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“He’s the one.”
Francesca joined the conversation. “What physical evidence do you have?”
“The rope he left at your house, for starters. You need more than that?”
“Pardon the pun, but we want to know exactly what ties him to the murders,” Jonah persisted.
“How about an old freezer with traces of blood? And just an hour ago, we came up with human remains.”
Jonah shoved a hand through his hair. “Can you identify them?”
“No, the victim died a year or more ago. What’s left of her is on its way to the morgue. We should know more tomorrow, once the coroner’s had a chance to take a look. But what do you want to bet it’s Julia?”
“How’d you find Dean?” Francesca asked.
“He called home, and Butch got in touch with Hunsacker.”
Jonah massaged his left temple. “Butch is the one who turned him in?”
“After we found that blood, he realized what his brother-in-law was and became very cooperative.”
“I…see,” Jonah said.
“You don’t sound too excited,” Finch complained.
“I’m not convinced he’s the killer we’re looking for.”
“What?” Irritation suffused the investigator’s voice.
“None of the evidence conclusively rules out Butch.”
“Because we’re still processing it all. Give us time.”
“Does that mean you’ll keep an eye on him in the interim?”
“Come on! We have a lot less on him than Dean!”
Hands in his pockets, Jonah began to pace. “A freezer showing traces of blood was found on his property.”
“Because of Dean.”
“You sure about that? If Dean’s the one killing women, how’s he getting their bodies to Dead Mule Canyon? And how did he dig up and move April Bonner’s body without a vehicle? I doubt he took her corpse on the bus.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Finch replied. “For all we know, he stole Butch’s truck.”
“Without Butch being aware of it?”
“He could find a way.”
“That might be true,” Francesca conceded, “but…Dean doesn’t seem that resourceful.”
Finch heard her. “He doesn’t? He can pick any lock in existence. If that’s not resourceful, I don’t know what is. Anyway, it’s been a long day, I’m exhausted, and now I’m sorry I took the time to notify you. I thought we’d finally be on the same page, but… Never mind. I have to go. I’ve got a lot still to do.”
“Wait a second.” Jonah stopped him before he could hang up. “You said there was blood in the freezer.”
“That’s right.”
“So where did you find the remains?”
