by Tyora Moody
We are going to find you soon!
Jo stood and stretched her arms above her head. From behind her, she heard, “Jo, here is what I have.”
Jo turned around to see her younger sister standing with a folder in her hand. She had to grin. The free spirit of the family surprised them all when she finally settled down to use her artistic talent in a forensic career. It was still hard to believe. “I hope Scott gave you something to work with for the sketch.”
“He did his best. He was really upset about losing his girlfriend. He kept correcting himself saying she was really his ex-girlfriend. I could tell the poor guy was still in love with her.” Toni held out the folder. “At least now you have a face for your mystery suspect.”
Jo took the folder from Toni, but hesitated for a moment like she had to prepare herself for what she was about see. She flipped the folder open and stared at the sketch. Jo frowned.
Why did this guy seem so familiar to her?
“What are you thinking, Jo?”
Jo focused on Toni, who peered at her over her thick-framed glasses. “You did a great job. I just can’t shake this feeling that I’ve seen this guy before.”
“Well, I know you’ll find him, Jo. If anyone can, you can, sis.”
Jo hugged her sister. As she watched Toni walk away, she noticed Pete coming towards her with the captain not far behind him.
Upon approach, Pete asked, “Do we have a face?”
Jo handed over the sketch and watched as Pete examined the sketch and then the captain.
Pete voiced out loud, “Is it just me or does this guy look like he could be Maddock’s brother?”
A slow tense pounding formed around her temples. Is that what’s bothering me? She didn’t recall Maddock having any siblings. “I’ve been looking at Maddock’s case files all morning. He had no family. It was him and his mom. She’s been dead ten years. I do think we need to look a little more closely at who’s visited or corresponded with Maddock.”
Pete raised an eyebrow. “So my crazy theory about Maddock being involved is sounding plausible now?”
Captain nodded in agreement. “I agree it may not be a bad idea. You both need to cover any ground you can so we can keep the D.A. up to speed on anything that could throw the Maddock trial off course.”
Pete asked, “So what do we do with the composite? Do we want to send this to the media now?”
The captain pondered Pete’s question for a few seconds before responding. “Show it around discreetly for now. Start with the places this guy has been seen already. Somebody has to know this guy personally and can give us a name.”
Jo was thinking the same thing. They were closer than they had been in weeks.
Chapter 19
Wednesday, September 9 at 9:18 a.m.
Jo was not looking forward to paying the Finneys a visit, but they needed Laura’s parents to know they had a possible suspect. Jo regretted being assigned to this task while Pete went to show the sketch around at Ryder’s restaurant. They agreed that to cover as much ground as possible, they needed to split up.
Senator Finney examined the sketch and then passed it to his wife. He stated, “I’ve never seen him before. Was he someone who went to Duke with Laura?”
Jo had tossed the idea around to Pete earlier since they had not reached out to any of Laura’s Duke classmates. All the sightings of the man with Laura had been during the summer while she was home. They both agreed this man had to live here in Charlotte.
Dressed in the same robe as the first time Jo came to the house, Mrs. Finney examined the sketch for a full minute. She practically shoved the sketch back at Jo. “I don’t think I know him either. Who is he?”
Jo observed Mrs. Finney’s face. Something about the sketch had disturbed her, but she was putting on a good face for her husband. “We’re still tracking down leads to find this person. Are you sure you’ve never seen him before?”
Senator Finney frowned. “We just said we’ve never seen the man before. I don’t understand why you’re showing him to us. Is he a suspect? How would Laura know him?”
Jo caught Mrs. Finney’s eyes. They were the eyes of a woman in pain, but she also saw something else. The woman stared back at her as though to warn her not to say a word. Laura was probably a daddy’s girl and Mrs. Finney had become accustomed to protecting Laura’s image.
Senator Finney continued his tirade, “Are you posting this where others can report sightings of this man? Shouldn’t you be setting up a manhunt?”
“Whoa, sir! We don’t want to waste the department resources dragging any old poor soul in for questioning. We also don’t want to risk our possible suspect fleeing the area. We’re gathering evidence so we can make an arrest.”
Senator Finney crossed his arms. “I hope you know what you’re doing. Is it Detective Reed, you say? You seem to have wasted quite a bit of time with Matt. Matt’s family didn’t deserve to be pulled through the mud by the media.”
“That was unfortunate. The media took that to another level by themselves. Look, we will find this man. I’ll keep you updated.”
Jo turned to leave the room. The senator was a grieving father, but she’d had enough of being in his presence.
Mrs. Finney followed behind her. “Let me walk you out, Detective.”
“I think I can find my way out, Mrs. Finney.”
“I insist. Besides, I need some fresh air.”
Jo looked at the woman and then nodded. She sensed Mrs. Finney had something else on her mind. Most mothers knew more about their children’s habits than they often let on. After they stepped outside, Mrs. Finney clawed at her throat as though she had something choking her that she wanted to get out.
Jo nudged gently, “Are you okay?”
Mrs. Finney clasped her hands together. She didn’t look directly at Jo, but off in the distance towards a garden on the left. “Laura and I argued before she left that night. I brought her some new wedding magazines and she snapped at me. It was like she suddenly didn’t want to talk about the wedding anymore. I thought maybe her and Matt had an argument.”
The woman looked at Jo. “When you questioned Matt, I was hoping he hadn’t hurt my Laura. I believed he loved her. Then poor Sarah.” Mrs. Finney placed her hands on the sides of her face. “Sarah was so loyal to Laura. I just don’t understand why this has all happened.”
Jo wanted the woman to focus. “Mrs. Finney, the man in the sketch, did the face remind you of someone? Maybe you saw Laura with him?”
Mrs. Finney looked directly at Jo. “I do feel like I’ve seen that face before. I could be wrong, but I think the man you showed me was Matt’s friend.”
Jo’s heart pounded in her chest. “Wait, you think you saw this guy with Matt?”
“Matt proposed here at our home last Christmas. We insisted Laura and Matt celebrate their engagement on New Year’s. They both invited friends. I don’t remember this man’s name, but I remember he stood in a corner most of the time.”
Jo added, “Like he felt out of place?”
Mrs. Finney nodded. “Yes. I thought it was also odd and it could’ve just been me, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Laura. I remembering thinking to myself, where did Matt find such a strange friend? I’m sorry, I don't know why I never thought about this before.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Finney. That’s really very helpful. I will stay in touch with you.”
Jo climbed into her car and watched as Mrs. Finney went back inside. Her eyes moved up the side of the house where something twinkled in the sunlight. She leaned further towards the passenger side of the car so she could see. There was a camera pointing towards the driveway. She scolded herself for not noticing it before. They needed to get access to that camera’s footage.
She drove like a madwoman from the Finneys’ house back to the station. On her way back to her desk, Sgt. Wu met her in the hallway. “Hey, Detective Reed. I have something you might want to see.”
“Good. I may need your help with some
thing else on the Finney case.”
Jo followed Wu to the room where other techs were working on various computers. A lot of cybercrime activities were monitored in this area. Jo recognized Laura’s laptop on Wu’s desk.
Wu pulled out a chair for Jo to sit. “This took longer than expected because some of Laura’s accounts were not accessible. We finally got into her Facebook account and I think I found some interesting correspondence.”
“Really? So she communicated with this guy via Facebook?”
“Yes, in fact the Facebook Messenger app seemed to be the main way she communicated with him. There were no emails and I couldn’t find any text messages. From what I can tell Laura started communicating in early June with this guy.”
Jo observed the profile Wu pulled up. The dark haired man had vivid blue eyes. “Daniel Lewis? Well, he matches the sketch and previous descriptions.” As Jo stared at the photo she had that strange feeling again that she’d seen this man before. He did remind her of Maddock. Now why was that?
Wu continued, “The last message between this guy and Laura coincides with the night Laura died. It appears she was going out to dinner with him.”
“Did they mention a restaurant?”
Wu shook his head, “Nope. The guy is either a romantic or he wanted to keep the details a secret. Also, he does not have many friends and he rarely posts. It’s like he just logs in to chat with Laura. Anyway, we’re running his name through our databases to see if we can get any matches. We’re assuming Daniel Lewis is his real name, but you never know.”
Jo mentioned, “Wu, I know how we might be able to get some more info on this guy. The first time I talked to Mrs. Finney she said someone picked Laura up from the house that night. At the time, I assumed it was one of the friends, but they didn’t go out together. The Finneys have at least one camera on the property pointed towards the driveway. Can we get access to that camera from the security company, in particular, for any activity on August 18th? Maybe we can get this guy’s license plate.”
Based on her talk with Mrs. Finney, it was time to pay Matt Vaynor a visit again. They needed to know which one of Matt’s friends were not what they appeared to be.
Chapter 20
Thursday, September 10 at 3:07 p.m.
Pete shook his head as he drove. “Why didn’t I think about the Finneys having a camera? They have the money for a serious security system. So what do we know about our guy now?”
Jo replied, “Wu said he was able to get the footage and it clearly showed a black car coming by to pick up Laura. The driver never got out, but Wu said they’re trying to blow up the image to get the license plate.”
Pete tapped the steering wheel. “Didn’t Sarah mention to you about seeing a guy get out a black car near Matt’s apartment?”
“She did and Mrs. Finney thinks our guy was a friend of Matt’s. Some friend!”
Pete sighed. “Why do we always have the unfortunate job of investigating the craziest of the crazy people in Charlotte?”
Jo shrugged. “It does feel like that sometimes. I hope Matt is up to seeing us. The receptionist told me earlier he hasn’t been to work since Sarah’s death. Poor guy is going to lose his job.”
After Pete found a parking space outside of Matt’s building, they moved quickly up the stairs to his apartment. Pete banged on the door two times before Matt opened the door.
From the looks of Matt’s disheveled clothes, he hadn’t been very functional in days. Jo concluded that he’d been drinking.
Matt grimaced when he saw them. “Go away!” He tried closing the door, but Pete pushed the door, sending Matt scrambling backwards.
“Mr. Vaynor, if you really want to do something for Laura and Sarah, you will help us out here.”
Jo stepped inside the apartment and watched the turmoil on Matt’s face. This guy needed help before he self-destructed.
Pete asked, “Do you know a Daniel Lewis?”
Matt shouted and began pacing. “Who? No! Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
Jo tried to calm him down. “Matt, please. We need information and you’re the only one who can help us. Mrs. Finney said you brought a guy with you to the New Year’s Eve party when you celebrated your engagement to Laura. Who was that guy, Matt?”
Matt fell back on his couch. He appeared confused. “Josh?”
She glanced at Pete, who looked equally confused. She asked, “Josh? Your co-worker?”
Matt shrugged. “He had nothing to do on New Year’s Eve. He’s a cool guy, not many friends. I felt sorry for him and told him to come celebrate. I’m pretty sure he regretted coming because he left without saying goodbye. At work, he seemed offended I’d invited him.”
“How so?”
“He wouldn’t talk to me for a while. I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong. He eventually came around.”
Jo processed what Matt was saying. “So Laura met Josh at this party?”
Matt snorted. “I think I introduced them. I doubt she would have remembered him. Laura was in her own world that night.”
Jo tried to make the connections in her head, but she was still confused. “So you said you and Josh weren’t talking for a while and then everything was good. Did Josh help you move out of your house last month?”
Matt nodded. “Yes, he offered to help me move. He showed up first. We actually packed a lot on the truck before my other friends arrived.”
Jo remembered Matt mentioning the rug was supposedly placed on the truck first. She wondered if Josh had a hand in making sure the rug went missing.
“Laura was there helping out too?”
Matt looked at Jo. “Why are you asking all of these questions?”
“We’re trying to establish some things. Now tell me, did Laura help you move?”
“She came by later, her and Sarah. Now that you ask, I remember Josh left. I don't know. He didn’t seem very comfortable around women.”
Pete commented, “Really? So you don’t think he had a girlfriend?”
Matt eyed them wearily. “I don’t know. We worked together, but we’re not that close. He did seem happier about something or someone this summer. Look, I’m not feeling so good. Are we finished?”
Pete stated, “Not yet.”
Jo noticed Matt’s face had become even paler. “Let me ask you one more question. What kind of car does Josh drive?”
Matt squinted as if he was trying to focus his thoughts. “A Honda, I think. It’s black and an older model. Maybe 2005 or something like that. Look, I don’t know why you have these questions about Josh, but I think... I’m going to be sick.”
Matt jumped up from the couch and ran towards the back of the apartment. A few minutes later, Jo cringed as she heard Matt letting out his insides.
Jo and Pete quietly let themselves out of Matt’s apartment.
Pete ran his hand through his hair as they walked back to the car. “So is Josh Collins the same person as Daniel Lewis?”
“I really don’t know. I remember seeing the guy that one time when we went to Matt’s office. He was wearing glasses, so it’s possible. Mrs. Finney did say the guy at the party couldn’t take his eyes off Laura. Maybe Josh decided to pursue Laura for whatever reason.”
Pete clicked the car doors open with his key fob. “Sounds like something set him off. He wasn’t too happy with Matt for a while. I’m wondering if he went after Laura to get back at Matt.”
After they entered the car, Jo said, “You know both Matt and Laura came from pretty influential, wealthy homes. The party at the Finneys could have messed with the guy’s head too. I don’t know. I just know two young women have been senselessly killed.”
Jo’s phone rang. She looked at the screen. “Wait, don’t start the car yet. This is Wu. He may have more from that camera footage.” She answered the phone. “Wu, what do you have for us?”
“Well, we were able to get the plates off the Honda and run them. But you may not like what I have to tell you next.”
&nb
sp; Jo frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The name and the photo that shows up with this car registration does not look anything like Daniel Lewis from the Facebook profile.”
“What? Text the photo to me.”
Jo waited for the message to arrive and clicked on the picture. She gasped and turned her phone so Pete could see the driver’s license. “The car used to pick up Laura that night is registered to a Josh Collins. But this is the real Josh Collins.”
Pete swore. “Get out of here! That guy is at least twenty years older and bald. Who’s the guy that works with Matt? Who are we looking for then?”
“That’s a good question.” Jo realized they were dealing with someone even scarier than she thought. Someone who’d stolen an identity. Where was the real Josh Collins? Had he been murdered too?
Chapter 21
Friday, September 11 at 10:07 p.m.
The night air was cool. The thick clouds threatened rain. Jo’s backside had grown tired from sitting in the car with Pete for two hours. There were still no signs of their suspect, who they referred to as Daniel Lewis. It took them some time working with Ridgecrest Construction’s human resources department, but they’d finally located and scoped out the two-story brick home where Daniel lived under the alias Josh Collins.
The real Josh Collins had died five years ago supposedly from a drug overdose. How Daniel acquired the identity was not really clear yet. All they knew was he’d been in the Charlotte area working at Ridgecrest Construction for a year using the name Josh Collins. According to Laura’s phone records, the house fit into the same area where Laura’s phone was last pinged. The crime scene could have been inside.
Jo wasn’t happy they had to do a stakeout, but their best bet was to lay in wait to see if the man pretending to be Josh Collins returned to his home. Her search for the name Daniel Lewis between the ages of 25 and 35 brought up a large number of results. There was still no telling their suspect’s real identity without DNA. During their briefing, Daniel was to be considered dangerous, since he reportedly killed two women that they knew of, and had adopted a deceased man’s identity. The captain worked it out with Judge James Thompson to issue a “no knock” search warrant. It was a risky approach, and Jo wasn’t sure she was comfortable with the plan.