Fallacy (Detective Jade Monroe 3)

by C. M. Sutter

  She nodded. “Yes, that’s why they took his toothbrush along, to compare DNA, they said.”

  “That’s correct. We should have the results back by tomorrow.”

  Tears clouded her eyes and ran down her face. “Wouldn’t it be easier if I saw the victim for myself? If it isn’t Larry, we should be searching for him, shouldn’t we?”

  Jack took over the conversation. “Ma’am, just give us one more day. We’ll know definitively tomorrow if the deceased man is Larry. I don’t know if you’ve been following the news or not, but there are several cases that may be related, including Larry’s.” Jack reached in his blazer pocket and pulled out the warrant. He slid it across the coffee table.

  Debra’s eyes filled with surprise as she read the document. “Why do you want our computers? Lisa uses them every day. She’d be lost without them.”

  “Ma’am, they’re going to help us with our case. Did Larry use the computers too?”

  “Of course, we all did.”

  “Then we’re going to have to take them with us and any tablets too. Is Larry’s phone here?”

  “No, he had it with him. Every time I try his number, it goes directly to voicemail like it’s turned off.”

  I searched the notes from Jamison for Larry’s cell number. I passed the notepad to her. “This is his number, correct?”

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “Mrs. Taylor, we don’t want to take up your day, so we’ll go ahead and grab what we need.” Jack stood and gestured toward the hallway. “Now, if you don’t mind.”

  Debra stood and walked out of the den. We followed her through the house.

  “We’ll need every computer and tablet you have,” Jack said.

  Debra led us into the library, then to the kitchen, and finally upstairs to Lisa’s bedroom.

  “She’s going to be furious when she gets home and sees that her laptop is gone.”

  “We’ll have our specialists begin with hers. Any tablets?” Jack asked.

  Debra opened Lisa’s nightstand drawer and handed me the tablet.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. These will be returned to you as soon as possible,” I said, “and you’ll hear from us tomorrow.” Jack and I left our cards with her and walked out.

  My phone rang while Jack drove the highway back to the sheriff’s department. I checked the time on the dash before I answered—2:37.

  “Hello, Sergeant Jade Monroe speaking. How may I help you?” I listened intently to the voice on the other end. The postmaster was telling me the outcome of his phone calls. I slapped Jack’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up. “Yes, sir, we’ll meet you in twenty minutes. The Washburn County Sheriff’s Department appreciates your assistance in this matter.” I hung up and slapped Jack again.

  “Are you done abusing me now?” He playfully rubbed his shoulder as if it hurt. “What did he say?”

  “Head to the North Bend post office—he’s meeting us there. I have to call Clark and tell him what’s going on. I want Todd and Billy to meet us there too. They know the right questions to ask when it comes to video footage.”

  Jack exited Highway 33 at Seventh Avenue, turned right on Cedar Street, and followed Cedar past Elm and Maple to Oak Street, where the post office stood in the center of the block. I checked the time again.

  “What’s your deal with the clock?” Jack asked.

  “Nothing yet, just wanted to stay mindful of the time. Amber and I are supposed to have dinner at my mom’s house at six, meaning I should make sure to head home at five. That is—”

  “What?” Jack interrupted.

  “Unless we get an address today.”

  Chapter 51

  “This piece of artwork won’t fit in the box you gave me, Mama,” Mariah whined. “What did Daddy use?”

  “I don’t know, Mariah, it’s not like I paid attention to that particular hobby. Take a look in the workshop storage room one more time. Mandy, you go check the basement shelves. The buyers have already paid in full, so these pieces have to go out today. Anyway, we need coffee, bread, and milk. You may as well get those necessities as long as you’re in town.”

  Mandy spent ten minutes in the basement before coming back up. She peered around the doorway and saw Alice sitting on the couch, watching TV.

  “Did you find a box downstairs?”

  “Yes, Mama,” Mandy said.

  Alice heard the sound of drawers opening and closing in the kitchen. “What are you doing in there? Let me see the box.” She paused the TV and crossed the room. On the other side of the breakfast bar, she saw a large cardboard box on the kitchen floor. She scratched her arm and stared at the box. “That might work. We’ll cut down the sides and fold them in.”

  Mariah stomped in through the front door. “This is the only box left in the storage room, Mama, and it’s way too big.”

  Alice glanced at the clock. “The box is fine—we’ll cut that one down too. Let’s get busy and wrap these pieces. The post office closes in two hours, and I want them dropped off today. Oh, by the way, Mandy”—she grinned as she spoke—“I found you a date for tomorrow night.”

  Chapter 52

  Jack parked the cruiser along the curb, a half block from the post office entrance. Our location, comfortably nestled under a shade tree, provided us a good view of the front door. We’d see Todd and Billy when they arrived.

  “What time did the postmaster say he’d meet us?” Jack asked as he reclined the driver’s seat and closed his eyes.

  “Three o’clock—you still have five minutes to rest. Todd and Billy should be here any minute. Here they come.”

  “Damn it, just as I was getting comfortable.” Jack pulled the handle beneath the seat, slid it forward, then raised the seat back with the lever on the side.

  Billy headed to our car. “What’s the word?” he asked as he stuck his head in Jack’s window.

  I leaned toward Jack so Billy could see me. “We’re going in right now. The postmaster may have parked in the back.”

  Todd caught up with us after he found a parking space and said he dropped a handful of change into the meter. The four of us walked up the post office steps. I pointed toward the outer camera and turned. I wanted to see exactly where it faced.

  “Looks like this camera catches most of the block,” I said.

  Todd and Billy agreed. “We’ll know exactly how much area it covers when we see the footage. What day was that receipt from, Jade?”

  “Last Tuesday, and David was found on Wednesday morning. The time stamped on the receipt showed the package was paid for at one thirty in the afternoon.”

  “No problem,” Todd said. “Documented dates and times make our job of going through videos a lot easier.”

  We entered the post office and took note of the other cameras near the ornate ceiling. A woman stood off to the side, filling out paperwork with a package jammed under her arm and a whiny child tugging at her leg.

  The clerk at counter one waved me over. I approached the counter and explained who we were and asked if the postmaster had arrived yet.

  “One moment, I’ll check.”

  It felt like déjà vu as she disappeared around a corkboard wall just as the clerk did in Germantown that morning.

  Jack, Todd, and Billy discussed the latest televised baseball game as we waited. I walked from one side of the large post office to the other and admired the beautiful murals for the umpteenth time.

  “Excuse me,” the clerk called out when she returned to the counter.

  We approached.

  “Please take the door to your right.” She pointed at her left as she faced us. “The postmaster’s office is at the end of the hall. He just arrived.”

  I gave her a quick smile and mouthed a thank-you before we headed to the door.

  She nodded as a customer approached the counter.

  Jack and I walked side by side, and Todd and Billy did the same behind us. I knocked when we reached the postmaster’s office door. A familiar voice answered and
told us to come in.

  James McHenry stood and shook each hand as I introduced the group. I thanked him again for the hassle-free permission he’d gotten that allowed us to view the camera footage.

  “The community is facing a crisis, Sergeant. I live in North Bend too and have a family I want to keep safe. There’s no need for us to be sticklers.”

  “Well, we certainly appreciate it,” Jack said.

  “Right this way. I’ll show you to the control room.”

  We followed Mr. McHenry to a very dated-looking room with old paneled walls and a warped drop ceiling. Todd said the cameras appeared to be newer, otherwise it seemed to be a typical control room hidden from sight at the back of the building. Four live video cameras ran continuously. With everything automated, there was no need for a security person to sit inside and watch the footage.

  “How long do you keep the videos?” Todd asked.

  They record over themselves every thirty days unless we have a reason to hang on to something. I’ll admit, that hasn’t happened as long as I’ve been the postmaster. We’ve never had an issue here and don’t even have a guard on-site. A technician comes in weekly to make sure everything is running properly. Sorry I can’t help you with any of this—it isn’t my forte.”

  “No problem,” Billy said, “we’re very familiar with this setup. Do you mind if we just dig in?”

  “Not at all. The room is small, but I can have somebody bring in a few extra chairs.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, we’d appreciate that.”

  Mr. McHenry excused himself and closed the door at his back.

  Jack and I stood behind Todd and Billy as they took the only chairs and seated themselves in front of the equipment. A knock on the door sounded, and I opened it. A young man handed me two folding chairs. I thanked him, and he left.

  “Do you have a preference, Jade?” Billy asked.

  I opened the chairs and took a seat. Jack did too. “You mean which camera to start with?”

  “Yeah, I’d suggest the counter cameras.”

  “I agree, go ahead. Here’s the receipt. The time stamp is at the bottom.” I handed Billy the receipt for the insured parcel, and Todd brought up camera number two. He paused the footage, turned a few knobs, and flipped several toggle switches. With the technical magic he and Billy had, they rewound the tape back to last Tuesday.

  “Where do you want me to start, Jade?” Billy asked.

  “Let’s start at one twenty. That should get us seeing either David or the killer inside the building. They might have had to stand in line for a bit. They would likely be at the counter for a few minutes with an insured parcel.”

  Billy slowly backtracked as we watched the time stamp in the bottom right corner of the video go in reverse.

  “Okay, let’s start now. We don’t know if the parcel is small or large, only that it was insured. It could be an envelope for all we know. We have one grainy picture of a young blond woman, and we all know what David looked like. We need to focus on men or women that look like either of them. Keep in mind, this post office has four counters, so we have to keep our eyes on all of them.”

  The four of us leaned in and watched the screen as the footage progressed in real time. People came and went. My eyes darted from one counter to the next. I watched the time stamp as it got closer to one thirty.

  “Anybody see anyone that remotely resembles David or that blonde?” I asked, afraid to take my eyes off the screen. I could barely blink for fear of missing something.

  They all mumbled that they hadn’t. I checked the time in the corner of the screen again. It read one thirty.

  “Pause the footage, Todd. Okay, what are we missing? Somebody dropped that parcel off—why aren’t we seeing either of them?” I ground my fingers into my temples.

  “Let’s think this through. There was a receipt on the ground next to David’s car for this post office and this time. What if it just blew over there and has nothing to do with him?” Jack asked.

  Todd suggested going over the footage again. “Let’s eliminate David first. Don’t look for anybody other than him at each counter. I’ll widen our parameters to five minutes before and five minutes after one thirty. Only watch the counters—I’ll slow the footage down.”

  I stared at each counter so intently my eyes almost watered. David wasn’t on the footage anywhere. We all leaned back and took a deep breath.

  “Okay, let’s do the same for the blonde,” Billy said.

  Customers came and went, but the blond girl wasn’t on the footage, either.

  I slammed my fist on the desk. “Now what?”

  “Did we get permission to look through the Blakely post office box?” Jack asked.

  “Not exactly, but that’s next. I want to show this picture to the counter clerks first.”

  I was thankful for the lull in activity at the counters. That would give the clerks time to look at the image of the blond girl and tell us if she appeared remotely familiar. Jack and I had her image on our cell phones. He took the first counter and I took the second, and neither of us had any luck. He went to the third, and I took the fourth.

  “Jade, over here.” Jack waved me to the counter he was at. “Please, tell her what you just told me.”

  The clerk told me the girl in the photo somewhat resembled the Blakely twins except the hair was different.

  “I haven’t seen Mandy and Mariah since earlier in the week. They used to come in a lot with their father, but last time Dean didn’t make it. I guess they favored me since they always came to my counter.”

  “Ma’am. Haven’t you been watching the news on TV?”

  “I’m not a TV watcher. I’d rather read, why?”

  I didn’t have time to explain. “You said the girls were alone?”

  “Yes, they were dropping off one of the pieces of art their dad made. I asked where he was, and they said he was gone. I guess Dean is quite the craftsman.”

  I handed her the receipt. “Is this your counter terminal?”

  “Yep, that’s mine.”

  “Can you describe the twins?”

  “Sure, they both have waist-length brown hair and look the same. They’re tall, slender, and quite pretty.”

  “Thanks, we’ll be back in a few minutes.” I jerked my head toward the control room. “Let’s go over the footage again. This time, we’re looking for two girls with waist-length hair at counter three. Did you catch that about Dean being a craftsman?”

  Jack nodded. “That would explain the tools.”

  It looked as though we were finally getting a break in the case.

  Chapter 53

  Back in the control room, Billy brought up camera two again. He rewound the tape to last Tuesday at one twenty-five. We watched counter three.

  “Son of a buck,” Jack said, “there they are.”

  I leaned in closely. “Slow the footage down, Billy.”

  We watched the interaction between the girls and the counter clerk, Betty. Because we saw the girls only from behind, we had to watch Betty’s expressions as she waited on them. She smiled and laughed as if she was familiar with them. The box they handed over the counter was large.

  “So for some reason, one or both of the girls had their hair cut and dyed between then and now. Let’s see if we can access their post office box. Why don’t you guys head back and start going through the computers from Larry’s house? If that company, Unhappilyhitched Inc., pops up, they’ll be getting a warrant for their member list.”

  Jack pulled the cruiser door key off the fob and handed it to Billy. “The computers are in the trunk. Put the key under the seat, and I can unlock the door with the fob.”

  “Sure thing,” Billy said. “With any luck, we’ll know if that website is on Larry’s and maybe even John’s computers before we head home tonight.”

  Jack and I returned to Betty’s counter. I did a quick visual of the area. Several people were being waited on at counters one and four, but nobody else was in the buildin
g.

  “Betty, can you open the Blakely’s post office box for us?”

  She gave us a skeptical frown. “There’s no way unless I want to be fired. Do you have a warrant?”

  “No, but Mr. McHenry allowed us access to the control room. I’m sure he would let us see what’s in their post office box too. Maybe you’d ask him for us?”

  “What are you hoping to find in there?”

  “If we’re lucky, a home address,” Jack said.

  “I can guarantee you there won’t be one. Our records do go back five years, though.”

  “Meaning?” My brows arched with curiosity.

  “Meaning, they would have had to show us a driver’s license to rent a box.”

  “And you can show us that?” I smiled widely at her.

  “I guess so.” She made sure nobody was waiting in line behind us. “Give me a minute.”

  “This is even better than seeing inside the post office box. Usually those things are filled with junk mail, anyway.” I cracked my knuckles and paced until Betty returned. She had a postcard in her hand and slid it across the counter to us.

  “Here’s what Dean used as an address when he rented the box several years ago. It’s a copy of his driver’s license.”

  I grabbed the card with excitement and read it. “Damn it. The address is from Madison.”

  Jack looked over my shoulder. “Apparently it was when they moved here, and he hadn’t updated his driver’s license yet.”

  “That’s it?” I asked, hoping for more.

  “Sorry, that’s it,” Betty said.

  Jack and I thanked her and headed out the front door.

  I thought out loud as we walked back to the cruiser. “So, we know the receipt was in the possession of whichever girl drove David’s car to the apartment complex. That makes her culpable to some degree for his murder, at least as an accessory. I’m guessing they’re both involved. We could be looking for a blonde with shoulder-length hair and a brunette with waist-length hair. We just don’t know if it was Mandy or Mariah in the picture.”