PART II Chapter Twenty-three
Kate and Cindy were excited by the new evidence. It gave them more to go on, short of the actual gun or a confession.
Cindy said, “I never thought a band aid would be a crucial piece of evidence but I am glad it can be. If we get a DNA match to the inside patch we know whoever wore the band aid was in the room when the trigger was pulled.”
Kate said, “I think I am going home and see how Megan’s day in class was. She hasn’t been back there for a while and I wanted to see how things are going.”
Megan was home when Kate got home and they said their greetings to each other when Kate walked through the door.
Kate said, “We had a good day today. The lab got some new evidence on our murder case of William Duncan. We know who his partner was and he lived in the same apartment building. When we went to talk to them they had already moved out but we searched the empty apartment and we found a blood stain on the carpet in a bedroom closet. In a trash bag the lab found a receipt for thirty eight caliber shells and a band aid with DNA on the inside pad and gunshot residue and the victim’s blood splatter on the front side.”
Megan asked, “Is the DNA on the inside of the band aid a match to the suspect?”
Kate replied, “We don’t have anything to match it to. We have enough to take the Webbers into custody and we would conduct a DNA test once we have them here.”
Megan said, “That is amazing about the band aid. Do you mind if I share that with my class? We are studying unusual places where you can find evidence. I think that is one that hasn’t come up here.”
Kate said, “Sure, I don’t imagine that anyone in your class has any links to our suspects. They flew the coop and we think they went to South Carolina. We have sent wanted listings to the state and local police there.”
Megan said, “This case has taken some sharp turns it seems like.”
Kate responded, “They all take some different turns from where they start; you just follow the trail to wherever it leads you.”
Since Megan had started college studying forensic science, she and Kate were much closer. Their relationship had improved a lot. Kate gave some credit to maturity. She knew Megan was growing up and the forensic studies just helped give them something in common to talk about.
Kate asked Megan if she had any plans and Megan told her that she had some things she needed to work on for class. She told Kate it was some math problems and not even any fun things yet.
Kate said, “You have to make sure you have a good foundation before you can put up the building.”
Megan replied, “I know. This part of school bores me, I can’t wait to get through it where it is all about the science of forensics. I love that but I know I have to take the other stuff first.”
Kate said, “I will say forensics has been good to Cindy and I lately and we are pretty set if we can just locate the suspects to compare with, that will be our case.”
The phone rang and it was Cindy. She said, “I just got a call from one of our guys who has been trailing the suspects we know that are recruiting girls at clubs. He said that they all went inside a gated community but they can’t follow them inside.”
Kate replied, “Damn, we need to get someone on the inside. Maybe an undercover cop.”
Megan responded, “Put a wig on me and let me do it. I know not to actually drink anything and thanks to you I can defend myself pretty well.”
Kate said, “You won’t be able to take a gun without it being discovered and your self defense combat skills won’t protect you against several body guard types with guns.”
Cindy replied, “We need someone trained for undercover. I would do it but I can’t pass for a college co-ed.”
Kate replied, “That would be my trouble. I can’t put on enough makeup to pass for that young.”
Megan said, “Cougar porn is very popular with the college guys.”
Kate replied, “Nobody likes a smart ass dear.”
Megan responded, “Both of you know that I am the only one here that can pass for that age. I have been taught self defense by the best and the guy who can recognize who I am has been shot and killed. I can wear a wig and change my makeup. You guys can put a tracking device on me and we can at least try to get on the inside of the gates.”
Kate said, “There is absolutely no way you are going to do this. We will search the department for a young girl with ambition.”
Kate said, “We can look for volunteers tomorrow at the station. We better get some rest tonight.”
Kate told Cindy bye and hung up the phone. She knew Megan would be trying her best to talk her into letting her only daughter put herself at risk to catch the guys she knew were ultimately responsible for what happened to her.
Megan said, “You know I am qualified to do this, if I wasn’t related to you I would be picked.”
Kate said, “Megan, you are my daughter and I am not going to let you do this.”
Megan responded, “The other young women at the station are somebody’s daughter too, just remember that.”
Kate replied, “I always remember that, anytime I have to send someone into a dangerous situation I always think about their families and who will be left behind. All of the actual police officers however know what the risks are and all have taken an oath to do what is necessary to serve and protect.”
Megan knew she wasn’t going to win this battle so she went back to her math homework still spread open on the dining room table. Megan didn’t say anything else that night. Kate knew she was getting the silent treatment but she would rather her daughter not talk for a day or two than to not ever be able to talk again.
Kate figured she would approach the captain about getting volunteers when she went to work in the morning. If she could get some luck they would be able to put someone on the inside. Kate wanted to make sure they got someone who could physically handle the situation. Kate would like ex military if possible, that just recently got out of the academy. Passing for a college girl would be critical.
Kate sat alone with her thoughts, sipping on a half a glass full of Jameson. Megan was working on her math homework while Kate was going over in her head what she would need for an undercover officer to infiltrate the college porn kidnapping case that added a murder to keep one of their recruiters from talking.
Kate was hoping the captain would let her ask for volunteers herself. She wanted to see what prospects there were, to pick from. She didn’t want anyone who had a husband or kids at home. She knew firsthand what problems would come from that.
While balancing that case, Kate still had hopes that someone would locate and take the Webbers into custody. That case was so close to the end she could taste it. Kate was a little nervous about asking the captain for volunteers for the college girl kidnapping case. She knew the captain had given it to other detectives while she worked on the Duncan murders.
Kate knew she was just waiting for her suspects to be captured, she already had evidence collected and possible motives. She knew she had to convince the captain she wasn’t working on the kidnapping case but rather the murder of the key suspect, Jason Brinkley. Just because there were some crossover events didn’t mean they weren’t separate cases. She knew the persons inside those gates were responsible for ordering the murder of Jason Brinkley to sever that lead.
After sitting still for a while and finishing her glass of Jameson, Kate decided it was time to get some sleep. She would worry about what to say to the captain when the time came. For the moment she needed to visually inspect the inside of her eyelids. Falling asleep didn’t take long and the Jameson didn’t hurt the cause at all.