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After Amanda and Trent left Barry Holden, only fifteen minutes remained before their video interviews with the NYC gang members. They returned to their desks and found that Malone had left them a note that Katherine’s call history had come in, along with her main financial accounts, and GPS history on her Mercedes. The app gave them three months’ worth of her travels. He’d also left word that Detectives Hudson and Ryan had exhausted all possibilities within the county and surrounding areas and hadn’t had any luck tracking down the white Ford van. Uniformed officers had also canvassed Katherine’s neighborhood and no useful tips came back.
Trent slapped the folder from the interrogation room on his desk. “This is all so frustrating. So close, yet so far away.”
“I hear you. But we’re not without other leads. We need to stay focused on our goal of getting Katherine back alive. We also have those interviews starting in a matter of minutes— Oh. Shit. Logan.” She dropped into her chair.
Trent raised his eyebrows and sat down at his desk.
She hadn’t called Logan yet to let him know she wouldn’t be home until late. He’d need to take care of Zoe. She pulled out her cell phone, but hesitated before hitting his name. Guilt spiked through her, taking her breath.
So much had changed since she’d kissed him goodbye this morning. Foremost, she’d kissed another man! How would she ever make that up to him? Or did she just discount it and put it from her mind? After all, it was one moment of weakness. It wasn’t like she was carrying on an affair with Trent. Logan might be better off never knowing. It would save a lot of uncertainty over how he was going to respond. Would he leave her and Zoe? That would give the eight-year-old another father to grieve. Her first had been murdered along with Zoe’s biological mother. There would be a lot less upset to their lives if Amanda kept this from Logan, but she doubted her conscience would allow that.
“It looks like we have an email from Rideout with his autopsy findings too,” Trent said, breaking through her thoughts.
“What’s he saying?”
“As we know, the bullets used were nine mil. He pointed out that often rounds of that caliber don’t fragment unless they are designed specifically to do so. This particular round was mostly intact.”
“Which should make it easier to determine the lands and grooves and link us to a specific gun,” she added.
“Yep. Rideout said the autopsy was quite straightforward. Cause of death was the gunshot wound to the aorta. Shot to the heart,” Trent said quietly.
It was heartbreaking to quantify this as straightforward. Amanda thought of the girl’s parents and her great-grandmother, recalling she was set to turn one hundred this week. That was assuming she didn’t die of a broken heart.
“I also have a message from Digital Forensics,” Trent said. “They are in Katherine’s laptop, but there’s nothing much there except for budget and financial portfolios. Turns out she has a doorbell cam.”
“That could be helpful. Browsing history?”
“Quite clean. She wasn’t on any social media that they can see either.”
Amanda nodded. A low profile, or a nonexistent online presence was typical of most cops. Those who did venture onto social media usually avoided doing so under their real names to protect themselves and their families. “I still wouldn’t mind looking at the doorbell footage myself. Can you get them to forward it over?”
“Yep.”
She opened her email and saw another joint message sent to her and Trent from CSI Blair. It was a breakdown of the evidence collected at the Fill N Go, and it was sparse.
9mm bullet casings UPDATE no prints. Gun type confirmed: Glock 19
Broken silver necklace and locket UPDATE: since confirmed as belonging to Katherine Graves
Blood spatter and saliva—found on gum packaging on shelf UPDATE: type O-positive
Cigarette butt ringed with pink lipstick—found in the lot, being tested for DNA
