CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The call from Maria Santos came at six in the morning, pulling Kari from a restless sleep where she'd been dreaming about endless desert and runners who wouldn't stop running no matter how many times she shouted for them to slow down.
"Tell me you're awake," Maria said.
Kari sat up, rubbing her eyes."I am now."
"We got a hit on surveillance footage.You need to see this."
Twenty minutes later, Kari was in her vehicle, driving toward the Phoenix PD headquarters.Maria had sounded excited on the phone, and that in turn excited Kari.Caffeine couldn't hold a candle to the energy she got from a break in the case.
Maria met her at the entrance, looking like she'd been up all night.Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but her posture radiated energy."Traffic cameras and trailhead monitoring.We've been reviewing footage from every location where our victims started their final runs."
"And?"
"And we found the same vehicle at two different locations."Maria led Kari through the building to a conference room where a laptop sat open on the table, surveillance footage frozen on the screen."This is the Bulldog Trailhead, where Jordan Rodriguez parked his car before his training run.Three weeks ago, Friday morning."
She clicked play.The footage showed the parking area at dawn, a handful of vehicles scattered across the lot.A white SUV pulled in at 5:47 AM, parking three spaces away from what Maria indicated was Rodriguez's truck.The driver didn't get out—the vehicle just sat there for several minutes before pulling away.
"Okay," Kari said slowly, thinking."Maybe someone else getting ready for a run?"
"Watch this."Maria pulled up a second video."Mesquite Wash Trailhead, where Jessica Ramirez started her last run.Two weeks ago, Thursday morning."
The footage was similar—dawn light, scattered vehicles, and the same white SUV pulling into the lot at 6:02 AM.This time it parked directly next to a Honda Civic that Maria identified as Jessica's vehicle.Again, the driver didn't emerge.After five minutes, the SUV left.
"Same vehicle, same pattern.Arrives shortly after our victims, doesn't appear to be there for running or hiking, leaves after a few minutes."
"How did we get lucky enough to have footage from both locations?"
"Most trailheads have cameras now because of vandalism and theft problems.They're not monitored in real-time, but the footage gets stored."Maria pulled up a third video."And this is the clincher.Jennifer Hayes's vehicle was found at the McDowell Mountain Regional Park trailhead.Guess what shows up on surveillance?"
The white SUV, same timeline, same behavior.
Kari leaned closer to the screen, trying to make out any identifying details."Can you enhance the plates?"
"Already did."Maria pulled up a zoomed image of the license plate, slightly grainy but readable."Vehicle is registered to the Sonoran 100 Race Organization.Specifically, it's listed as one of their utility vehicles used for course-marking and volunteer transport."
Kari stood up straighter, instantly alert."Cedric Dalton's organization."
Maria nodded.
"That means Dalton had access to this vehicle," Kari said slowly, working through it."But so did anyone else working with the race organization, right?"
"That's the question."Maria pulled up a file on her computer."I did some digging into Dalton's background while I was waiting for you.The man's got financial problems—significant ones."
Kari listened as Maria detailed the loans, the maxed credit cards, the mortgage arrears.Each piece of information added weight to a picture she didn't want to see taking shape.She'd liked Cedric Dalton during their interview.He'd seemed genuine in his grief, authentic in his concern for the ultra-marathon community.
But grief didn't preclude guilt.Some of the worst killers she'd encountered had regretted what they'd done—but kept doing it anyway.
"So he's desperate for money," Kari said, though the word felt inadequate."But how does that tie in with the murders?"
Maria leaned back in her chair, frowning."That's what I can't figure out.How does killing elite runners help him financially?If anything, it's destroying his race.People are talking about boycotting the Sonoran 100."
Kari stood, needing to move while she thought.She paced the small conference room, aware of Maria watching her work through the puzzle."Unless that's not the primary motive.What if the financial problems just made him vulnerable to something else?Someone paying him to do something that ended up involving murder?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know yet."And that was the frustrating part.They had evidence of Dalton's vehicle at every crime scene, evidence of his financial desperation, but the connecting logic remained elusive."We need to talk to him.See how he reacts when we show him this footage."
