Page 17 of Little Child Gone

“September,” he said. “Matt works with Spencer, Karl’s grandson, as you probably know. Matt wants to get into restoration, and this was the perfect place to start.”

“Was it a cash sale?” Nikki clarified.

“It was, and I’m afraid we screwed up with the inspection. Matt knew the house still had a lot of furniture and other personal items that Karl’s kids didn’t want. Patrick did take a few things before he went back to Texas, and he took care of clearing the rest of the house out. We knew it needed major work, so Matt just had a structural inspection done to make sure the foundation didn’t have any cracks.”

“What about the apartment keys?” Nikki asked. “Did Stephanie or her brother have copies?”

“They both claimed they didn’t,” Cass answered. “Patrick—Major Hendrickson—did clean the house and searched for the keys. They were nowhere to be found, and the apartment had been boarded up. It was going to take some muscle to get inside. Matt just wanted the deal done.”

“Did you have any interaction with Stephanie, or was it all through their attorney?”

“A couple of phone calls,” Cass replied. “I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she’s just a cold person. I have no idea what her relationship with her father was like, but she certainly didn’t appear to mourn him one single bit.”

“Did you ever talk to her or Patrick about the amendment that caused the delay?”

“Stephanie refused to talk about it,” he said. “Patrick said it had to do with the amount of inheritance money they’d each receive. He didn’t seem interested in wealth. It’s my understanding that when Karl’s wife passed, the machinery business had been sold, and it was her wish the kids received a share of that after she passed away so that they could enjoy it before they got too old. Karl honored that, giving them each an undisclosed sum several years ago, making them both wealthy. Patrick didn’t want any more money from the will and wanted to give his portion to charity. He just didn’t want Stephanie to have it.”

“Do she and Patrick get along at all?”

“I know they hadn’t spoken in several years when their father passed.” Cass coughed. “Pardon me. I’m fighting a cold. I suspect that if you met Stephanie Bancroft, you’d understand why.”

Nikki confirmed both siblings’ contact information. She thanked Cass for his time and discretion, reminding him they were trying to keep the media away from Matt and the others for as long as possible.

“Absolutely,” Cass said.

After the call ended, Nikki opened a new browser window and started researching the Hendrickson family, but she couldn’t find anything other than the siblings had spent two years disputing the will before finally putting the property up for sale. In Minnesota, a will-based estate plan required a probate filing, which made the details of the will public. She dug through the public records database in search of Karl Hendrickson’s final will and testament but found nothing. If he had it set up in trusts, those documents were confidential.

Nikki leaned back in her chair and sighed. They just didn’t have enough information. Hopefully Spencer could shed some light on his family’s lives. Stephanie had wanted to sell. Had she had any idea what might have been in the apartment?

She eyed the pile of mail and messages, wondering if she could spend a few minutes to straighten up her office before the onslaught of reports would arrive at her desk. Half an hour later, her blaring cell phone startled the hell out of her. Nikki scrambled to grab her phone before the call was sent to voicemail. “Agent Hunt.”

“It’s Doctor Blanchard,” she said. “The forensic anthropologist is on her way. I took samples from the trunk. I’m waiting for Doctor Willard before I clean the bones.”

“What can you tell me?”

“The body in the trunk is an adult female. I believe the remains in the corner are a male that’s at least reached puberty but not passed his early twenties. Doctor Willard will need to confirm.”

So why had there been toys in the room? Nikki wondered. Of course, if the male was a teenager, still having his Matchbox cars wasn’t out of the question. “I assume no cause of death?”

“No,” Blanchard said. “The body in the trunk was wrapped in plastic, which slowed decomposition, but I didn’t see anything obvious like a bullet fragment or ligature.”

“How big do you think the female was?” Nikki couldn’t imagine fitting a person into that trunk without breaking bones.

“Oh, they were forced into the trunk, if that’s what you’re thinking. Femurs and right arm are broken, postmortem. Again, I’d like for the forensic anthropologist to confirm all of this, but I’m confident she was petite. I can’t tell you beyond that.”

“Any sign of clothing or personal items?” Lack of clothing could mean a sexual assault, but the remains were far too decomposed to tell.

“Not that I saw when I opened it, but I haven’t taken anything out other than biological samples,” Blanchard said. “But, of course, the forensic anthropologist will have the definitive answer. Doctor Willard will be working on reassembling both remains with her assistant while I catch up on autopsies and reports today, but she’s due back in class tomorrow. If she doesn’t finish, she’ll have to come back in a few days.”

Nikki understood they couldn’t put cold cases in front of active ones.

“I’m working with Courtney on getting information into CODIS,” Blanchard continued. “I’ve also contacted a friend of mine who happens to be the facial reconstruction artist for the state crime bureau. She’s on standby until Willard has the skull completely assembled.”

Nikki thanked the medical examiner for the update. She couldn’t stop wondering who these two victims were, and if anyone had reported them missing. She hoped Blanchard would be able to find more defining details about them. If she didn’t, how would they identify them?

Nikki needed to talk to Stephanie and Patrick, and she wanted to talk to Patrick before Stephanie to make sure she had as much information as possible before dealing with the defense attorney.

Before she left to meet Miller, she stopped to check in with Garcia. “I’ll let you know what I find out, but I may not be back in the office today.”

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