Chapter 18

The Hemsworth case was connected to the Killing Field, Lloyd knew it. He just needed to figure out what he could do with the information. No one knew that case better than he did and he felt like he was looking at the Hemsworth case every time he looked at the other girls’ files. They were all abused the same way, the sex was not necessarily consensual and they were strangled to death.

Lloyd pulled out the twenty-year-old case and started to compare it against what he found in the Killing Field. They were buried deeper in a field that not many people pass by, while Molly was buried in a shallow grave along a school route.

The killer didn’t know that until her body was found, then he adapted and found a field that stayed hidden for over 15 years. Lloyd wondered if the killer adapted in other ways. He couldn’t narrow down the time of death because some of the bodies were decomposed beyond recognition. This meant they were in the ground for longer than six months with just their clothes left covering the skeletons. The clothes were too tattered and covered with soil to be of any use.

“Did you hear me?” Brandon snapped his finger in Lloyd’s direction. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Oh, what?” Lloyd looked up from the case file he was reading.

“We got the DNA evidence back from Casey Hammond and from two of the victims that we found,” Brandon said as he passed the documents to Lloyd. “We have some DNA from the older cases as well, found on the clothes. It was preserved very well.”

“Does the DNA match?” Lloyd asked, looking at the DNA profile for Molly.

“Yes, there is one DNA profile that is found on all the girls,” Brandon said. “We ran it through the system and there was no match.”

“Which just means this bastard had gone unimpeded for the past twenty years,” Lloyd said.

“Are we sure these cases are related to the Holly Hemsworth case?” Brandon asked.

“Molly, her name was Molly Hemsworth and everything is the same, except we found Molly quickly,” Lloyd spread out the case.

There it was in front of Brandon, he saw the ligature marks that proved she was strangled, the medical examiner’s report, pictures and all the notes and witnesses. Including the two boys who found the body. What is it with this town and children finding dead bodies lying about the place, Brandon thought.

“OK, ripped clothes, missing panties,” Brandon checked off the items, “strangulation, rough penetration, bruising along the entire torso and face. He is a real piece of work.”

“Do you think this is done by the same person who attacked Casey Hammond?” Lloyd asked.

“The DNA evidence says it is the same person,” Brandon admitted. “His DNA was on Molly, Casey and all the victims who had DNA on them. I would have to agree that these cases are linked.”

Lloyd threw the file onto the table and the outburst startled Brandon.

“Fuck,” Lloyd said. “I could have stopped this guy, these girls would have been alive if I just caught him shortly after he murdered Molly. This girl would still be alive,” Lloyd picked up a file of one of the Jane Does and slammed it down, “this girl would still be alive,” he picked up another file and slammed it down, “this girl would still be alive and Casey Hammond would still be alive.” He slammed the file down and a paper fell out and drifted to Lloyd’s feet.

Lloyd bent over and picked the paper up, it was a police report dated about a week after Casey Hammond died. Brandon watched Lloyd’s facial expression change. First he was disponent and now he was engrossed with what was typed out on the paper.

“Did you see this?” Lloyd handed the paper to Brandon.

Brandon looked at the paper, “what is this?”

“That is a police report,” Lloyd said. “Look at the date. It was just a few days after we found Casey’s body.”

“Who is Veronica Conway?” Brandon asked.

“She found the Killing Field,” Lloyd said, “I don’t think this is a coincidence. She was chased down by a suspect after she found her friend’s body.”

“I don’t remember this guy’s name coming up,” Brandon said. “So, wait, you are telling me that we had a lead and one of the officers didn’t bring this to our attention. What the hell were we doing?”

“Fighting, more than likely,” Lloyd quipped.

“That great, just great,” Brandon threw the report on the table. “I want that officer in here now.”

Lloyd felt the same way, he should have been informed when a lead broke in the case. They dragged one of the patrol officers who responded to Styles Academy into the office. The officer said he responded to the scene, but he just took the weapon, which was still in storage because the district attorney didn’t know what he was going to do with the case yet. The girl was just 16, which was the same age as the other girls who were killed.

“Veronica Conway defended herself by climbing a tree and then brandishing the sword, which is a felony, and then she stabbed the victim in the shoulder,” the officer said. “Look, I didn’t talk to her, you want to get with Phelps for that.”

Brandon nodded and Lloyd asked the officer to look for William Phelps. He nodded, walked out of the office and started to bellow Phelps’s name.

William Phelps strolled into the office and looked at both Lloyd and Brandon, “what’s up?”

“What’s up?” Brandon was incensed, “You take a complaint that was related to our case and fail to tell us, then have the nerve to ask ‘what’s up’? Why weren’t we told that someone pointed to Keith Ridgewood as a possible suspect in these girls’ deaths?”

“Look,” Phelps got his back up. He didn’t like being criticized, especially by an outsider, “the complaint was unsubstantiated. We followed up on the lead but it went nowhere. Ridgewood had an alibi. His wife said he was with her all night. Case closed.”

“Did you happen to wonder why he chased that girl into the woods?” Lloyd asked as he continued to read the report. It had a lot of detail, but no one followed up on anything.

“He said he wanted to talk to her,” Phelps said. “He said she overreacted and started to run. He chased her to calm her down.”

“Where she climbs the tree and the victim proceeds to follow her up the tree,” Brandon finished for Phelps. “Now, the victim, if you insist upon calling him that, fine, follows her up a tree. A 38-year-old man follows a 16-year-old girl up a tree.”

Phelps stared at Brandon blankly.

“You know what, get out of here,” Brandon waved him out of the office. “I am through with you. Just go before I do or say something my superior will regret.”

Phelps looked at Lloyd who dismissed him and walked out of the office. He handled that case by the book, Phelps thought. There wasn’t anything there. The Conway brat even admitted as much to Keith a few days after the incident.

“You mind telling me what that was all about?” Lloyd looked at Brandon who was visibly trying to control his temper.

“I have no patience for stupidity,” Brandon ran a hand through his thick, dark hair then pointed out in the direction Phelps walked. “That guy had no curiosity, none whatsoever. I am 32 years old, I want to talk to a 16-year-old girl for some reason, he doesn’t even get the goddamn reason, I am not going to follow her up a tree. She is going to be up here,” he held a hand at forehead level and another hand at his torso, “and I am going to be down here. Now, according to the complainant, the girl, whatever, the victim didn’t say anything until she made contact with his jaw. He wasn’t screaming for her to stop running, he didn’t tell her he wanted to talk, he just chased her without saying anything? Come on.”

Lloyd was impressed with the amount of information Brandon gleaned from the report. Brandon had looked at it for a few moments, but basically committed everything to memory. He sat down behind his desk, steepled his fingers and let Brandon’s words sink in. He was picturing the whole scenario as the report said it happened. Veronica was riding her bike, she saw a large pickup truck stop in front of her, saw Keith get out and make a break for her, she ran into the direction of the tree but had to go through the mess that was the Killing Field. Keith almost grabbed her, but tripped on a rock. She got to the tree, climbed up, and...

“Where the hell did the sword come from?” Lloyd asked out loud.

“What?” Brandon was looking at the report again.

“She was riding her bike, had to ditch it apparently, to run to a tree,” Lloyd looked at the report. “This doesn’t say where the sword came from and I think I know why. Dollars to donuts, Veronica wasn’t alone when she gave her statement. And, she won’t be alone when we talk to her.”

“What do you mean?” Brandon was confused. He wasn’t following Lloyd.

“This is fucking Veronica Conway,” Lloyd got out of the chair and started walking out of the precinct. “Her father will call his brother when we tell him we are following up on her complaint.”

“Still not following,” Brandon said as he got into the passenger side of the car.

“How do you feel about attorneys?” Lloyd looked at him.

“I hate attorneys,” Brandon rolled his eyes.

“Well, the Conways love them,” Lloyd said. “And I guarantee that Maxwell Conway had something to do with Veronica’s statement. And my guys let the attorney run the day.” Lloyd sighed. The other officers didn’t know how to get around Maxwell Conway, who was the town’s top defense attorney. And the district attorney wasn’t contacted until much later.

Lloyd called the district attorney as he drove to the west side of town to Howard Conway’s office. They talked about what the attorney wanted to do with the Conway case.

“It is not cut and dry,” the district attorney said. “I have a man chasing a girl, I have a girl brandishing a weapon and committing assault, but the defense is and has already made a case for self-defense. I really don’t know what I am going to do, I promised Maxwell I would exercise some discretion. That girl had quite a future ahead of her.”

“Sounds like everyone is trying to protect this girl,” Brandon said. “What is she, the town pet?”

“She comes from an affluent family, and she is an upstanding member of our community,” Lloyd said. “She volunteers…”

“So, a product of white privilege,” Brandon muttered.

“She is privileged,” Lloyd agreed. “She grew up in a two-parent household and her parents are still together, she didn’t get pregnant, she is finishing high school, she was born in America. Listen, in this town, on the west side, there are more Rios, Maldenados and De Leons than there are Conways, Styles and Tolers. In fact, Veronica might marry into the De Leon family. We have been intermingling and intermarrying for generations.”

They pulled into the business district that held both Howard’s and Maxwell’s offices. Brandon went into Howard’s office to wait for Lloyd to visit with Maxwell. Lloyd knew the score, the only way he was going to get anywhere near Veronica was through Maxwell.

Maxwell agreed to allow Veronica to speak with Lloyd and Brandon. He didn’t mind cooperating with the authorities, but he didn’t want his niece to get tangled up in admitting to a crime. Howard called Judith to ask where Veronica was and if she would bring Veronica to Maxwell’s office.

“I would rather have this conversation in a more neutral territory,” Brandon said. “Is there a library or maybe the county courthouse? That way, everyone is comfortable.”

Howard agreed and asked Judith to meet him at the library, since the county courthouse was over forty miles away. The group met up with Judith, Veronica and Curtis.

“Who is the kid?” Brandon asked.

“That is Veronica Conway,” Lloyd said, thinking Brandon was talking about the girl.

“OK, and who is the boy,” Brandon asked. “What does he have to do with the case?”

“That is Curtis Conway,” Lloyd said. “He discovered the bodies with Veronica.”

Brandon watched the boy go over to Maxwell’s side of the table. He didn’t sit with his parents or Veronica. Brandon found this interesting.

“Veronica,” Lloyd started, “we want to talk about the day Keith Ridgewood and you got into an altercation. Do you remember what happened?”

Veronica looked over at Maxwell who nodded, “I was riding my bike and heard a truck coming behind me and noticed that it wasn’t going to stop or give me any room. I ditched the bike and the truck stopped several yards in front of me, Keith Ridgewood got out of the truck and started running towards me. I remembered the tree where there was an old deer stand, I ran towards the tree and Keith followed me.”

“How did you know it was Keith Ridgewood?” Brandon asked.

“I saw him the weekend before,” Veronica answered. “He was my father’s guest at the last competition in Austin. He watched me fight and congratulated me on my bout.”

Brandon nodded.

“I ran to the tree, he followed me up the tree and I stabbed him,” Veronica said. “He fell off the tree and was winded. I climbed down and ran straight for the academy. I guess I overreacted. I apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Ridgewood for my behavior.”

Brandon watched her look and heard her voice become more contrite. She was sorry, she looked sorry and she was full of bullshit. She didn’t give anything away, her parents looked sufficiently disappointed, but they were full of bullshit too. Curtis Conway gave the whole game away. He wasn’t disappointed that his sister had taken such measures; Curtis Conway was proud. Brandon really looked at Howard Conway, there was a slight smile playing at his lips when Veronica talked about stabbing Keith. Judith Conway’s serene expression didn’t give anything away, but there was a gleam in her eyes.

“Miss Conway,” Brandon had enough, “can we cut the bullshit?”

Veronica looked at him with wide eyes. She didn’t expect him to talk really, Floyd didn’t introduce the young man. She looked at Maxwell.

“Excuse me,” Maxwell said. “Who are you?”

“FBI Agent Brandon Row,” Brandon said, then turned to Veronica, “Miss Conway, did you know it is illegal to lie to an FBI agent?”

The statement had the effect Brandon wanted. It set the entire party back on their collective heels. The only one who didn’t react was the insufferable Curtis Conway. The boy was beyond arrogant. If Brandon didn’t know any better, and he did, he would say Curtis Conway was the serial killer, but that would mean Curtis would have to rape and strangle his first victim five years before he was born, and many subsequent victims as an infant and toddler. Talk about your ultimate alibi. The thought made Brandon almost laugh out loud.

Maxwell was the first to recover, “Are you accusing my client of something?”

“No,” Brandon said innocently. “Not at all, I just wanted to make sure Miss Conway knows the consequences of her actions today.” He turned to Veronica, “You met this man about two days before, saw him in a truck, ran to a predetermined place, grabbed a sword from that location; I don’t think for a minute that you ran through that field and into the woods to a tree with a weapon that was about this long,” Brandon held his index fingers about four feet apart. “So where did the weapon come from and what made you feel like you needed to have it?”

Veronica looked at Maxwell who glared at Brandon, “I want to know what exactly you are insinuating, young man.”

“I am not insinuating anything,” Brandon sighed. “We are trying to find the person responsible for killing your friend,” he pointed to Veronica, “and you are not telling us what you know. And I can tell you know something. You told the police that Keith Ridgewood killed Casey.”

“I did,” Veronica said. Maxwell started to put his hand on hers, but she put her hand on his. “I told them, they investigated Keith Ridgewood and he had an alibi. I was wrong.”

“He chased you, you felt that you needed to defend yourself, and you were wrong?” Brandon asked. “I don’t think you are wrong. I think you know something and you have been advised to be silent because you don’t want to be charged with assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon.”

Veronica visibly swallowed. Finally, Brandon was getting somewhere. Even Curtis was getting uncomfortable.

“That is a felony,” Brandon said softly, “you can’t have a felony.”

Lloyd let the tension build in the room before he broke it, “Veronica, how did you know Keith Ridgewood killed Casey? Did you see something?”

Veronica looked at Maxwell who signaled her to not say anything. Damn it, Lloyd thought, he really hated attorneys.

“What can you do for my client?” Maxwell said.

“We can make sure she never sees the inside of a courtroom,” Lloyd said. “I can talk to the district attorney who will agree that her actions were in self-defense. This won’t even go to a grand jury. She won’t be charged, but we have to know what she knows. That is the deal.”

“I want that in writing,” Maxwell said.

Of course you do, Lloyd thought.

“Of course you do,” Brandon said. “We will have the paperwork drawn up as soon as she tells us what she knows.”

“No,” Maxwell said. He wasn’t born yesterday and he knew how the FBI worked. “I want that document now,” he sat back in his chair, getting comfortable, “we will wait.”

Lloyd got up and pulled out his phone to talk to the district attorney. The attorney agreed to the plan and said he would hand deliver the letter in about an hour. He would send an electronic copy to Maxwell’s office.

“I have his email address memorized,” the district attorney said.

Lloyd walked back into the office, “The district attorney’s office will have the agreement sent to your email address and will personally deliver the paper copy in an hour.”

Maxwell nodded and looked at Veronica, “I trust you, Lloyd, not to compromise Veronica. My client needs to be assured that she will not be in any danger, and if there is danger then she is allowed to defend herself.”

“I will make sure that her name is kept out of the report,” Lloyd said.

“Then how did Keith figure out that it was Veronica who found the body?” Curtis asked. “Because he did and that was why he attacked her, and make no mistake, he intended to harm her, despite all his claims that he wanted to clear things up.”

“How do you know that?” Brandon asked.

“She didn’t say anything to the police about Keith until after he chased her,” Curtis said. “She didn’t know his name until she saw him at our competition. Keith Ridgewood wasn’t part of our social circle until he contacted my father about insurance. The point is Keith knew my sister and I found those bodies and he came after her because you have a leak.”

“Why would he go after her and not after you?” Brandon asked. He decided to let the leak part go for the moment. “It seems that you are just as much a liability as she is.”

“I am stronger than he is,” Curtis said simply and arrogantly. “He wasn’t much of a challenge for her, what makes you think he can challenge me?”

“You might want to check your arrogance before you find yourself in one of those graves,” Brandon said hotly.

“I am not arrogant, I am confident,” Curtis pointed out. “I know what I am capable of and I know what I am not capable of.”

Lloyd had enough, “I want to know what Veronica saw. I am not interested in this pissing contest you yourself got into with a 14-year-old kid,” He said to Brandon. Lloyd looked at Veronica, “You did see something right?”

“Yes,” Veronica said, smiling. She was trying to stifle a giggle and became serious. “I saw Casey die then I saw who did it. I just didn’t know his name until I saw Keith Ridgewood at our competition. I had to make sure he didn’t know what I knew about him, but he found out somehow. I had another vision that Keith followed me and started planning for that day to make sure I wouldn’t get hurt. I played it out in my head several different ways and had several contingency plans. I hid the sword in the tree and I knew I had to get to it.”

“What do you mean you ‘saw’?” Brandon asked. He felt like this answer was going to drop him down some sort of rabbit hole.

“I have a gift,” Veronica said. “I can see some things happening. Sometimes it is clear and sometimes it is not so clear.”

“We can’t use this,” Brandon sighed and sat back.

“I know she can’t be cross-examined, but she can point us in the right direction,” Lloyd said. “She has helped close several cases. She is an asset.”

“Keith Ridgewood killed those girls,” Veronica said with conviction. “I know he did.