PART III Chapter Five
PART III Chapter Five
Kate entered the lab looking for Megan. There were a lot of people in the lab who looked busy conducting experiments of varying kinds. Megan was standing at the back of the lab looking through a magnifier at the brass recovered at the scene. The shell casings would be important in case they found the weapon to compare them too. The casings would be saved but Megan also photographed the shell casings to save for later comparisons to whatever weapons were found.
Kate spoke softly trying not to startle Megan, since she seemed to be concentrating on the task at hand. It wasn’t even a full sentence, it was just a hi and Megan looked up. Megan knew her mother was anxious for information so she didn’t delay telling her what she already knew.
Megan said, “Hi, I examined the brass from the scene and actually found some prints on them, obviously deposited there when it was loaded. I have the bullets in storage in case we ever find a gun someday that we can test it with.”
Kate asked, “Did you run the prints from the brass?”
Megan replied, “Yes, I ran through the state and federal database but didn’t have a hit on either. I saved the prints to compare against any future suspect.”
Kate asked, “Is that all we know?”
Megan replied, “Not even close to all. The footprint from the door and back yard was tied to a size eleven and a half “Skechers” work boot, relaxed fit. The tire tracks we examined are from a Michelin twenty inch all season built for larger vehicles like several SUV brands. They are not factory equipment and the tread showed very little wear so they were most likely a recent purchase. We may be able to check the tire dealers and find out who has purchased those types of tires recently.”
Kate said, “That is a good idea. I can call the tire shops to see if they sold any in the last few months.”
Megan said, “I took the semen samples recovered from the victim to send for a DNA profile but of course we assume it is from the boyfriend.”
Kate said, “We will get a sample from the boyfriend to confirm so we have a record of it.”
When Kate returned to her desk from the lab, Cindy had begun listening to the recordings from the jail of the visitors who came to see Dan Winters. Cindy was transcribing the audio files to have a written record. She was making a list of the names and addresses of those who were on the recording.
Cindy acknowledged Kate’s entrance into the detective office area. Neither woman spoke because Cindy was wearing headphones while listening to the recording. She turned off the recording temporarily to bring Kate up to date on what she found.
Cindy said, “I am making a list of everyone that visited Mr. Winters at the jail. I am as you can see transcribing the audio into text using a program that does that.”
Kate replied, “It makes it easier to review if it is in writing and if there is a section where we need to know how it was said we can review the recording.”
Cindy said, “Dan Winters had five jail visitors, but one of those was his attorney, Jerry Slayton and wasn’t on the recordings. The rest of his visitors were his spouse Angela Winters, Gary Cleaver, William Gunn and Robert Wilson.”
Kate asked, “What kind of information did you get from the recordings? Is there anything that gives us a direction to go with the investigation?”
Cindy responded, “His spouse Angela only discussed some family finance stuff, bills to be paid etc... The other three guys are connected through work of some kind, possibly with the bank robbery but I can’t prove that in any way right now. I am still transcribing the recordings of them so I may know more in a little while.”
Kate said, “Megan found some prints on a shell casing recovered from the scene. She recovered DNA from the victim because of sexual activity earlier in the day. We assume it will match her boyfriend but we haven’t obtained any DNA from him yet for comparison. Megan matched the footprints to Skechers work boots, I am going to search stores that handle Sketchers and go get a list of everyone who bought a pair in the last year.”
Cindy said, “Perhaps we should contact the boyfriend and get a DNA swab from him. Then we can go shoe shopping.”
Kate replied, “Skechers I assume.”
Cindy replied, “My favorite.”
Kate said, “I will contact the boyfriend and ask for a DNA swab and you can make a list of the shoe stores selling Skechers.”
Kate made the call to Todd Carter and asked if he would submit his DNA. She told him he wasn’t a suspect but they were trying to piece together the story of what happened that day. He told Kate he would come in and give his DNA. He had already admitted to being intimate with the victim much earlier and didn’t have anything to hide.
Cindy had put together an enormous list of shoe stores and had called each to see if they had sold the Skechers work boot recently. That narrowed down the number of stores but there were still more than twenty stores that had sold that boot. After telling the store clerk the shoe size her list shrunk to only five. Kate thought it would be a good idea to personally visit each store to see if they could give a description of the customer buying that boot.
Kate and Cindy went to the shoe stores that sold the eleven and a half Skechers work boots. They asked the store managers and some of their employees for descriptions of the customers who bought those boots. The names on the sales receipts didn’t match their robbery suspect or any of the people who came to the jail to visit. None of the store employees could identify anyone from a photo lineup of the suspect and other filler photos.
Kate kept a list of the customers that bought the boot to interview at a later time.
Kate said, “I guess we can’t guarantee the suspect is one of the bank robbers.”
Kate said, “I guess we need to go back to the station to see if Megan has found any new evidence.”
Kate went into the lab to talk to Megan and see if there was anything new. Megan was concentrating while examining something under a microscope. Kate’s phone rang and she stepped out of the lab to take the call. The caller was a manager of one of the stores they had just visited. She was calling a number from the card she got from Kate.
The store manager said, “Two of the purchases of boots were made in cash so there is no contact information on those sales.”
Kate knew it was very likely her shooter paid in cash and she would never know the identity. It was one of those exceptions in investigation that they haven’t been able to solve. People paying cash don’t leave any paper trails. The receipt showed a time of day and Kate could easily view security recordings of that time but it was too much work for the moment.
Kate thanked the manager for the information. She thought maybe it was the bank robber gang that stole the cards, but she didn’t understand why none of the photos were identified as the customer. It was more likely that the cash customer was her shooter.
Kate went back inside the lab and walked over to Megan. Kate walking over caught Megan’s attention and she looked up and smiled before telling Kate what she had found.
Megan said, “Todd Carter came in this morning to submit a DNA sample. I sent it to have a profile made from it and we can do a comparison after I get the profile back.”
Kate knew they had a long way to go. She had to do some background checks on the people’s names that appeared on the boot purchases to find out who actually purchased the boots. Since the cards used were stolen and some purchases were made in cash she knew she was unlikely to ever know who actually wound up with the boots. It would be helpful to know who actually was wearing the boots that kicked in the victim’s back door, but she had to move on from that question.
Megan walked out from the lab ready to end their day. She has finished her shift and although she works overtime occasionally to get information for her mom, on this day she has many loose ends that require time to get the answers. Kate notices Megan has her purse over her shoulders and knows it is the end of her shift. Kate often works beyond her shift but like Megan on this day more time is needed for evidence to solidify.
Kate said, “I am ready to go home now as well. I need to tell Cindy we are leaving. She may want to catch dinner somewhere. Do you want to join us?”
Megan replied, “I had a long day and am pretty tired. I think I am just going home and eating what I can find there.”
Kate responded, “I will check with Cindy and may just come home too. I will call and let you know.”
Megan told her mother goodbye and headed out to her car while Kate went back to the office space she shared with Cindy. They talked for a while and Kate told Cindy she was ready to head home. Cindy never mentions them going to dinner, Kate decided to go home and eat with Megan.
Kate didn’t remember what was left over in the refrigerator. She called Megan and told her she was headed home. She asked if she started cooking anything and when that answer was no, Kate asked Megan if she wanted her to pick up something on the way. The two decide on salads as a carry out from one of their local restaurants.
Kate stopped for the salads and was back on the road in less than ten minutes. When she arrived Megan walked out to meet Kate and help her bring in the salads she had bought for their dinner.
Kate and Megan were good as roommates. They each led their own life. Kate had learned to give her daughter space and allow her to make her own mistakes. Fortunately Megan made very few. She had a good head on her shoulder and had been very valuable as a crime scene investigator. Kate had a million reasons to be proud of her daughter’s performance on the job.