Page 36 of Three Girls Gone
She gave a thumbs-up to Trent. “That’s great. I was thinking it might be best if Katherine worked directly with Detective Briggs at Digital Crimes on tracking down the sender of that online form that identified Dickson. She has all the information he’d need to access her site. It makes more sense than sticking myself in the middle.”
“Should be fine. I’ve already reached out to Katherine, and she’ll brief us on the Gilbert case first thing tomorrow morning. I think it’s best we all get a refresher course on the specifics of the case. We might even learn something new.”
“Sounds good. Did you get her a system login?”
“Guy in IT has gone home. I’ll get her one in the morning. I still want you and Trent to focus on the Tanner murder though. It might even be best if you treat it as a solo case. That way you won’t get distracted by the Gilbert investigation and miss things that may be right in front of you.”
“I get that,” she said.
“Moving on to forensics… Anything connected to the Tanner case will be assigned priority.”
“Speaking of, Sarge, I never heard from the CSIs who worked the Tanner residence.” He’d told her to follow up by five if there wasn’t any word by then, but she’d been otherwise occupied.
“If you shoot me their numbers, I’ll see if I can rouse a response. If not, I’ll go above their heads.”
“Thanks.”
“As you know, Tanner’s identity has been released to the media, but the PIO is monitoring the situation and doing their best to make sure the link to the Gilbert case doesn’t come out.”
The Public Information Office was a branch of the PWCPD that managed what was revealed orheld back. Hinting at a serial offender would create panic. “Sounds like a good call.”
“If you need anything more from me tonight, just call my cell phone. I’m headed home.” He ended the call as Trent pulled into the parking lot at Central.
It just so happened that he slipped into the spot next to Malone’s vehicle.
He was pocketing his phone while Amanda slid hers into her jacket. Trent went into the backseat and pulled out the banker box.
Malone came over, nudging his head at it. “Is that all?”
“Yep,” Trent said.
“Doesn’t look like a lot.”
She’d thought the same, but it carried some heft. And in all fairness, the case only lasted three days for McGee. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Malone waved at them as he got behind the wheel of his car and drove away.
For the next hour and a half, Amanda and Trent sorted through the contents of the evidence box. It included the list of prestigious people from the Tanners’ dinner party. The mayor’s face was staring up from the page, but Amanda set it aside. She and Trent read through several interviews Detective McGee had conducted with the Tanners and others in their circle.
Amanda sat back and tapped her fingers on the edge of the table.
“Someone looks deep in thought. And by someone, I mean?—”
“Me. I get it.” She smiled at him, but he’d cut through her concentration. “I noticed one repeating theme in all the interviews. It was something we briefly discussed before. McGee based his questioning around a more recent timeframe.” She met his eye.
“But now we’re thinking this person latched on to Hailey back in December.”
“Right. So we will need to revisit everyone and ask if anyone new has been hanging around for the last six or seven months. We already touched on going back to the ballet studio. But everyone needs to be asked if there were any relationships or employ—” Her phone rang, cutting her off mid-word. She looked at the screen, and it saidCSI Stuart. “It’s the head investigator from the Tanner residence.”
“About time,” he said.
“Malone can be persuasive.” She hit the accept call button. “Detective Steele.”
“This is CSI Stuart. I don’t much appreciate your boss pressuring me for results.”
Amanda stiffened, and her redhead temper ignited. “With all due respect, you arrived at the Tanner residence this morning, and it’s now approaching seven thirty at night. It would be very helpful to know what we’re looking at here.”
“There’s a process, and I don’t like being rushed. I don’t know how things typically work with other CSIs you’ve partnered with, but I don’t share anything until I feel confident in what I have to say.” She paused there, as if using the silence to drill in her point. It felt like Amanda was a scolded child, and Stuart wanted to ensure she received the underlying lesson. Amanda wasn’t going to respond.
