Page 71 of Dirty Valentine
I set down my tea, my hands trembling slightly.“Margot, what can you tell us about her background?Family history?”
“Beverly Anne Potts, born Boston, Massachusetts, 1989,” Margot recited.“Genealogical records trace back to Nathaniel Potter, executed for smuggling in Boston, 1748.Colonial court records show he was hanged for operating a large-scale smuggling operation during King George’s War.”
“Potter,” I said, the name registering.“That’s close to Potts.”
“The connection becomes clear through the asset seizure records,” Margot continued.“When Colonial authorities moved to confiscate Nathaniel Potter’s smuggling profits, the court proceedings required him to document how he’d acquired his wealth.In his testimony, he revealed his true identity as Jedediah Ashworth.He explained that he’d fled Virginia in 1725 with his daughter after his wife Bridget was wrongly executed for witchcraft.He’d first changed their names to Ashford, then later to Potter when he began his smuggling operations.”
“So the family name was Potter,” Jack said.“But how does that connect to Potts?”
“Cross-referencing birth records,” Margot said.“Nathaniel’s daughter Mary Potter had a child out of wedlock in 1749, shortly after her father’s execution.She changed her surname to Potts and claimed to be a widow to avoid social stigma.The genealogical trail from Mary Potts to Beverly Potts is direct and documented.”
“She preserved the family story,” I said quietly.“Passed it down through the generations along with the modified name.”
“Statistical probability that this is coincidence: less than 0.3 percent,” Margot concluded.“Deputy Potts is almost certainly a direct descendant of Bridget Ashworth.”
The room fell silent except for the storm outside and the quiet hum of electronic equipment.We stared at the screens showing Potts’s photo and genealogy, the weight of three centuries settling over us like a shroud.
“She’s been planning this since she moved here,” I said quietly.“However long that’s been.”
“Not just since she moved here,” Margot corrected.“Based on the psychological profile and historical research patterns, she has been planning this her entire life.The Ashworth family story was likely passed down through generations, waiting for someone with the skills and opportunity to seek justice.”
Doug was already pulling up more data, his fingers flying across the keyboard.“If Potts processed the greenhouse scene, she knew exactly what herbs were taken.Belladonna, mandrake—the same compounds that could cause cardiac arrest.”
I remembered Thomas Whitman’s mysterious heart failure.“She would have known exactly what they could be used for.”
Jack moved to the murder board, studying our timeline with clinical precision.“She was at every scene, processed every piece of evidence.The DNA under Victoria’s fingernails—that came back inconclusive.”
“No match in the system,” I said slowly.“But if Potts isn’t in any database…”
“She wouldn’t show up,” Jack finished.“The DNA could be hers and we’d never know it.”
Doug pulled up more purchase records on his screen.““I found purchases of electronic components that could be assembled into voice modulation equipment,” he said.“Bought separately over several months from different online retailers, paid with prepaid cards.Someone was being very careful.
“She’s been accessing courthouse records, historical databases, even case files,” Doug continued.“All legitimate for a CSI tech, but the pattern goes back months.She was researching these families before Thomas Whitman was killed.”
Jack’s expression didn’t change, but I caught the slight tightening around his eyes.“The precision in Margaret’s mutilation.Someone who’s processed enough crime scenes to know anatomy, how to use a blade.”
“She knew about the symbols at the cemetery,” I added.“Pointed out the stone circle around Rachel Mills’s grave.Said someone must have placed it after our initial processing.”
“But she had access to place it herself,” Jack said.
Jack was quiet for a moment.“Doug, I need you to run a full background check on Potts.Current address, vehicle information, duty schedule.But keep it quiet—I don’t want this flagged in the system yet.”
“On it,” Doug said, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
Jack pulled out his phone.“Cole?It’s Jack.I need you and Martinez mobile now.We’ve identified our suspect—it’s Potts.”He paused, listening to Cole’s response.“She’s Bridget Ashworth’s descendant and she’s been playing us from the beginning.Don’t use radio.She may be monitoring.Doug will send coordinates once we have them.”
He hung up and turned back to Doug.“What’s her current status?”
Doug pulled up the duty roster.“CSI works regular eight-to-five unless called to scenes.She clocked out at five thirty today, about two hours ago.”
“Vehicle?”
“Drives a personal sedan to work.2019 Honda Civic, Virginia plates.”Doug pulled up more information.“But she also has access to department vehicles when needed for scene processing.”
Jack’s expression darkened.“Check if she signed out a patrol unit today.”
Doug’s fingers flew across the keyboard.“She didn’t sign out anything officially, but…” He pulled up another screen.“The fleet GPS shows one of our unmarked units moved from the impound lot twenty minutes ago.Unit 47.”
