Cold Hunt

by Mary Stone

  “That would be something,” Ellie agreed.

  They fell silent, watching the images flash across the screen faster than their eyes could focus on them. Ellie felt like they were on the brink of a new era in crime investigations. The enormity of the moment wasn’t lost on her, and she knew Jillian felt the same.

  Ellie was still standing behind Jillian’s chair, intently watching Entity work when a barely audible click let them know the search was over. A handful of pictures loaded onto the screen, in the corner of each a percentage that measured how accurate the match was.

  “That’s amazing. It’s hard to believe Entity is able to match a file photo to angled selfies. Not to mention the fact that it links to the source of the photo and not just the platform it was posted on.” Ellie leaned in closer to the screen. “It’s hard to say if it’s the same person from this angle. I’m not even sure her own family would recognize her from these pictures.”

  “That’s part of the challenge with other programs. The angles have to be almost identical to get a positive match.”

  “This is a huge improvement over the public image search.” Ellie pointed at the screen. “Most of these photos were posted by the same person. Ashley Mathers. Does she have a missing persons file?”

  Jillian typed in a few commands and nodded. “Right here. Ashley Mathers reported missing eighteen years ago. August thirteenth.”

  Ellie ran her capped pen down the file notes she’d made, stopping on the date their Jane Doe was discovered and the approximate time of death before discovery. “The dates fit too. If this isn’t the same woman, I’ll be surprised, but there are enough similarities here to put in a DNA request.” She noted the possible match in her notes. “I’ll have to wait until DNA comes back to officially identify her, but I have no doubt this is her.”

  “The lab is going to wonder about the increase of DNA comparison requests.”

  “It’s not a bad problem to have.” Ellie shrugged and paused as her gaze caught on a woman’s face on the screen who was in a group picture that included Ashley Mathers. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. “Look at this picture.” There was excitement in her voice as she retrieved a photo of an unknown woman from one of the boxes of the cold cases that were similar to Mabel and Tabitha’s murders. She pointed to the screen. “See this woman there? She looks like this woman in the photo.”

  “You’re right.” Jillian clicked on the picture, and when dialogue bubbles popped up, they smiled at each other.

  “Thank goodness, Ashley tagged all her friends.”

  Jillian followed the link to the other woman’s social media, and Ellie wrote down the name.

  “Kylee Leanora,” Jillian said as she searched for a missing person’s file on the police database. “Nothing.”

  “Maybe something was posted without anyone going to the police.” Ellie typed the woman’s name and the word “missing” into a web search, scrolling through the results. “Her friends made online flyers for her, but no one formally reported it to the authorities.”

  Jillian shook her head, exasperated. “That happens way too much.”

  “People don’t always know how to contact family members, or there might not be reason enough for the police to open an actual case. It’s not a crime for an adult to walk away from their life and start fresh. Without evidence the person is in danger, there’s no reason to waste resources.”

  Jillian frowned. “I don’t know how a person could just walk away from their life. But if these two are connected, and Ashley is our Jane Doe, then that means…”

  Ellie jotted down notes on her notepad, circling the places where Kylee and Ashley’s cases overlapped. “I can’t definitively say that these two are connected yet, but assuming we get positive results with DNA, with Kylee being tortured before she died when Ashley wasn’t, plus their loose connection to each other from the picture, I can start to investigate whether or not they were killed as a pair like Mabel and Tabitha. This program has been so helpful. Your friend is a genius.”

  “I’ll tell her you said so. She’s been working on this project for years, and it’s finally starting to come together. There are still a few hiccups with the results, but that’s why I’m testing it out for her in a real-world application.”

  Ellie’s phone buzzed, and she groaned. “It’s Fortis.” She read through the text, puffing her cheeks out and blowing air through puckered lips. “He’s asking about John Doe. And Coggins. Again.”

  “Hey, at least he’s learned to text. Beats the hell out of him barging in here and scaring the crap out of us both.”

  “True.” Ellie picked up the picture of John Doe from the table and held it up, turning it toward Jillian. “Is this enough of his face for Entity, do you think?”

  She grimaced at the gruesome picture. “That’s way more than twenty percent, so I’m sure it will work. I wonder why the animals didn’t scavenge more of his face if the rest of his body was so badly damaged?”

  “Well, there’s not a lot of meat on the face, and what’s there is mostly skin without much protein or muscle,” Ellie said, cringing as she thought through the possibilities. “It’s typically not worth the effort for a scavenger, and when a body is decomposing, the thinnest areas of flesh tend to wither away first, so his face probably wasn’t in good condition by the time animals got there.” Ellie consulted the case notes. “There’s also the fact that he was found before the first spring thaw. We had a colder than usual winter that year. The thin skin on his face would’ve frozen first if it was cold enough, making the trunk of the body more edible.”

  Jillian laughed at the face Ellie was making. “Sorry, it wasn’t a serious question. I didn’t know you had a weak stomach.”

  “I don’t have a weak stomach.” Ellie waved the photo at her. “This is just a little much, don’t you think?”

  “Death is rarely pretty, even when it’s merciful.”

  “You’re right.” The picture of the man’s half-eaten face stared back at Ellie. “I guess it’s good to know why his remains ended up like they did, but it’s just so gross.”

  Jillian studied Ellie’s face like it was the most interesting thing on Earth. “All this death and the horrors you see on a daily basis, and this is what makes your stomach turn?”

  “We all have our weaknesses.” Ellie slid the photo across the table and gestured at Jillian’s laptop. “Give this one a try. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “All right, but it’s going to take some time, and I’ll bet that we get back a lot more false positives than we would otherwise, just because he’s missing so much. Add the advanced decomposition, and we’re shooting in the dark here.” Jillian prepared to load him into the program.

  “True, but if just one of the men who pop up is our guy, it’s worth weeding through all the people who aren’t him.”

  “I’m just warning you not to expect much. People get photographed when they’re in public all the time. Unless they’re living in a remote village on an impassable mountain, there’s no way to avoid leaving an electronic footprint, no matter how small. So, there’s bound to be hundreds if not thousands of people with similar features.”

  “You don’t think it’s doable?”

  “You do realize there are billions of people with their photos on the internet, right?” Jillian shook her head and pursed her lips.

  Ellie nodded, running her finger over the jawline of the man in the photo and shuddering. “I wonder if he was still alive when the first animal found him. What a horrifying experience. There may be billions of people in this world, but to me, there’s only one man waiting for us to figure out who he is and bring him home. To someone, he’s worth all that trouble and more. Let’s see what Entity can do.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Ellie gestured to Jillian’s computer. “And while Entity is sorting through that, I’ll head over to the medical examiner’s office and see what she remembers about the case. If I get the info out on Coggins, can you run tha
t through while I’m gone?”

  7

  Dr. Moniza Faizal was finishing up her lunch in the breakroom when a woman with a familiar head of flaming, curly locks passed by the door to the hall.

  “Detective,” she called out, wiping her mouth and putting the empty container she’d brought from home back into her lunch bag.

  The detective stopped in the doorway, a smile on her face. “I’m surprised you recognized me.”

  “Are you kidding? I saw your hair out of the corner of my eye, and I knew. It’s no wonder you made the news all the time when you were on beat.”

  Ellie laughed and ducked her head in an almost shy gesture that was clearly unconscious. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that, but that is the nicest way I’ve heard it. Do you need me to wait until you’re done with your lunch break?”

  Moniza shook her head. “I just finished. What can I help you with?” She took the file that Detective Kline handed over and opened it, perusing the nearly two-year-old notes jotted down in her own handwriting. “I remember this one.”

  “It seems like you remember all of them.”

  “I’m sure you understand, Detective Kline.”

  “Please, Dr. Faizal, call me Ellie.”

  She smiled at the vibrant detective. “Only if you call me Moni. Even Moniza is good, but some people have a hard time remembering it.”

  Ellie’s nose wrinkled, emphasizing the sprinkle of light freckles on the bridge of her nose. “Who could forget?”

  “You’d be surprised.” She laughed, getting up and picking up her lunch box. “It doesn’t bother me. It’s better than the people who ask me where the medical examiner is, automatically assuming I’m ‘his’ assistant.”

  Ellie tucked a curl that had escaped her low ponytail behind her ear. “I know the feeling.”

  “Come to my office. Your John Doe was found after we switched to the new system, so I have a digital video of his autopsy attached to his file in my computer, along with all the photos I took after he was cleaned up a bit.”

  “I can’t wait,” Ellie muttered as she followed Moni into her office, the tone of her voice surprising the M.E.

  “You aren’t easily grossed out, are you?”

  Ellie hesitated, perusing her for a moment, and apparently decided she was trustworthy. “I didn’t think so until I caught this case. Turns out, half-eaten faces are my kryptonite.”

  Moni stopped short behind her desk. “We might have to skip the autopsy then.”

  “No, I’ll deal with it.”

  Moniza narrowed her eyes at Ellie. “If you change your mind, let me know before you make a mess in my office.” She slid the trash can behind her desk toward Ellie. “Just in case.”

  Ellie took a seat in a chair in front of the desk but made no move to relocate the plastic can with the air-thin bag lining.

  Moni pulled up the file, double-checking the dates and the case number, and turning the monitor so Ellie could see. “This is the full file on John Doe, including incision by incision notes I keep during the autopsy. Every mark I saw, every animal bite I was able to identify, and my impressions based on the evidence I collected. Unfortunately, it was all linked to the animals. Which only serves to prove that no matter how far we distance ourselves from our wild roots, the world is still, in essence, the same as it always has been.”

  “You said you have a picture of his face cleaned up. Can I see that?”

  “Of course.” She pulled up the photo, enlarging it so it filled up the entire screen. “I can print it for you, if you want?”

  Ellie shook her head as she held her cell phone up and snapped a picture. Hitting a few buttons, there was the whoosh sound of a sent email. “That’s all I need for now.”

  “May I ask what you did with it?” She couldn’t help asking. Ellie Kline was an enigma.

  “Jillian, the evidence clerk, is working with a new facial recognition program.” Ellie lowered her voice, casting a glance at the open door and leaning in closer. Intrigued, Moniza pressed closer to her desk. “It’s very hush-hush. Her friend is hoping to sell it to the Justice Department for law enforcement nationwide to use.”

  “That’s exciting.”

  “The only picture I had was the state he was found in. This one, cleaned up, will help.”

  Moniza recoiled a little, frowning. “That’s odd. I sent everything over as soon as I was through. I always send copies to Violent Crimes so they can add them to the case file. I hope there’s not a problem with other cases.”

  “I haven’t noticed,” Ellie assured her. “And I only glanced in the box, so there’s a chance I missed something.”

  “I can email the original to you if you like.”

  “That would be great. And I think I’ll take you up on the offer to print it out for me too. That way all the bases are covered.”

  “I can certainly do that.” Her slender fingers flew over the keyboard, and the printer behind her buzzed to life. “By the time we’re finished watching the video, it should be mostly done.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I’m glad you’re investigating this. I really hate to leave victims unclaimed. It’s so sad.” She thought of all the ones she’d never been able to name. Each one carved out a new hole in her heart, it seemed.

  “I feel the same way,” Ellie said as she looked down at the picture Moni handed her.

  “It’s nice that you care about the forgotten cases. Cold Cases gets a bad reputation, but it really is important work. If you weren’t here making sure the unnamed find their way home to their families, I’m not sure who would be doing it.”

  Ellie bit her lip and smiled. “I appreciate you saying that. We’re basically on our own down there, and Jillian isn’t technically working with me.”

  “I’ve met Jillian. She’s a smart woman. It’s great that she’s able to split her time up.” The printer spit out the last paper, and she rolled her office chair over, grabbed the stack, and was back again before Ellie could stand. She handed the papers to the detective with a smile as she nudged the trash can closer to Ellie. “Being an M.E. is tough sometimes; I find my fun where I can.”

  Ellie laughed, going quiet as she read the notes. “These are much more thorough than the ones I have in the file. It says here that you thought he might be a runner. What made you come to that conclusion?”

  “He was wearing running shoes. Expensive ones. His clothing was of an athletic style, pants with a white stripe down the legs, and the type of skintight shirt that wicks away moisture. He also had stress fractures in his ankles, in a place that’s common for cross-country runners especially.”

  “Was it recent?”

  “I couldn’t tell you, not without a bit of guessing on my part. The body spent at least a month out in the elements, possibly two or three. With that level of exposure at the end of winter and with all the animals that ate away at him, it is really hard to pinpoint exact days with any accuracy.” Moni waved at the TV in the corner and chuckled. “I know they make it look easy on those crime shows, but the truth is that the equipment needed for that level of accuracy is far more than most cities can afford, and the technology would be outdated before it was used enough to justify the expense. We do a lot of guessing based on the information we have available to us.”

  “That’s why it says ‘thirty to one hundred days’ here.”

  “Yes, though I would put it closer to two months.”

  Ellie’s eyes scanned the printouts. “When was he found again?”

  Moni scrolled down through the computer file. “The end of March, nearly two years ago.”

  “Okay. Anything else that jumped out at you?”

  Moni paused and took a deep breath. “Yes, but I never put it on the record because it’s more of a feeling, and I can’t prove it. I did bring it up with Detective Jones, but he said it never led to anything. Still, I have my doubts about what our John Doe was doing in the woods that day.”

  “It’s
called a hunch for a reason.” Ellie took out her pen and notepad. “If it turns out to be nothing, it’s still another loose end that’s tied up, right?”

  Moni liked the way Ellie’s brain worked. “You’re right. What was left of his clothing wasn’t just newish; everything was brand-new. It was as if he’d popped the tags off the same day. Even his shoes were in pristine condition.”

  Ellie frowned. “How could you tell after the elements and animals dirtied everything up?”

  Moni smiled. “Good question. I tested the fibers and they’d never been washed, and there was no normal wear on inside tags and seams like you’d normally see.”

  “Runners replace their shoes often,” Ellie said, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. “It was something I learned when Nick, my boyfriend, started training for charity runs. Every five hundred miles or something like that.”

  “True, but you would still need to break in the shoe, and it would have some signs of wear. That alone wouldn’t raise any flags. But the fractures in his ankles made me wonder. They were very minor and would’ve healed on their own with minimal discomfort, but he didn’t have any other common ailments we see in long-term runners, like shin splints.”

  Ellie frowned, letting the papers drop to her lap. “Maybe he’d just started running? He was found in March, right? Better health is a common New Year’s resolution. Maybe he didn’t know about breaking in new shoes, and he wasn’t in any condition to be running the distance that he did.”

  “I thought about that, but why would someone start running on such rough terrain. He was young, early twenties, and in decent shape, but there are so many places around Charleston that are outdoors and better suited to beginners, even the overly ambitious ones.”

  Ellie nodded. “I see what you’re saying.”

  “Then, the fact that he was in this area at all during hunting season is the other thing that didn’t sit well with me. Everyone knows that you don’t go into the woods during hunting season without wearing at least one item of orange. Even if you aren’t a hunter, I’ve seen Public Service Announcements reminding everyone to take special precautions during hunting season. This man was wearing head-to-toe black, which would’ve made it very easy for him to be mistaken for an animal. To me, nothing fits with him being there for exercise, if I’m right about the two-month timeline. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear he was running from the hunter, not just out for a jog.”