I watched her expression as she read the document. “Very good information here. Nice work, Jade. So where are we on everything?”
“J.T. and I compared all of the photos of the shoes in Mark’s house against the image of the tread on the outside wall. None matched. It was another way to double-check that the shoe belonged to the intruder, a woman. Forensics agreed on that as well.”
“How about toxicology?”
J.T. responded. “The coroner told me the blood work on Beverly Grant and Ted Arneson came back as clean, but Jerry was as drunk as a skunk. Mark’s report should be back tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Check Jerry’s police and forensic report again and look through the photos they took inside the house. Did anyone see beer or liquor set out or a glass or two in the sink? Were there cans or bottles in the trash? If not, he had to go somewhere to get that drunk. He was found dead and mutilated in his house. His hands had been turned into hamburger by the garbage disposal, for God’s sake. Round up the neighbors again and see if they know what bars he frequents. If we’re lucky, some place may have him on video.”
J.T. wrote that down. “I’ll get on that right away, Agent Tam.”
“Bruce, Dave, what do you have with the phone calls?”
Dave spoke up. “Ready-Pour fired one person in the last year for falsifying their time card. Apparently that person moved to Arizona six months ago. Several other people quit on their own accord but not due to any misconduct.”
She turned her head. “Bruce?”
“Cemcom fired six people in the last year. Taking into account they employ four thousand people, makes six seem like small potatoes.”
“True, but the reason is what’s important.”
“Yes, ma’am, and they said they’d have the personnel director call me this afternoon with each of those six people’s files.”
“Have we started on the lawsuits for either company?”
“Not yet, Agent Tam, but that’s next,” J.T. said.
“Okay, if that goes nowhere, we need to have both companies pull up every residential account they worked at in the last year.” She glanced at the clock above the door. “It’s two thirty, so we still have time to get that done by our four o’clock meeting. Let’s wrap this up. I want a completed profile to give the PD first thing tomorrow.”
We filed back into the computer lab to begin the Internet search of lawsuits in the county for the companies where our victims worked.
“The online search shouldn’t take long. We’re only dealing with four companies if we check the 9-1-1 operator’s call center too,” I said.
J.T. spoke up. “The only company that might take some time is Cemcom because of their size.”
“Then let’s work on them together. Bruce, why don’t you and Dave take the others?”
“Yeah, okay.”
We each grabbed a computer station and began our search. I tapped my computer keys to pull up the circuit court records for Harris County and entered Cemcom in the search bar.
“Holy crap, I had no idea how large Cemcom was. They have divisions all over the country.”
“Let’s stick to the Houston facility, Jade. The rest wouldn’t make any sense,” J.T. said.
“Yeah, you’re right. Even locally, they have several plants and multiple departments. I’m just going to type in the address of the main plant and see what pops up.”
I supplied all of the necessary information and went back a year. I clicked on the blue enter key and waited. Pages of lawsuits popped up. They covered the entire company as a single entity instead of by location. I groaned with impatience. I decided to browse the pages by the city the suits were filed in. Hopefully the cities were listed in alphabetical order rather than month and year. J.T. searched for the names of females who’d filed the lawsuit. We needed a woman with a residential account who had filed a suit for any reason whatsoever. At least we’d have somewhere to start.
A half hour later, with both of us working only the Cemcom file, we had two residential lawsuits for Houston, neither had been filed by a woman alone, and both had been dismissed a while back.
I read over the first suit, and the findings showed the homeowner and Cemcom had a miscommunication as to when the pool surround would be completed. They agreed on an undisclosed sum, and the suit went away. The second lawsuit, filed by a Kent and Jordan Taylor, gave no information whatsoever and said only that it was unwarranted and dismissed. I slumped back and raked my hands through my hair.
“J.T., how does this work if the perp isn’t found in a few days? Milwaukee needs us back at some point, don’t they?”
He acknowledged my frustration with a thoughtful smile. “It’s usually our team that apprehends the bad guy, Jade, but if time doesn’t allow that, we establish a complete profile, release it to the police department, and head home. There are plenty of agents and local law enforcement personnel that will take over the investigation as long as they have a good start from us.”
I chuckled. “Okay. I didn’t know if I was supposed to send in a change-of-address form to the post office or not.”
“I know what you mean, but you’ll get used to it, I promise.”
We gathered again in the conference room at four o’clock. Agent Tam stood at the end of the table and updated us on her findings.
“I did some digging myself this afternoon. The police department combed the area around the Fellenz house. They interviewed all the neighbors on the block and some extended family throughout the metro area. Like the others, Mark didn’t seem to have any enemies.” She glanced in my direction. “It sounds like the only person with a temper was Jerry Fosco. Mark went to work every day, got along with his coworkers, and lived a normal, law-abiding life. So what are we missing, people?” She looked at J.T. “Did you find out anything in Jerry’s file?”
“There’s no mention of open liquor bottles, beer cans in the trash, or anything like that. The forensic photos don’t show anything out of place other than at the kitchen sink area where the crime took place.”
“Okay, we need to speak to the neighbors again and ask about Jerry’s favorite haunts. Anything on the lawsuits?”
“Two that were dismissed at Cemcom,” J.T. said.
“Nothing at the other companies,” Dave added.
“Ma’am, we can still put together a decent description. Somebody has to know of a female friend or family member that went through a recent tragedy and is acting unusual. We can give the police what we have, hold a press conference, and let Joe Q. Public call in on a tip line. There isn’t a ‘norm’ for a serial killer. None of them, other than the psychopath with a split personality, can go about an everyday, normal life without raising a red flag with somebody.”
Anxiety covered Agent Tam’s face. “Check out the stories behind the two lawsuits before we give the PD our profile.”
“Yes, ma’am, but I have one more idea up my sleeve.”
“Go ahead, Jade.”
“What we’re doing now involves too much guesswork. We don’t have an eyewitness, so we can’t work with a sketch artist. We don’t have a vehicle to put a BOLO out on, and of course, we don’t have that all-important name. There is a faster way to pinpoint who we’re looking for, and it might work.”
Agent Tam looked hopeful.
“Let’s get the residential work records for each of the tradesmen and cross-reference them. Since none of these men worked at the same company, the only way to know if they worked on the same project is to compare their work calendars side by side. If the surveyor, cement mixer, and bricklayer went to the same residence for a work order, say within a couple of weeks of each other, well, that in itself should tell us something.”
“Okay, call the companies and make sure they fax those work records here before their offices close for the day. Go to Jerry’s, Mark’s, and Ted’s homes and see if you can find calendars, work records, and addresses that related to their jobs. We need something that will tie these men together. Bring a
nything you find back here first thing in the morning. We need to compare jobsites and notes. Monroe, I want you to go interview the families related to those dismissed lawsuits. Dave, go back to the Fellenz house and see what you can find. J.T., go to Ted’s house and talk to the wife. Bruce, scour Jerry Fosco’s house and talk to his neighbors about his favorite bars. Look through each house again with a fine-toothed comb, but this time focus on something that could have a work date and address on it.”
Chapter 17
We each left in a separate government-issued car and headed to our designated location. My phone rang as I drove. SSA Spelling was calling me.
“Hello, boss.”
“Hello, Jade. How’s the FBI in Houston treating you?”
I chuckled. “About the same as any law enforcement agency. I do appreciate the nice hotel room and travel stipend, though.”
“How’s the case coming along?”
“Slowly. I think I’ve convinced the crew we’re looking for a female perp, though.”
“Interesting. Are you making headway?”
“I’d say so. I’m pretty confident we can put together a profile tomorrow for the police department. Everyone needs to be on the same page so we can expedite this killer’s capture.”
“Absolutely. I’m looking forward to hearing the end result. Keep me posted, Jade.”
“I will, boss. Good night.” I hung up and called Amber since my GPS told me the address of Dan and Ellie Stein was fifteen minutes away. I missed Amber and looked forward to hearing her voice. She answered right away.
“Hey, Jade, I just left work. Everyone was talking about you.”
I laughed. “Why?”
“Because they miss you, that’s why. I never realized how much this crazy crew loves you.”
I smiled from ear to ear. “That really warms my heart.”
“So, how’s the case coming along?”
“It’s a bit stressful. We can’t seem to figure out who the serial killer is other than it’s a woman. We haven’t found a single thing that ties the victims to each other, then of course, having zero witnesses doesn’t help.”
“Yeah, that sounds tough. A woman, really? That’s interesting.”
I sighed. “Anyway, how are you, hon? How’s life as a deputy? Is your ass getting bigger?” I chuckled at my own memories from years back of worrying that sitting in a cruiser all day would make me fat. That stress was probably what kept me lean.
“My ass is just fine, thank you.”
I laughed again. “Are you glad to be in law enforcement? Do you feel like you made the right decision?”
“Of course I do. I’ve never doubted that. One department at a time and one step at a time will get me to the place I want to be.”
“Good attitude, little sister. How are the guys?”
“Like I said, they’re all missing you. I don’t stand a chance in your shadow.”
“You’re funny. Okay, I have to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night. I hope to be back in a couple of days. Night, hon.”
“Night, Jade.”
I hung up and clicked my right blinker to change lanes. The residence of Dan and Ellie Stein was coming up on my left.
I pulled into their driveway and parked. I stared down at the paver sidewalk and instantly liked it. I put that idea in my bank of to-do-somedays and carried on.
The large painted door wore a fall wreath filled with faux leaves in bright oranges, reds, and yellows. Acorns, hot glued to the leaves, gave it a perfect finishing touch. Pumpkins in three sizes already lined the porch.
I rang the bell and waited.
Mr. Stein came to the door and pulled it open widely. I introduced myself and noticed the look of surprise that covered his face. I imagined an FBI agent arriving at someone’s home during the dinner hour wasn’t the norm for most folks.
He welcomed me inside, and I told him I’d be brief.
“Ellie, we have a guest.”
A thirtysomething woman appeared in the foyer, and Dan explained who I was.
“Of course, please, let’s have a seat.” She led the way into a comfortable looking family room where Mrs. Stein asked her daughter to turn off the television and find something else to do for a half hour. The girl, who looked about ten, left the room.
“I’m following up on a current case that may involve Cemcom. I noticed that last spring, you filed a lawsuit against them. Can you give me a brief synopsis of what that was about?”
The couple looked at each other in surprise.
“Are we in trouble for something?” the wife asked.
“Not at all, and a brief explanation will be fine.”
Dan spoke up. “It was just a timing delay. We wanted the pool work to be complete by April tenth. Ellie’s sister planned her engagement party here and hired caterers for the day. There was so much rain the first week of April, everything was delayed even though the signed contract said the work would be completed by the tenth.”
“When was it finished?”
“Not until the end of the month. The backyard was such a mess, Ellie’s sister found an indoor venue at the last minute. We settled on Cemcom paying for her venue and the meal. It only came to a few thousand dollars.”
“The settlement and resolution was amicable?”
“Yeah, I guess. They finished the work, it looks beautiful, and we haven’t spoken to them since.”
I put away my notepad after writing down the Steins’ contact information. I stood and shook their hands. “Okay, that should do it. I’m sorry to interrupt your evening. I’ll show myself out.”
Back in the car, I programmed the GPS to take me to the next home. A Kent and Jordan Taylor lived about ten minutes away.
I picked up my cell and called J.T. as I drove. With any luck, he’d find something at Ted Arneson’s house that could tie all of these murders together.
The phone rang six times before J.T. answered.
“Oh, there you are. I was about to hang up.”
“Sorry, I got distracted for a minute.”
“What was the distraction?” My curiosity was now piqued.
“A simple reminder note on a piece of scratch paper that was pinned to a corkboard in the kitchen. Ted’s wife said that’s where he put everything work related so he wouldn’t forget. She said he sometimes did side jobs unrelated to Cornerview Surveying. According to her, he was always taking notes on scratch paper. The corkboard was his way of staying organized. Apparently it didn’t raise questions with the police or forensics when they did a walk-through of the house earlier in the week.”
“Do you think it’s important?” I merged onto the freeway as we talked.
“Well, it looks like it’s been pinned to that corkboard for a while. A man’s name, occupation, and address are written across it. Maybe they were co-contracting on a project. The wife didn’t recognize the name. Hang on, Jade.”
I heard J.T. thank the wife, followed by a noise that sounded like a car door slamming.
“Are you leaving now?” I hoped to call it a night after my final interview and have a relaxing dinner and a glass of wine. I was sure my fifty-dollar stipend would cover everything.
“Yeah, I’m backing out of the driveway.”
“What’s the guy’s name, and what does he do?”
“His name is Myron Dormin, and he’s a landscape architect. I’m sure his and Ted’s professions go hand in hand.”
“True, so now what?”
“I looked the guy up online and called the number. He’s self-employed and has a studio in his house. He told me he had an appointment scheduled in a half hour, so I promised to keep my visit short. Anyway, I’m heading over there now. He doesn’t live far from the Arneson house, only fifteen minutes to the east, otherwise I would have done a phone interview.”
I envisioned a fast-food dinner becoming my evening reality, minus the glass of wine.
“Yeah, I understand. I still have an interview to do myself. Do you want me to wait on di
nner so we can go over the case together?”
He laughed into the phone. “Well, I know I’m starving, so you must be too. I’ll let you make that call. This should only take me an additional twenty minutes.”
“Okay, then, if I get back before you, I’ll be waiting at the restaurant bar.”
“Fair enough. See you soon.”
I clicked off and smiled. I liked J.T. He wasn’t uptight or intense. So far, I read him as calm, levelheaded, and kind, although I hadn’t seen him in an intense situation—yet.
Chapter 18
Jordan was undecided about swapping out the vehicles. All-Store was twenty minutes away, but Myron Dormin’s home was just a six-minute drive. She decided to be cautious, take her personal car, and park under the cover of darkness.
Improvising, Jordan picked up a cinder block from the rubble along the side of the house and placed it on the backseat floor of her car. She double-checked Myron’s phone number and address then set the GPS before backing out of the driveway.
A dark sedan caught her eye when it stopped at the curb. Jordan watched through the driver’s side mirror. A tall, slender female got out and headed her way.
She lowered the window and killed the engine.
“Good evening, ma’am. My name is Agent Jade Monroe, and I’m with the FBI. Are you Jordan Taylor?”
“Yes, of course. FBI? What can I help you with? I’m actually in a hurry. I just received a call that my sister is in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I promise to only take a few minutes of your time. I know you and your husband filed a lawsuit against Cemcom earlier this past spring.”
“Cemcom? Yes, but the suit didn’t go anywhere. The claims expert came out and evaluated the scene. He said we had nothing to go forward with. The initial proceedings were started, but my husband agreed to drop it.”
“Can you tell me what it was about?”
Snapped: An Agent Jade Monroe FBI Thriller Book 1 Page 9