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“Donna Laurel was twenty-six years of age, an x-ray technician at an urgent care facility, and the girlfriend of Dr. Lance Heinsel.” Sylvie paused as she set the remote down on the table. “You heard right. Dr. Lance Heinsel. He’s a doctor in the emergency room, and he’s the one who paid for Gary’s defense lawyer.”
“Cause of death?” Brook asked as she unscrewed the cap of the water bottle.
“Ms. Laurel was stabbed to death,” Sylvie revealed as she sat back in her seat, though Brook got the sense that something wasn’t quite right about the murder. “Her body was discovered in her apartment by her mother.”
“That isn’t the unsub’s M.O.” Bit switched his focus between Sylvie and Brook. He hadn’t been on his phone, which meant that he almost certainly had figured out what to buy Graham. If only she could do the same, then she might not be so stressed out over the holiday music. “Right? I mean, are you thinking that this Heinsel guy killed four other women and took the time to bury their bodies and dump their cars?”
“It’s unlikely.” Brook made herself comfortable as she turned on her tablet and unhooked the stylus. Ever since she’d lost her favorite pen, she’d gotten more accustomed to fidgeting with the stylus when she was thinking over scenarios. “Had Heinsel murdered Donna Laurel five or six years ago versus twelve months ago, I might have a different opinion. If that had been the timeline that we were dealing with, it would be a logical assumption that Heinsel discovered he needed to hide his crimes. He doesn’t present as a serial killer, especially the suicide attempt right before a court proceeding.”
“Could he have been the patient that caused Dr. Kolsby to react in such a way upon being brought out from under sedation?” Sylvie asked as she reached over and grabbed one of the M&Ms from the small yellow bag that Bit had brought into the room. “I mean, that part of the case would make more sense.”
“Cranston was led to the location of the burial site,” Brook pointed out as she twirled the stylus in between the fingers of her right hand. “Whoever was able to blackmail him was close to him, which I believe brings us back to Kolsby.”
“I thought you weren’t convinced that Kolsby was the unsub,” Bit pointed out skeptically as he ever so slowly separated the yellow M&Ms from the other colors. He had the oddest quirks. “I’m getting whiplash.”
“That’s too bad,” Brook said as she observed him pass the yellow M&Ms over to Sylvie. She took them as if this was a normal routine between the two of them. “I was hoping that you were in good enough health to work the tech van this evening.”
Brook’s words had registered immediately, causing Bit’s hand to retract at lightning quick speed. The other M&Ms went flying off the table, but he made no move to pick them up off the floor. From his expression, he reminded her of a kid in a candy store.
“Wait. Little T, did you hear that or am I experiencing a sugar rush?”
“You heard right,” Sylvie said with a laugh as she pushed back her chair from the table so that she could come around and help pick up the chocolate candies. “I want in on this surveillance gig. This is going to be fun.”
“Boss, I need specifics.” Bit hadn’t wasted any time getting down to business, completely ignoring the fact that Sylvie was picking up the M&Ms. His entire attention was focused on Brook. “Who, what, and where? I’ve got the how covered.”
“There is a fundraising event tonight being hosted by the hospital for their new pediatric neuro center,” Brook explained as she reached for the second remote on the table. Bit had thought of everything when he’d installed the 4k LED monitor. She quickly pulled up the list of attendees. “The Kolsby family has been invited, and the doctor himself is also set to give a speech. Dr. Cranston has since been disinvited as of this morning, but you’ll notice that Dr. Lance Heinsel will be attending, along with a date and the same brother who Dr. Kolsby saved from taking his own life. I think this event is also being used in an attempt to repair some of the damage that has been done by the negative press generated by our investigation. It would certainly explain why Gary Heinsel was issued an invitation.”
“Which of these individuals will we be monitoring?” Bit asked as he stood from his chair. Brook figured that he’d be busy for the next few hours, double and triple-checking every technical component in the van. “If you’re asking me to do this, I take it we have warrants that cover the scope of this type of surveillance?”
“We will be monitoring the comings and goings on all of them, and the warrants are vague enough to include individual electronic surveillance, as well as telephonic intercepts,” Brook replied truthfully as she set down the remote. She kept the stylus in her right hand as she reached for her tablet. “That works to our advantage. I’ll send you the address of the venue, and you’ll await any instructions from me as to who you might be surveilling should someone decide to leave the event earlier than expected.”
“You’re going?” Sylvie asked as she threw away the M&Ms that had been on the floor. “As in, dressing up and mingling with the hospital staff and donors?”
“I managed to finagle an invitation or two from—“
“Someone who owed you a favor,” Sylvie and Bit said in unison.
“It’s called networking, and it wasn’t a favor,” Brook pointed out wryly as she entered the address and other pertinent information into the tablet. Each of the team members would receive an alert. “I hadn’t planned on attending, but Millie Gwinn called me about an hour ago. She received an invitation, and she’s currently planning on attending the fundraiser.”
Brook nodded toward Bit, who could barely contain his excitement regarding the tech van. He didn’t waste a minute longer before exiting the conference room, mumbling something about getting to the nearest cell tower next to the event to install a monitor to intercept cell phone traffic for their list of numbers.
“Is that wise? For Millie to attend, I mean,” Sylvie clarified with concern as she returned to her place at the table. She didn’t take a seat, but instead began to collect her items. “Also, I thought only the executive staff members and doctors attended such events.”
“That’s why it is such an unusual invitation. It’s also the reason that I told her to accept it. Someone wanted her there,” Brook explained, comfortable with such a decision due to their client’s protective detail. “I’ll also keep a close eye on her, but I’d like to see the reaction of those involved when they see me there. Bit will need to loop in the protective detail’s communications into the van. They will most likely be encrypted using burst transmission,”
“What about your profile? I saw you added some specifics, but you also left a few details out that are pretty crucial to all investigations.”
“Until I have the full reports on the three other skeletal remains from the forensics anthropologist, I’ll hold off filling out the profile so that we aren’t chasing our tails looking for false indicators.” Brook recalled something that Theo had said last week. “Until then, we work this case a bit different than the others.”
Brook’s phone rang, and it wasn’t a surprise to find that Theo’s name was on the display. When she finally answered, she made sure to put the call on speakerphone to include Sylvie.
“Were you able to locate the victims’ vehicles?”
“No,” Theo said a little breathlessly. The cold temperatures most likely hadn’t made the day go any easier. “Both lakes have clear, sandy bottoms with no large hits that would indicate vehicles. Locals implied the public access ramps were dredged only last year on both lakes as part of a state fisheries initiative.”
Brook met Sylvie’s disbelieving gaze.
“Four vehicles up and vanish into thin air,” Sylvie said with a shake of her head. “How is that even possible?”
