Page 63 of Red Snow
“We’re not going to damage anything, Terry, I give you my word. But we need to get in there and do a proper search, because it could lead to something really big.”
“No way. It’ll slow down construction, and I can’t let that happen. We have to stay on schedule.”
“You’ve heard about the Snowman killings in Anchorage, right, Terry?” I ask. Marcus looks like he wants to stop me again, but I glare at him, and he knows I’m done waiting. He exhales and turns his attention to Terry.
“Of course. Who hasn’t?” Terry says.
“Yeah, who hasn’t? Do you want the next severed head to pop up because you had your nose glued to Jeffrey’s ass crack? Because I promise you, if another dead body shows up somewhere because I have to wait on a warrant to get signed, I’m going to blame it on you, and you and I are gonna have problems.
“Let me tell you how this is going to work. If you tell us we can’t search, my partner and I are going to drive back to Anchorage, and we’re going to talk to our friend, Judge Bartow, and he’s going to give us a search warrant for the house anyway. So, you’re not stopping the search, you’re only delaying it. And once we do get the warrant, I’m going to personally make sure it takes for-fucking-ever to finish searching. By the time we’re out of that house, your deadline will have come and gone, and all your interior work will be destroyed. You’ll have to start that shit over from scratch once I’m done with it.
“Or, you can let us call up our forensics team right now, they’ll come down here and knock out a quick search of the house this afternoon and evening, and you can have your guys back on the jobsite first thing in the morning because we’ll be out of your way. It’s up to you, Terry, but either way, we’re searching that house. The rest is just a matter of how long you want the search to take, and how much shit you’re willing to re-purchase after our search is complete.”
Terry takes a minute to think about his answer, but a minute is all it takes. He nods his big head, and I immediately pull out my phone and inform Danielle that the owner of Homegrown Construction just gave us permission to search one of his projects, and I fill her in on why we’re searching. She’s just as shocked about the plastic as me and Marcus are, and she has a forensics team on the way within five minutes of our conversation.
An hour later, there’s a full search being conducted at a house on the outskirts of Eagle River. It’s a two-story beauty that wasn’t a beauty before Terry and his worker bees got their hands on it. The outside is completely redone and painted yellow with lots of wood trimmings. The driveway has been completely busted up as Terry’s crew prepares to pour fresh concrete there. The only part of the house that hasn’t been upgraded is the garage.
After a few hours of finding nothing, the sun starts to set and the last of the forensics team is working in the garage area. They’re in there with white Tyvek suits and black lights, as they crawl along the floor, searching for traces of blood. Marcus and I told them to be thorough, even though it’s obvious Jeffrey has been stealing plastic sheeting from work so he can use it to kill women. He’s probably putting it everywhere like Dexter Morgan while he cuts them up, then wrapping their bodies in it while he transports them to wherever he wants to set up the snowman statues. All Marcus and I can do is hope that he made a mistake and dropped blood somewhere. All we need is a little, and just as the sun hides completely for the night, our wishes are answered.
“Detective Granger!” one of the forensics guys shouts from the garage. I take off in a full sprint to meet him, but he puts up a hand, telling me not to step inside. “Stay out there please, sir. We’re going to have to lock this site down.”
“Why’s that?” Marcus asks as he approaches from behind, followed by Danielle, who has a black and gray scarf wrapped around the entire lower half of her face.
The forensics guy, who I don’t recognize, grabs one of the long black lights and drops to his knees. Marcus, Danielle, and I watch as he crawls on the floor and shines the light at a spot in the corner of the garage. A small spot on the floor lights up brighter than the rest of it, and as soon as I see it, I know it’s blood.
“Holy shit,” Marcus says, quietly.
“Definitely blood that has been cleaned up, sir,” the forensics guy says. “We’re going to need to take a sample so we can have it analyzed and identified.”
“Fucking right,” I reply. I watch the forensics team take a cotton swab and dab on the spot where the blood was spilled and wiped up, and I feel a surge of excitement course through me. They use their gloved hands to put the swab into a plastic Ziploc bag, and then shove the bag into a small tube.
“I want a rush on that sample,” Danielle says from behind her scarf. “Tell your boss I need the results back ASAP,” she snaps at the guy holding the tube, and he nods to her. “It’s also time to move on Jeffrey Chapman.”
Marcus and I perk up as we face her.
“I think we have enough evidence to go ahead and make an arrest,” Danielle continues. “This blood being on his job site is the last straw. I think we can get an arrest warrant by tomorrow morning, and the second we get it, I want you two to bring him in.”
“Sounds like a plan to me!” I exclaim. “Let’s go get this fucker.”
