PART III Chapter Eleven
Kate had gone through several years of bank statements without finding any unusual deposits. The task didn’t give her any new information but it did demonstrate that Susan didn’t have a sugar daddy. It was still possible that she was getting cash or gifts that weren’t deposited in a bank, although that was unlikely since there wasn’t much cash found at the house when they first came out to examine the body. There were still a lot of receipts to go through. There was a stack of notes, most were on post-it notes that looked like reminders for activities that needed to be done.
The day was coming to an end when Kate began gathering the evidence to take home for review. She hoped that Megan would lend a hand to go through the material. No sooner than that thought crossed her mind than Megan appeared out of the corner of her eye, carrying a purse, obviously ready to go. Megan saw the evidence box in Kate’s hands and knew that meant some night work.
Megan asked, “Homework?”
Kate replied, “A little bit, I thought this better than staying after school.”
Cindy saw the two women walking down the hall carrying the evidence box.
Cindy asked, “Are you two planning a party?”
Kate replied, “Sure, do you want to join us?”
Cindy answered, “I would love to but I have a date tonight. It is my first date in about three months and I intend on making the most of it.”
Cindy held her usual sexual innuendo in check since Megan was standing there. She wanted to be as good an influence as possible for the young investigator.
Megan knew the things that Cindy usually said and didn’t miss a beat to speak up.
Megan said, “You seem a little more reserved than usual. Are you turning over a new leaf?”
Kate had the same question in mind and awaited the answer Cindy might give. Kate had long since tried to prevent Megan from being around more adult conversation but now that Megan was a little older she was less protective.
Cindy replied, “I mean it has been a while since I was on a date and I want to make the most out of cultivating a mature relationship with this young man.”
Kate and Megan both rolled their eyes at Cindy’s out of character response. Kate didn’t see any point in continuing their conversation so she stayed quiet and focused on the job they had in front of them.
Cindy continued on to her vehicle while Kate and Megan went to Kate’s car both women had rode to work in. Kate knew Megan had been on quite a few dates but she never asked much about those. She understood that Megan was a young woman with raging hormones but she just didn’t want to think about it. Kate thought that she could use a date herself, after all it had been years since her divorce and even Megan had told her she should start dating again. Kate just kept busy with work and tried not to think about it. They were in the car and driving away before anything else was said.
Kate asked, “Why do you think Susan would keep that relationship from her friends?”
Megan replied, “Since she had a boyfriend she didn’t want him to know and her friends were his friends also. The unknown male may have been married or perhaps just a fling and she didn’t want anyone to know.”
Kate was impressed that her daughter had some real world knowledge and was able to candidly discuss it. She would pretend it was attained while in classes at college, but inside she knew that knowledge was attained through experience. Kate had tried to keep Megan protected from some aspects of life but evidently she had acquired that knowledge in spite of her protective measures.
Before Kate and Megan could get out of the building, their captain stepped out of his office and asked them to join him. Kate had enough experience to know that it was never good when the captain asked them to come to his office. He told them about another case that required attention.
The captain said, “Another body of a young girl has been found not far from the one in the case you are already working. You can go as a team, Megan certainly has the credentials to handle the forensics and has proven to be very competent in her work. Check it out and investigate the leads.”
Kate and Megan followed orders and went to the crime scene that had already been taped off by patrol officers who had arrived on the scene. It was not very similar to the scene where they found Susan, except that it was also a young woman. The body was found slumped over the steering wheel of her car.
The ranking patrol officer, Sergeant John Evans, had found the body and had obtained identification. The body was found in a white 2018 Buick Encore. Sergeant Evans ran the plates on the car and found it was registered to Shannon Graves. There was a purse in the car but the sergeant wisely didn’t want to move anything at the crime scene and had wisely waited for a forensics investigator to arrive.
Megan began to work taking photos of the scene from different angles and also of the contents inside the car. They marked the body location in the car noting the slumping onto the steering wheel. Megan had swabbed the area for DNA and the car would be towed back to the lab garage for further examination for prints and other evidence. The coroner report would be needed before going too much farther.
The location of the vehicle was marked on the pavement before the car was towed. The tow unit had to wait for the coroner to collect the body before the car could be moved. Once the body was removed more photos were taken of the crime scene vehicle before it was towed to the lab. They wanted to document the blood splatter patterns inside the vehicle without the body.
When the car was finally removed, Kate and Megan could finally look over the area around the car to see if they found anything that gave them some much needed information. The car had been parked on a concrete driveway and no footprints or tire tracks could be found around the car. They hadn’t found any shell casings making Kate think a revolver was used to kill the victim. The shooter of Susan Warren used a 9mm semi-automatic or automatic and shell casings had been recovered. The coroner would have to tell Kate what shell killed Shannon.
Nothing in this case gave Kate any reason to believe that it was related to Susan’s in any way. Kate kept looking around trying to find something that would jumpstart the case. The officer on the scene, Sergeant John Evans, made the identification of the victim. She was twenty seven years old and owned the vehicle containing her body. The vehicle containing Shannon’s body was parked in the driveway of a house she was renting.
Evidence so far was contained within the vehicle, which was towed back to the lab. The autopsy should yield the type of shell but there didn’t seem to be anything left in the driveway. Megan did collect a gum wrapper and some paper scraps just in case they could be tied to a shooter. Sergeant John Evans had recovered the victim’s phone that had fallen right outside the driver's side door. Kate thought it looked like the victim had attempted to call 911 but the shooter knocked the phone out of her hands.
The phone screen was cracked but still operated and should give them some valuable evidence of people who knew their most recent victim. They would check inside the house even though it appeared that all of the activities took place outside in the driveway. A check of the house indicated the doors and windows were locked and no signs of any struggle could be found.
Kate and Megan went from room to room assessing each room for possible evidence. Everything was in place giving the impression that Shannon had just arrived home and never made it inside the house. Kate and Megan decided to go back outside and look for signs that showed the shooter hid and waited for his victim to return from work.
Kate would get Cindy to join her the next day to question neighbors to see if anyone noticed a vehicle in the area that shouldn’t be there. Kate and Megan went back to the driveway which had a carport over the part closest to the house.
There are bushes on the outer side of the driveway which would be a perfect spot for an assassin to hide undetected. Kate walked around to that side of the bushes looking for anything that shouldn’t be there. Some of the vegetation next to the bushes had been mashed down indicating someone had been there.
The imprint in the grasses next to the bushes looked like someone had squatted and viewed the driveway from that vantage point. Some of the branches in the bushes had also shown signs of breakage from someone pulling them apart to view through the driveway.
Next to the bushes Kate found a gum package of the same brand as the gum wrapper found in the driveway. Kate used her gloved hand to pick up and store the package in her collection pouch. The picture the evidence painted was that the shooter hid in the bushes waiting for the victim and jumped out and fired before Shannon even got out of the car.
The autopsy will tell them how many shots hit the victim and what type of shells they were, but Kate needed to know more about why. Motive leads to the suspect as much as anything and Kate needed those answers. She had to find out about the victim and talk with neighbors in the area to complete her assessment. Shannon’s friends can tell her about the victim, and the people she knew. Neighbors can tell her about the things that may have happened at her house. Kate had to make her list of people to be interviewed.
The rule of investigation was to start interviews with people close to the victim and work your way outward. The family is the place to start and maybe a boyfriend if they can find one. The family should be able to help with who any boyfriends might be.
The interview list would include neighbors who lived in the closest proximity to the victim. It is possible someone may have seen any strange vehicle that was new in the neighborhood. Kate had a background check going on for Shannon to find out who her family was. That would give her the names and addresses to start.