Page 28 of Dead Man's Wish
Detective Bishop
A soft knockrapped on the open conference room door, and I looked up at the new front desk clerk, Kelsey.
“Detective Bishop,” she said, her voice soft and feathery. “Bexley and her party are here to see you.” I leaned forward to look around her. Bex poked her head out from behind Kelsey with a smile.
“There you are,” I greeted.
“I would say ‘surprise’ but you’re the one who made the request.” She stepped inside and offered a hug while the others walked in. Mari followed suit, while Jaiden and Kel offered a handshake.
“How have you two been? It feels like a lifetime has passed since I’ve seen you guys.” Mari laughed and rolled her eyes.
“Bishop, I was here with Bexley at the beginning of the year. I’d hardly call that a lifetime,” she retorted.
“Touché.” I held my hand out toward the conference table, inviting them to sit. “I wanted to update you on the photos we collected yesterday. It’s not surprising, but we didn’t find any fingerprints. DNA collection is still processing, but given the track record with this perp’s evidence history, I don’t expect any trace results.”
“How can someone be this good?” Jaiden asked.
“It’s not even that they’re good. This guy is simply overdoing every countermeasure. Brent was confident there wouldn’t be a trace leading back to him, so any forensic countermeasure he did was bare minimum because he was essentially untraceable in the system,” I explained.
“Which means this perpetrator has priors?” Kel asked next.
“That’s one of my theories.”
“It’s like when you approached me,” Jaiden chimed in. “Back when you were running swabs on suspects, I told you if the DNA was mine, you’d know because of my juvenile record.”
“It’s very possible, and I’m doing everything I can to work up a suspect list that’s narrowed down to those with a history of violent crime. Can’t say it’s going to go very far.” I waited a beat as everyone processed that information. “What I brought you down here for are the photos themselves.”
“Are they new?” Bexley pulled her jacket tighter, anticipating the worst response.
“Yes and no,” I answered honestly. “The majority of them are older. This is obvious just by your physical appearance and the wear or aging of the photos. Eddie noted that newer ones are from a different brand, which likely indicates that they were printed by this new copycat.”
“Where do Kel and I factor into this?” Mari grabbed his hand with unease.
“It’s harder for us to create a timeline because we don’t know when or where these photos were taken. Photos from the past, the answer to who’s behind this could be in the background. Photos from the present, anything you can recall about when and where can create alibis for some or poke holes for others.”
“Then let’s get to it.” Bexley stood and made her way to the evidence boxes on the far end of the conference table. Everyone gathered around as they pulled individual evidence bags and laid them out like a sadistic puzzle. Their voices buzzed in whispered stories and memories.
A brasher knock disrupted my concentration, and it pulled the others’ attention away from the pictures.
“Bishop!” Jeffrey Peters’s voiced boomed. Looking over at Bexley, I saw she didn’t share his excitement.
“Peters, how can I help you? I wasn’t expecting you today.” I walked across the carpeted floor and shook his hand.
“Oh, same old. I just came by to get some documents verified. We had lunch with a client, and it wasn’t out of the way.” His roughhousing nature let loose as he fake-punched my shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ll just find a break with them and meet you in my office.”
“They have you verify documents? Wouldn’t that be something to pass on to a paralegal or an assistant?” Bexley’s low tolerance for his interruptions and presence seeped into her tone. Her arms crossed automatically as she pinned Jeffrey with her stare. The air seemed to chill by a few degrees.
“Ms. Laughtery—”
“Wells,” she interrupted. “I’m married, Mr. Peters.”
“Apologies, Mrs. Wells. What I was saying is that not all of us are afforded the luxuries of the attorney general.” Jeffrey adjusted his tie out of nervous habit.
“My father didn’t even come to mind. I keep my professional life separate from his. I suggest you do the same.” Bexley moved her attention to me and softened her face. “Are the recent photos in a separate box?”
“What photos? Ooh, is this about the ripper case?” Jeffrey’s excitement sent unease through my stomach.
