by A N Drew
"Cause of death?" said Holmberg.
" Report came in over the weekend. Coroner's come back with a finding of asphyxiation,” she said quietly. "So far, we've called in two people of interest.” She turned and pointed to pictures of David McElroy and Marlin Jones. "DNA samples were taken from Jones, and we’re ordering a test for McElroy, but unfortunately Jones didn’t match the material found on either victim. I'll turn over to Jack now, and he can fill you in on developments.”
Although it didn't really count as public speaking by most people’s standards, I considered giving a briefing to colleagues to be up there with holding a press conference; I'd rather stick pins in my eyes. With several pairs of eyes on me, I pushed the chair back and stood up.
I cleared my throat. "Jessica Holmes went missing five days ago. She went to the local park with her sister and didn't come home. Gemma Holmes, her sister, saw a man in a red truck talking to Jessica before she went missing, asking her if she wanted to see his puppies.” I suppressed the desire to roll my eyes.
“This man emerged to be Marlin Jones. He has a record dating back from ten years ago and was convicted of sex with a minor, which he failed to reveal when I visited him. He also lives on the same street as the Holmes family and was seen walking past the funeral. Collen and I arrested him on that day, and we have a search warrant which will be executed shortly. He agreed to a DNA test, but it has not matched the DNA found on Jessica's body.” I hung my head and thrust my hands deep in my pockets.
"Other cases similar to this one?” I looked up at Gary Holmberg who’d asked the question. I felt fairly confident he knew about Louisa Fein, and that he just mentioned it so we all knew where we were at.
"Yeah, Louisa Fein, as well as two jobs from months ago, Taylor Wentworth and Bianca Baker, although those two girls were a few years older, and were suspected to be murdered by Dean Brown, convicted previously of rape and killed by a drug dealer recently. All murders other than Jessica Holmes had a slightly different MO, though. Louisa, Taylor and Bianca were stabbed, while Jessica was tortured and strangled. Both Louisa and Jessica were the same age, they were found in the same national park but not the same location, with both the bodies staged. Louisa went missing before Jessica did, but I figured whoever did this changed his methods to draw out the murder with Jessica. Maybe he figured Louisa died quickly, and I investigated possible links between the jobs. Maybe he wanted to draw out the last murder, make it last longer." A sour taste spread across my tongue, burning the back of my throat.
"And, any suspects on this Fein case?" Holmberg rubbed the bristles on his chin.
"Not as yet, I'm working closely with another detective on that one. We’re holding David McElroy on a kidnapping charge due to the footage of his orange van and Jessica Holmes getting into it outside a local bank, but we have no other evidence to link either him or Marlin Jones to these two murders." A muscle flickered in my cheek. I wanted to charge him with both murders so badly I could taste the venom circulating in my system.
Hicks stood and moved to the whiteboard, so I sat down. "So, we need to finalise this one as soon as possible. As you can imagine, there's intense media interest in this, and the media unit’s pressuring us, as is Regional Command. Jack's done a great job so far and is one hundred per cent committed to solving this one, but we may need additional resources."
She'd said it and voiced my concerns from earlier in the day.
"Are SOCiT involved yet? The Feds?"
"Not yet, I was considering it earlier today.” I rubbed at my chin.
"Make the call, Jack." Hicks's voice had deepened.
I knew we'd need input from other departments, but so far, I'd resisted the idea. I couldn't say why, maybe the fact that I'd literally eaten, drank and slept the case for the last few days might have had something to do with it.
Even if I had almost drunk myself to death and possibly lost my wife and children in the process, once I put the weasel responsible behind bars, I figured I'd feel some sense of satisfaction, a release. I just hoped it would be worth it, and at some point, Abbie would come back to me.
"So where are we at today?” Holmberg chimed in, bringing his chair closer and resting one elbow on the boardroom table.
"Next step, we search Marlin Jones’s property. He's under arrest at present, so he shouldn't be too much of a problem.” I flicked through the file containing photos of the crime scene.
"What are you thinking, Jack? If the current suspects aren't a DNA match, who's behind this?" Hicks continued pushing, but then she probably got daily calls from both the Regional Commander and the media unit for a story, ideally involving a resolution and an arrest, especially if my worst fears proved correct; a child serial killer.
"I'm getting closer to thinking there's a ringleader, and a network set-up, out of reach." There, I'd said it out loud.
"Like as in, a child trafficking ring?" Hicks's voice held a different tone, an undercurrent of warning, of danger.
"Possibly." Collen and Holmberg exchanged looks.
"Well, that confirms it, Jack. We're going to need to involve the Feds.” She shoved her hands back in her pockets and walked around to stand beside me at the end of the table.
"Okay, I'd like to conduct the search of Marlin Jones’ property first if I can.” I didn't look at her. Instead, I began doodling on my notepad.
"No. You just make the call, Jack."
I looked to Collen and Holmberg for some help; maybe they'd back me up? But they simply blinked back at me, mute.
Damn.
"I will, I'll call the Feds and SOCiT.” There was no point in fighting her on it; she was like a bulldog. Once she had a hold of something, there was no way she'd let go of it.
"Today, Jack, make the call today."
I didn't want to do it, but in the face of relentless pressure, I'd need to make a call. Hopefully, I'd be allocated someone with a reputation of being thorough, and not obstructive. Maybe I could talk to Collen and Holmberg after the meeting, find out who they'd recommend. Hopefully, someone who'd been around the block a few times. The last thing we needed was a fresh-faced newbie, filled with enthusiasm and the milk of human kindness.
Generally, newbies didn't have half a clue, yet their enthusiasm filled them with the idea it was all beer and skittles, all we'd need would be to follow the rule book to the letter, and everything would magically turn out all right.
None of us had the patience or the energy for a panting lapdog to tag along. Plus, the idea of the constant questions and explaining every time I had a brain fart didn't exactly thrill me.
Unless, of course, if they liked drinking whiskey until they fell unconscious around 4am. For that, I might be willing to make an exception.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I sifted through papers on my desk, looking for the search warrant for Marlin Jones that had come back signed.
My phone buzzed with an internal call and I picked it up.
"Homicide. DS Fletcher speaking."
"Yeah, Jack, got a couple here at the front desk, pretty agitated. Melinda Holmes and her partner Eric. Asking for you. I told them you're doing everything you can, but they won't take no for an answer. I asked them to leave once, but they got more agitated."
"I'll come out to see them. Thanks, won't be long."
I slammed the phone down. Earlier that morning, I'd finally made the damn call to the Federal Police and SOCiT, and they'd been coordinating with me to execute the search warrant. The last thing I needed was dealing with Melinda Holmes and her histrionics.
Nevertheless, I pushed my chair back, and marched down the corridor, pushing open a door and then turning a corner until I found the entry to the front desk area. Melinda Holmes was red-faced, frowning and paced relentlessly in front of the helpless-looking sergeant.
"Melinda, DS Fletcher.” I moved closer.
"About damn time. What the hell are you doing about finding the evil bastard that killed my little girl? I can't sleep. I won't rest u
ntil he's behind bars."
Eric, her boyfriend, placed one hand on her forearm, and she swatted it away.
"We're doing everything we can, I've just today made a couple of phone calls. Now we have more resources, I can assure you it won't be long until we find those responsible, and justice is done."
She snorted. "Justice! What a joke that is, I used to believe in our justice system once upon a time. Now I've lost my little girl, I have no faith at all. None! Do you hear me?" She dissolved into tears, and Eric resumed his position, placing his left arm around her shoulder and handing her a tissue.
I handed my card to Eric. "Feel free to call or email me at any time.” I figured it might be easier to deal with her partner than Melinda herself, considering she seemed to vacillate between anger and grief fairly freely.
"Thanks,” he said quietly. He took a step away and moved out of earshot of his girlfriend, who eventually sat down and commenced quietly sobbing into her tissue. "I'm sorry about this, but she's really in a bad way. I drove her over here only in the hope that it would calm her down, bring her some resolution, that's all. She doesn't usually make a scene, but as I'm sure you can understand..."
"I do, completely. I can't imagine what it’s like to lose a daughter."
"Are you close to charging anyone for this yet? It would mean so much to both of us, bring some closure, some resolution, if such a thing is possible."
"I understand. We're considering all possibilities at present, but a couple of avenues are becoming clearer."
"Well, if you could keep us in the loop, we'd really appreciate it." Eric returned to stand beside Melinda, rubbing her back.
"As if he's going to call us? He spends most of his time sucking up to Will, why would he want to bother with us?" Melinda was back to anger, but then grief came in different forms. Unfortunately, at present, her grief was manifested in wildly alternating grief and belligerence.
Her outburst had begun to attract attention from various staff. "How about we make ourselves more comfortable in one of the interview rooms?” I looked at Eric, who made an attempt at a smile.
"That's a good idea,” he said. "Come on honey, come with me, let's sit in here where it’s a bit more comfortable.” He attempted to steer her across, but Melinda Holmes was having none of it.
"Go away, you don't know what it's like, neither of you! My daughter's dead and never coming back. Do you hear me? Never! Some bastard stole her from me, and he gets to keep living his life, but my little girl is gone forever. What are you doing to find him? You still haven't answered my question, have you?” Her face contorted in grief, and tears rolled down her face.
"I can promise you I'm working flat-out investigating this, and I'm not working on any other cases at present. I won't stop until I know who did this, you have my word on that,” I said.
"If you haven't found anyone yet, will you ever? They could be out there hurting other little girls, have you thought of that?" Melinda Holmes had screwed up her tissue, and Eric handed her a fresh one.
"Melinda, I'm confident we will find the person that did this. We don't have enough evidence to arrest the killer just yet, but I can tell you we have a couple of avenues of investigation that may lead us to him."
"Can't you use DNA?” she said. "If the sicko hurt my daughter did the unthinkable, he would have left DNA on my baby. That should lead you right to him."
I wasn't sure how to tell her that the person needed to be listed on the DNA database for us to find him, but I did my best. "We did find DNA, but if the person that did this isn't listed on the DNA register, it's difficult to track them down,” I said.
"So, what does that mean? He'll just get away with this and never get found? How does that work? How is that fair?"
Eric made quiet noises meant to comfort his girlfriend, but she wasn't having any of it.
"No, it doesn't mean that at all. None of this makes sense, and none of it is fair either, but I'm working on the investigation night and day, you have my word on that,” I said. I had to suppress the urge to say that me working around the clock and drinking myself into a stupor every night, nearly losing my job and already having lost my wife and kids wasn’t exactly fair either. I breathed fast, annoyed but also understanding what they were suffering. I bit back the words I wanted to spit out.
To be honest, I wasn't sure if anything I could tell her would ease her pain or bring her comfort. I'd need to get started on executing the search warrant soon, as the Feds and team from SOCiT would be meeting me at Marlin's place at a pre-arranged time.
"You can spend all the time in the world on finding who did this, but doesn't mean it will ever happen does it?” she said, wiping at her face. She had now at least calmed down somewhat from screaming anger to mild antagonism. I stooped to her level, resting on my haunches to see into her eyes. I meant this.
"I won't rest until I have answers,” I said, looking from Melinda to Eric, and back to Melinda. She bowed her head. “Melinda. Look at me. I promise you.”
"Well, then. Can you also promise me you'll call me when you have information? Or email Eric? That might be better,” she said. “I am her mum, you know. It’s not just Will that needs to know… And because we aren’t together, Will doesn’t tell me…” She seemed more upbeat now, despite the gripe at Will again; my words had reached her.
"Of course, I can. I'm sorry I haven't updated you before now, but once an investigation gets going, it changes quickly,” I said. “And I didn’t know Will didn’t… you know.” They nodded.
Eric pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket, while Melinda scrounged around in her handbag for a pen. He wrote on the piece of paper and handed it to me. "That's my email address; please email me if you have any information, no matter what, it will really help us,” he said.
"I will, I'll let you know as soon as I have some information for you,” I said.
Melinda hitched her bag up onto her shoulder and stood up. Eric placed one arm protectively around her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry I made a scene, but it's all so fresh, so new, I don't know how to cope with any of this,” she said, her voice much lower and softer than before. “I still expect her to walk through the front door and throw her school bag on the floor. I can't believe she's really gone."
"I'm so sorry. I'll be in touch as soon as I can with any developments,” I said. Eric made an attempt at a smile, and Melinda put her head down and headed for the main entrance.
As the doors slid open, both Melinda and Eric exited, and I let out a long breath.
An officer departed through the secure door to the offices and raised his eyebrows. "Tell me about it,” I muttered.
For now, I'd need to talk to the Feds and SOCiT to coordinate the search warrant. After making myself a strong cup of coffee and making my way back to my desk, my phone rang, and I picked it up within two rings.
"Homicide, DS Jack Fletcher speaking."
"DS Fletcher, this is James Wells from SOCiT."
"Ah yes, I was just about to call."
"We have a search taking place under warrant shortly."
"We do."
"We have a team assembled and we’re looking to meet you at the property in the next hour or so. That work for you, Jack?"
"Okay. Keep in mind it should all be fairly routine; the owner of the residence is currently in police custody."
"I see. That simplifies things quite a bit."
"Yeah; I need to speak to the Feds as they will have a presence during the search."
"The Feds are involved?"
"Suspected child trafficking ring, so I had to call them in. It was only a matter of time."
"I see. So, what time are we looking at?"
"Probably within the hour, so around 10 a.m. I think."
"Right, well I have your mobile number here. I'll give you a call when we're nearby."
"Okay, thanks.”
I hung up. I clicked on an email I'd received, which contained a phone number for the liaison point with the Fe
ds, Steve Wilcox. He had a specialisation in the area of child abuse and human trafficking.
Steve answered almost straight away. "Hello?”
“DS Jack Fletcher from crime command.”
“I was just about to call you to coordinate times for this search warrant."
"I'm thinking around 10 a.m. SOCiT will have a small team there."
"Figures. What are we expecting, Jack?"
"Should be uneventful. The resident is currently in police custody, so we'll be left alone to do what we have to."
"Okay, good. I'll text you when I'm out the front. Can I have your mobile number please?"
I gave it to him, hung up, and got ready to leave.
With any luck, we'd find something, anything, to tie Marlin Jones to the crime.
Hopefully, we wouldn't have to release him anytime soon.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The temperature had dropped a couple of degrees. It was cold as hell.
Grey clouds overshadowed patches of blue sky. I'd rugged up with three layers of clothing. I shoved my hands in my pockets and stood on the street outside Marlin Jones’ home, somewhat detached from it all. I wondered if the search warrant would happen as easily as I'd convinced myself it would. It didn't matter how smooth or messily it went if we found the prize—namely, evidence to put Jessica's killer away.
Several unmarked vans were parked in the street, further down from Marlin Jones’ home. We didn't bother parking further down from the house; we were right outside. Usually, we parked farther away so as not to alert the inhabitants, but in this case, with Jones locked up, it wasn't necessary. The core team members of Project Beacon crossed the street and headed my way, where I stood on the other side from Jones' home.
The search team amounted to Selena Hicks, Gary Holmberg, Larry Weston, Ed Garrett, Andy Collen, James Wells from SoCIT, and Steve Wilcox from the Feds along with Rae Swanson, as a courtesy.
We huddled together to coordinate before we conducted the search.