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Brook sipped her coffee as she skimmed the photographs that Bit had managed to produce from an online search.
All the victims had been brunettes.
Considering Millie had made mention that Dr. Kolsby had said she reminded him of someone who he’d allegedly killed, the fact that the three victims had been brunette didn’t come as a shock. Brook had spent last night drafting her profile, but she’d run into a few bumps along the way. Unfortunately, those hesitations were due to Dr. Kolsby’s so-called confession in the hospital and Dr. Cranston posing as some sort of tour guide.
“Give us the run down, Sylvie,” Brook instructed as she turned her chair so that she could see the large 4k monitor. “Theo, jump in when necessary.”
“Andrea Firth went missing two and a half years ago.” Sylvie paused long enough to take a sip of her tea before diving into the heart of the data. “She was twenty-three years old, and she worked as a phlebotomist at the hospital. Single, brunette, and lived with a roommate.”
“I already have a meeting scheduled with the roommate for later this morning,” Theo interjected.
“Natalie Thorne went missing two years ago,” Sylvie continued, keeping the same format to make things easier. “She was a twenty-nine-year-old lab technician. Brunette, and she lived alone.”
“The only thing we know so far is that she was involved with Dr. Cranston at the time that she went missing,” Theo tacked on. “He was technically cleared of any wrongdoing due to his alibi. I’ll start diving into the lives of the other victims today.”
“Laura Keery went missing nine months ago. Twenty-two years old.” Sylvie paused as they all studied the young woman’s photograph. “Laura was a nursing student who was interning at the hospital. Single, brunette, and still lived at home with her mother. Father wasn’t in the picture.”
“When you say that Miss Keery was interning at the hospital, was her internship in the cardiac unit?”
“No,” Sylvie replied as she reached for her tea. Brook spun her chair around so that she was once again facing the others. “Pediatric floor.”
Brook reached for her coffee mug. She’d already finished her caramel macchiato over an hour ago while sitting at her desk and watching the local news. Footage from the crime scenes had been the focal point as a local reporter covered the story, highlighting Millie Gwinn and Dr. David Kolsby.
Someone had let it leak that Millie Gwinn had gone to the police with suspicions of Dr. Kolsby having killed someone. Whoever had leaked the information had also known that Millie had been assigned a protective detail. It wasn’t long after that statement that the reporter had included S&E Investigations role in the investigation.
Brook had muted the television after that small detail had been broadcasted, because it inevitably led to Jacob. The media coverage would only intensify from there, and it wouldn’t surprise Brook if Graham started to receive a bit of pushback from Senator Ponzio. Then there was the fact that the Kolsby children would want to sue Millie for defamation. In Brook’s opinion, it was only a matter of time before they filed suit.
“No cause of death? That doesn’t make sense,” Brook stated as she glanced up from her tablet. “Millie’s statement regarding the day that Dr. Kolsby was brought out of his induced coma specifically described the blood of his victims. Even if their throats had been slashed, there would have been forensic evidence left behind on the skeletal remains.”
“Is it possible that we’re dealing with two different killers?” Bit asked without looking up from his phone. “Dr. Cranston obviously killed the four women. I mean, he drove Theo straight to their location. That’s some crazy ass shit…pardon my French. Maybe Dr. Kolsby has his own personal burial site.”
Bit lowered his phone, but Theo was too late to stop one of Bit’s conspiracy theories from being floated around. Brook had seen some astonishing things when she’d profiled for the Bureau. She wasn’t willing to stifle anyone’s theories.
“Here me out. Maybe the killers are in some sort of competition with one another,” Bit said eagerly, sitting forward and leaning his forearms on the table. “You know, to see who can rack up the most kills. I’m pretty sure that I saw a movie that had two killers trying to one up the other. Boss, have you ever dealt with something like that at the FBI? A set of killers linked by their passion for murder?”
Brook parted her lips to respond, but then thought better of it. It was one thing to stifle someone’s idea, but she also didn’t want to encourage the team to veer from the profile…not that she had a complete one to hand out.
“Brook, you realize how ridicu—“
“Everyone is free to share their opinions,” Brook advised as she held up a hand in acceptance. Theo rubbed his temple, leaving Sylvie to smile behind her teacup. “We can’t sweep any possibility under the rug. Millie specifically said that she heard Dr. Kolsby talking about blood, Dr. Cranston shows up to speak with Brett Kolsby, and then Dr. Cranston drives directly to the location where four remains have been buried. Bit’s scenario might seem farfetched, but we’re clearly missing something.”
“Well, we can’t ignore the background of these victims,” Theo pointed out before gesturing toward the murder board. His gaze shifted to focus on the screen over Brook’s shoulder. “They all had ties to the hospital. I can reach out to Had—Detective Soerig. She’ll most likely be the one who starts to interview the victims’ colleagues, friends, and family members since Detective Raines has agreed to work this case interagency.”
Brook kept her attention on the display of her tablet. She wasn’t one to talk about bringing personal business into office matters, so she wisely remained silent on the subject. Sticking to their formula worked best, and that was what she fully intended to do during this investigation.
“So, the fourth body has remained unidentified,” Brook stated with curiosity. “Has the medical examiner been able to determine thetimeof death?”
“Roughly three years ago,” Sylvie chimed in, glancing over at Bit. He’d gone back to looking at his phone. “Bit? Anything on Jane Doe?”
Had they found their first victim?
Brook put heavy stock into the initial victim, because that was where all the answers were usually found. Until forensics came up with something solid, patience was going to play a big role in this investigation.
“I’m running multiple searches on missing persons from three years ago and cross-referencing them with the hospital, Kolsby, and Cranston.” Bit hadn’t missed a beat. “Oh, and I threw in the other Kolsbys, as well.”
“And Stephen Averill, Catherine’s fiancé?” Brook asked since they were expanding the scope of their investigation. “He doesn’t work at the hospital, but I’d like to make sure we cover our bases. Averill works for an insurance company, so there is bound to be connections to the hospital.”
The team spent another half an hour going over specifics of the case, what directions each of them should take, and what leads would be more beneficial in the hands of Detective Raines and Officer Soerig.
