two-piece suit.
“Did you just come from work?”
“No, my mother insisted on coming along. We met at my house and had dinner.”
“Mrs. Haugen, I guess you work long hours at your job as a loan officer.”
“Yes, I do.”
“At the end of the day, when you come home from work, do you usually change clothes? I mean, do you change into jeans or a sweatsuit like my wife does?”
Haugen was perplexed, (as was Sergeant De la Peña.) She shook her head. “Well, no. I usually do some shopping, make dinner, tidy up a bit. I used to try to take a forty-minute walk everyday after work but I haven’t managed to do that in quite a while. “
“Mrs. Haugen, can you tell me what clothing you wore last Wednesday?”
As Moffat asked the question, De la Peña observed a flash of fear on her face.
“I…don’t remember. Not offhand. Why would you need to know that?”
“Think about it, please. You met your mother for breakfast at the Miner’s Flat Café. You must have met some clients that day. Does that help jog your memory?”
Haugen answered firmly without hesitation. “No.”
“You do work at a bank, Mrs. Haugen. There are security cameras that record you as you move about.” He let it sink in. “Think again, please.”
“Ok. Yes, I can be fairly sure. I wore a tan suit similar in style to this one I am wearing. And a white blouse.”
“Where is that suit now?”
“In the closet.”
“Would you mind if we picked it up for analysis?”
“Well, no, but I don’t see why you want that. I didn’t see Ronnie after breakfast.”
As they had at the time of their original interview, both detectives observed signs of an increasing level of stress including trembling hands, short breaths and a rising pitch of the voice. Moffat believed that Haugen was now trying to figure out why he would be interested in her clothing and whether she had made an error in agreeing to his request. With his next question, he guessed her heart would be pounding.
“Would you like to arrange for a lawyer to be present during questioning, Mrs. Haugen?”
“No, of course not. Why would I? I haven’t done anything.”
“There is a problem with your answers at our first interview. You told us you hadn’t spoken to anyone after you left work. Since then, I’ve learned that you phoned Mrs. Gillis’ office to see her that night.”
Haugen exhaled sharply with a barely audible moan. Her face and neck turned a plum color. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I never got to talk to her and so when you came asking questions I didn’t want to get myself involved. I never saw her. I thought about going to the church but I didn’t. I’m sorry.”
Haugen had begun to regain her composure.
Moffat thought to himself she is still hiding something. If she did go to the church, she can’t be sure we haven’t turned up a witness, but she may think if we had a witness we would have already arrested her. He had her for making a false statement but nothing else for now. He decided to hold his position for a time, having gained a tool for future use and the opportunity to view her closet.
“Mrs. Haugen, please remain here. An officer will accompany you to your home to collect the dress. I have a quick question for your mother.”
Cheryl Haugen’s mouth fell open in surprise. Moffat left the room before she could speak again.
His question to Mrs. Martius was if she remembered her daughter’s clothing from last Wednesday’s breakfast. She did. Without prompting, she recalled the tan two-piece suit Haugen had described. Moffat was only slightly disappointed with her answer.
Moffat summoned Officers Duncan and Fat who were still in the conference room, working on the pet owners list, scheduling appointments for the next day. He asked them to drive Mrs. Haugen back to her house, to collect the tan suit and to look within the closet for an orange dress or suit as well. If any of these items were found, they were to get Haugen’s permission and then photograph clothing in the closets, bathroom, bedroom and elsewhere. Duncan and Fat were to collect the garments and return with them and Haugen to the station where Haugen would be released and could drive her mother home. They were instructed to drop off the tan suit and an orange garment if they found one, at the forensics lab for gunshot residue testing.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER 25
Wednesday, May 17
Every member of the team came early to work Wednesday morning. Mrs. Grubb, of all people, was last to arrive at 6:45. Word that the DNA test results had come in and that they showed something had spread through the police grapevine. Computers were turned on, sweaters and jackets dropped over chair backs, then the team gathered at the side of the room, where Moffat and De la Peña sat studying the photographs and the database.
“Here it is, everyone.” Moffat began. “The DNA shows that the 1977 and 1981 rape cases were committed by the same man. The other two samples also involve a single man: the 1975 rape and the blood found at the home of the 1998 missing person. Both of these genetic fingerprints have been submitted to the California Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For now though, we want to consider whether either of these pairs can be moved over here to our subset of cases with Nicole Davies and Amy Price?”
“There’s one more piece of information, Captain,” Officer Fat said with a sly smile.
“The animal hair?”
“That’s right. Schnauzer. And, of even more interest, an ancestor of the dog that licked the envelope.”
“Wow.” De la Peña looked at Moffat’s computer monitor. “1989. Missing person. Let’s move that one to our subset.” De la Peña reached for the photo of Christine Shaw, then stopped, his index finger pressing just below the picture. “Oh…Do you guys see what I see?”
There were murmurs of assent.
“The same general appearance as Nicole and Amy. That’s probably significant.”
“The rape victim…see, 1975 here,” Tashara pointed to another photo. “Different hairstyle, younger too, but she does seem to fit the general description.” Then she feigned anger. “Hey, wait! Apparently, this guy is a racist in addition to being a rapist and murderer.”
Fat shook his head dramatically. “You would think we would be beyond that by now.”
De la Peña and Mrs. Grubb resisted laughing but smiled. Moffat saw Lang about to join in and decided to end this tangent of the group discussion before Lang said something that violated department training for a harassment-free workplace.
“OK, let’s say we move these three cases into our subset. Maybe we have enough to find some patterns. We’ll look at it again in a while. First though, I want to learn more about these locations on the map. I’ve been wondering if there might be a higher incidence of apartment residents versus those who live in single-family homes. I see all the pins on the map. Can you tell me what kind of places these are? Single story, two story, bungalows? Anyone know?”
“I can pull up Google Earth satellite images. That might help,” Fat offered.
“That won’t be necessary, kid,” Schoenberg said. “I’ve policed this county almost twenty years. I can describe any street you want. See this place?” He pointed to the black pin designating Nicole Davies address at the time of her assault. “Those are a bunch of very small homes. There were twelve of them originally, built in the 1950’s by a contractor and the guy that owned the land. Cheap housing for young families. There are only five left. The others were torn down for a drive in and a small grocery store.
“Look.” Fat pointed to the screen where he had pulled up a satellite
view of the street. Lang was impressed.
“OK. That’ll help.”
Schoenberg walked to the map to join Lang. Together they began to describe the victims’ residences while Fat pulled the street up on De la Peña’s computer screen, now projected at the front of the room.
* * *
Mrs. Grubb had been speaking for several minutes on the phone at Moffat’s desk in the corner. She hung up and signaled to Moffat who left the group still reviewing locations and walked to meet her.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. The watch commander has a lady who wants to talk to you about a possible crime in Miner’s Flat. He thinks you should see her. She’s the niece of Lewis Franke. She’s refusing to talk to anyone else. I told him you were not free and that someone else would speak to her. She wants to see you. She says she would like to schedule an appointment.”
“Tell the Desk Sergeant to take her to my office. I’ll be right there.”
De la Peña overheard and was as surprised as Mrs. Grubb that Moffat would interrupt the work at this point, leaving the team to finish the review on its own.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER 26
“Good morning, Mrs. Russell. I understand that you are Lewis Franke’s niece. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, Captain Moffat, that’s very nice of you. I’m sorry to bother you but there’s some information I want to share with you and a favor to ask.”
Moffat tilted his head slightly and nodded. “Well, it happens that I have some questions for you, so it’s convenient that you came in this morning.” True to his habit, Moffat watched the woman for a reaction. It would surprise most people and probably disconcert them to hear a policeman say he has some questions for them. Mild surprise, Moffat noted, otherwise her reaction was one of interest. Franke’s niece was about sixty with reddish blonde hair and make up expertly applied to give a youthful and natural appearance. She was around 5’8” and very well dressed in a brown skirt, a light blouse and a tan sweater hanging over her shoulders. Gold-framed reading glasses hung from a gold chain around her neck. She accepted Moffat’s offer of a chair, seating herself gracefully next to the desk in his temporary office. Moffat took out a pen and opened his spiral notebook.