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She tapped a couple of keys. A photograph appeared on the screen. It was of a faded red baseball cap with a gray ponytail trailing from the opening. “Exactly like that,” Elle said. “The ponytail is fake?”
“One of those novelty caps like you buy at a truck stop, usually with a ribald slogan,” Perkins said. “Easily obtainable.”
“Yes, I’ve seen them,” Elle said, “and they rarely fool me. But he was running so fast. And with everything else going on, it never occurred to me that it was fake hair. Where was it found?”
Compton took a deep breath. “This crime scene presented numerous challenges. Thousands of people attended the fair that day. Anything, the smallest item, was potential evidence. Crime scene units from all over the area were assembled and organized, then were assigned sections of the fairground, which, when you include the parking lots, encompasses nearly thirty acres.
“The officers first had to photograph their section, and then begin the painstaking process of collecting evidence. It had been a beautiful day, but there was a storm that night with rain and high wind, elements which further compromised the scene and hampered progress.
“I’m telling you all this to excuse how the cap was initially dismissed. Upon inspection of it, a strand of human hair was found inside it. It didn’t belong to the ponytail, which is synthetic. The DNA of that hair didn’t match Levi Jenkins’s. Nor was it flagged by any criminal database. Consequently, the cap was catalogued but passed off as debris left by someone fleeing.”
Elle said, “Or it could have been dropped days before the shooting and nobody had bothered to pick it up.”
“That could very possibly be the case,” Compton admitted. “But when Perkins realized that five of you had mentioned a man wearing a cap matching this one, we went back to the crime scene photos taken that night within hours of the shooting. We put them under a microscope and spotted this cap in one of those photos. It was on the ground very near the tent where Jenkins was found.
“But that wasn’t where it was collected by crime scene techs two days later. It was in a different location some distance away from where it had been photographed.”
“It had been moved?” Elle asked.
“We blame the strong wind for that,” Perkins said. “Although, with a crime scene that large and that many people on site, anything can happen to a valuable piece of evidence.” He added glumly, “And too often does.”
Elle divided a look between them. “All right. I’m following you so far, but what does it boil down to?”
Compton said, “Let’s say the culprit came across Jenkins, who was stoned, who didn’t even realize what was happening, and certainly didn’t resist when the pistol was placed against his head. This individual hastily made it look like a suicide, ran from the tent, and merged with the frenzied, stampeding crowd, losing the cap in the process, maybe deliberately dropping it to be trampled.”
“We don’t have any idea who this individual is,” Elle said.
“No, but when we do isolate a suspect, this cap and the human hair found in it could prove to be incriminating evidence, especially if you five can testify that he’s the man you saw in the vicinity of where Howard Rollins and your son were fatally shot. It could lead to a conviction. Our ultimate goal.”
Elle wet her lips. “So then, this is a breakthrough?”
“A sliver of daylight, but it’s a starting place. We have personnel trying to track down the origin of the cap and trace it to the owner. But think of it as hunting a unicorn. It’s grunt work, and slow going, and we’re doing it as covertly as possible.”
“Why?”
Again the detectives looked at each other. Perkins gave Compton a subtle nod. She came back to Elle. “Even though we’re getting hammered by the media for not catching the guy yet, we’re not going to announce that we have this lead. But these things have a way of getting out no matter how hard we try to keep a tight lid.
“If it is leaked that there’s been a development, we’re going to downplay the significance of it. We’re not going to reveal what it is, and we’re definitely not going to name the witnesses who put us on to it.”
“Thank you for that consideration,” Elle said. “I’d rather be kept anonymous. I’ve turned down every request for an interview.”
“Elle,” Compton said, leaning in closer to her. “Keeping you anonymous isn’t only a courtesy to protect your privacy. Whoever this whack job is, he’s still unidentified and at large.”
Suddenly Elle intuited what this signified, and it caused her heart rate to jump.
Compton said, “You provided the clue that could nail him. If you remembered that detail about him, what else might you remember that would lead to his capture? We’re keeping your identity under wraps for your safety.”
Chapter 15
Calder was within a few yards of the precinct entrance when Elle came out.
Upon seeing each other, they halted simultaneously. Neither moved for several seconds; then Calder tipped his head toward an out-of-the-way spot at the side of the main doors.
Her hesitation was obvious, and he knew it must be because of their parting at the bar last night. But then she walked toward him, fell into step, stopped when he did, and faced him when he turned to her.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
