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The vibrations of Sylvie’s cell phone caught her attention, and her stomach tightened with an anxiety that she hadn’t experienced since before her employment with S&E Investigations.
Sure enough, she recognized the number on the display.
It was the third time in as many days, but she purposefully declined the call. She had nothing to say to her father. He’d ruined many peoples’ lives by the crimes that he’d committed over a span of many years. The charges that had been brought against him had been too many to count, but the bottom line was that he’d ruined his clients’ futures by defrauding them of their savings and retirement plans. While she’d tried her best to be the forgiving daughter, there had been moments when she could sense he had no remorse for the damage that he’d done to so many families.
“We’ve requested a full background on Luna, as well as her family and colleagues. Bit has already modified one of his applications to comb through Luna’s online presence. All social media sites, any forums that she might have visited in the last few months, dating websites, direct messages, text messages, emails, and the like will be scoured for any sign that someone wanted to hurt her.” Brook paused to take a sip of coffee, giving Sylvie time to set her phone face down on the table. Bit must have sensed her agitation, because he nudged the donut box that Theo had brought in the room moments before the meeting had commenced. “Theo will be teaming up with Dominic to canvass a few sites where something similar could have occurred over the last year or so. Sylvie, you’ll be with Jace. Erica and Riggs can hike together. I don’t want anyone to wander off alone. Understood?”
Sylvie had nodded toward Jace after Brook had paired them together. He acknowledged her, but he didn’t seem too thrilled with the thought of being her partner for the day. She’d read over the information that Bit had been able to pool together on the volunteers. While the data wasn’t complete, it was enough to give the team an idea of who they would be spending time with while scouring hidden recesses of the Smoky Mountains.
It had also helped that Riggs had pulled Brook aside a few minutes before the start of the meeting to ease her concerns regarding Dominic. Having someone help them who was associated with the press wasn’t typical, but Sylvie doubted that Dominic would be foolish enough to cross someone like Brooklyn Sloane. Dominic concentrated mostly on his hiking blog, only freelancing for a local paper a few times a month.
“My morning will be spent with Luna’s mother and sister. In the meantime, Luna’s room at Hiker’s Haven will be processed by a forensics team,” Brook reiterated as she stepped close to the portable monitor. Since it was a touchscreen, she had no issue navigating the tabs to pull up her profile. It wasn’t complete, which was probably the only reason she’d allowed Dominic and Jace to attend the meeting. It was doubtful that they would be included in the future. As always, Sylvie was impressed with Brook’s insights thus far. “Moving on to the profile of our unsub. White male, twenty-five to thirty-five years of age. I’ll be able to narrow that down as more evidence is discovered throughout our investigation. He’s methodical, patient, determined, and cunning. I don’t believe this is the first time that he has killed someone, and I don’t believe this crime was sexual in nature.”
Brook used two hands as she shifted her profile to one side of the display while ensuring that crime scene photos were visible so that she could explain her reasoning behind the assigned traits. Sylvie took advantage of the pause to lean forward and read over the information that Bit had just received from one of his programs.
The numerous alerts flashing on one of his screens had the potential of proving Brook’s theory right. Sylvie would hold off on giving such confirmation until the end of Brook’s presentation. In the meantime, Bit leaned forward to download the data to the software the firm used for their murder board.
Sylvie and Bit had gotten extremely close over the past two years. So much so, that she hadn’t immediately recognized the signs that he viewed their friendship as one that could grow into something more. The problem with that scenario was he was her best friend, and she wasn’t ready to give that up. Their professional relationship couldn’t be affected by either choice, and the bottom line was that she wasn’t sure she would ever want their friendship to change…ever.
“According to the physical evidence, the unsub dragged the victim from the front door of the cabin to the chair. I believe the scene was set up beforehand due to there being no signs of an altercation in the middle of the room.” Brook created a circular motion around the victim in the picture. “The killer never once strayed away from this path. He continually circled his victim, cutting her one slice at a time to keep her off balance. She never knew where he might strike. Then there is the fact that he set her backpack just out of reach. His intention was to keep her desperate.”
“Why not younger?” Erica asked as she kept her focus on Brook. Sylvie had noticed at the crime scene yesterday that Erica always stayed to the side of the doorframe. She had been extremely uncomfortable around the bloodshed left behind. “Or older?”
“A few reasons,” Brook explained as she turned to face her audience. “The unsub isn’t younger than twenty-five due to the patience it would require spending hours torturing someone like Luna Breen while not straying from his objective. He’s exceptionally focused, which would be rare for someone younger. As for the other end of the spectrum, the killer would need to be in remarkable physical strength to navigate the terrain while forcing another to do the same. If you see this slightly disturbed area near the wall, you’ll notice that is where he set his own backpack.”
“If you believe that the killer visited the cabin before he abducted his victim, then this murder was premeditated,” Riggs said as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Wouldn’t that indicate it was personal?”
“Not necessarily. The manner in which the unsub was able to create a safe place to work signifies that he’s done this before. More importantly, the choice of cabin tells us that he’s familiar with the area.”
The room suddenly became quiet as the implication of what Brook had just stated hit home. Sylvie could sense the weight of Bit’s stare. He was wondering when she was going to reveal the information collected from one of his applications that basically corroborated part of the profile.
“Just because you believe that the killer is someone who knows the area doesn’t mean he’s from Moonshine Valley. There are a lot of surrounding towns with hikers, hiking guides, and the like who know these trails better than us,” Jace claimed as he crossed his arms. “You’re making assumptions that could upset a lot of people.”
Dominic was still staring at the portable monitor as if he’d been mesmerized by the photographs. Sylvie didn’t want to read too much into his fascination with the crime scene. Erica was still a bit pale. As for Riggs, his dark gaze had settled on Sylvie as if he was somehow aware she was waiting for the right time to speak. She figured he was attuned with this process given his occupation, though it was doubtful that he’d ever worked such a large case before.
“I’m a profiler,” Brook stated unapologetically. “Answers lie within the aftermath of all tragedies, and this crime scene is no different. Sylvie, would you like to add something?”
“Jenny Tabithson, Carissa Norman, and Helen Beckham.” Sylvie didn’t have to instruct Bit to pull up their pictures. “In the last ten years, these three women were reported missing by their families. Their remains have never been found, but all three were brunettes and in their mid-twenties.”
There were some expletives thrown around the room, but Brook remained silent as she studied the three photographs. Bit had also added the dates that corresponded to their missing persons reports that had been filed by the local police. He then continued to work in the background to obtain more information.
“I’ll contact Arden and have him reach out to the families,” Sylvie said as she reached for her cell phone. Considering that she and Theo would be off the grid most of the day, the investigation would slow down the pace of researching aspects that would help them narrow down pertinent details. She swiped away the number that she’d been ignoring for the past few days to gain access to her text messages. “Once Arden has spoken to the family members, we should be able to have a clear picture on whether these women could be potential victims.”
“Boss?” Bit pressed a button on his keyboard. “You can rule Jenny Tabithson out of the victim pool.”
Bit had garnered Sylvie’s attention as she’d been in the middle of constructing her text message. It was taking her too long to string two words together, and she was annoyed with herself that she was still allowing her father to influence her mood. She quickly read one of the headlines for Jenny Tabithson.
“Robbery?”
“Tabithson robbed a bank with two men. They were arrested, but she managed to get away with a half million dollars,” Bit revealed as he began to work on another application. The code appearing on the display was like a foreign language. “I’ll see what I can find on the other two missing persons.”
“That actually feeds into your theory regarding the killer’s age bracket,” Riggs pointed out with what could only be disappointment. He was highlighting the fact that Tabithson’s disappearance was over ten years ago, leaving the other two women to have disappeared within the last five years. Sylvie had amended her text to Arden, omitting Tabithson. “We all helped on those two searches, canvassing a very wide area. We never found any trace of them.”
“Bit, see if you can find any link between Carissa Norman and Helen Beckham,” Brook instructed as she reached for the coffee mug that she’d set down on the table earlier. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions until we have evidence to support the theory that their disappearances are related to our case.”
“I’m confused,” Dominic spoke up after he’d rubbed his eyes in frustration. Sylvie didn’t believe that he’d be foolish enough to print or publish anything that had been discussed this morning. Then again, she never thought her father would have bilked good people out of their lives’ savings. “I thought that was the point of your profile. Haven’t you already jumped to conclusions that Luna Breen’s murder is part of a bigger conspiracy?”
Sylvie caught the way Riggs shot his friend a glare of warning.
