victim’s office computer files. Jamie had the day off, but he wouldn’t need to consult with her. Her thoroughness made up for her lack of experience. She had identified all of the names, including Jamie’s and his, as those of pet owners in the area who’d been customers of Hodges Animal Clinic. Every name checked out.
She’d also pulled e-mail messages, matching addresses with suppliers and other business contacts on file. Addresses for personal e-mails matched family and friends—including Sunny Davis, Kris Knight, and Elizabeth Stevens. No mysterious or unidentifiable contacts.
Wil had given Jamie the laptop to go through, which yielded more of the same. She found no references to the mysterious abusive ex-boyfriend, although she had a reasonable explanation. The laptop was the latest model, most likely purchased after moving to Drake Springs. Jamie viewed the browser history, finding no evidence of chat room use or community forums. Cathleen Hodges had used her laptop primarily for internet shopping, and none of her purchases raised a red flag.
Jamie’s next move would be to pull deleted files from the hard drives, something beyond Wil’s own expertise. With a bit of training, she would be ready to go into computer forensics.
What held talented people in a small community with low pay and inadequate amenities had baffled Wil at eighteen. Now he understood. Aside from a low cost of living, Foster County offered a peaceful, friendly home to its residents. A beautiful, scenic haven from the pollution and crime of city life.
The Cathleen Hodges homicide shouldn’t have happened here. Brady Newcomb’s tall shadow filled his doorway. “Wil, I talked to the mother again like you asked.”
Wil motioned him to sit. “Did you get anywhere?”
“I got a name. Cathleen Hodges lived with a guy named Michael Moore for three years in Pine Bluff. Do you know how common a name that is?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s too much to hope she knew his middle name or initial.”
Brady shook his head. “But she does have a photograph of the two of them. She’s taking it to one of those places like Kinko’s or the UPS store and having it scanned and e-mailed to us. I figure that’d be better than faxing it. It’ll probably be a lousy image, but it’s all we’ve got on the dude.”
“Michael Moore. Elizabeth Stevens said she thought Cathleen Hodges had a restraining order against him, so there may have been domestic violence charges. Do a check with the Arkansas police to see if he has any priors.”
“Already did. I’m waiting for an e-mail.”
Pride filled his chest. Jamie Peterson wasn’t the only thorough cop on his force. Wil had developed a good team over the past two years, even for so small a department. “Good work, Brady. Keep me posted.”
“Will do. Have you heard from FDLE yet?”
“They recommend we call in Ronda Lou Buckner, which tells me they don’t have much in the way of evidence,” Wil said. No surprise there.
“The profiler?” Brady asked. “What’s to profile?”
“She might be able to offer insight from her experiences with other cases. We need to come up with characteristics of a likely offender so we have some idea what to look for. JSO uses profilers—”
“That’s
Jacksonville’s
Sheriff’s Office. We can solve this case without outside help, Wil.”
Although Wil appreciated Brady’s enthusiasm, he knew passion didn’t solve crimes. “Let’s not kid ourselves. We have no eyewitnesses, no apparent motive, and very little evidence.”
“My money’s on the Michael Moore dude,” Brady said. “He has motive.”
“I’d love to solve this case on our own, but I’d be a fool to turn down the opportunity to work with Buckner. She’s not just any profiler. Rumor has it truTV wants her for a series of programs, like Dayle Hinman’s
Body of Evidence.”
“I remember that show.”
“Buckner lacks Hinman’s years of experience, but she has similar training and
She’d also pulled e-mail messages, matching addresses with suppliers and other business contacts on file. Addresses for personal e-mails matched family and friends—including Sunny Davis, Kris Knight, and Elizabeth Stevens. No mysterious or unidentifiable contacts.
Wil had given Jamie the laptop to go through, which yielded more of the same. She found no references to the mysterious abusive ex-boyfriend, although she had a reasonable explanation. The laptop was the latest model, most likely purchased after moving to Drake Springs. Jamie viewed the browser history, finding no evidence of chat room use or community forums. Cathleen Hodges had used her laptop primarily for internet shopping, and none of her purchases raised a red flag.
Jamie’s next move would be to pull deleted files from the hard drives, something beyond Wil’s own expertise. With a bit of training, she would be ready to go into computer forensics.
What held talented people in a small community with low pay and inadequate amenities had baffled Wil at eighteen. Now he understood. Aside from a low cost of living, Foster County offered a peaceful, friendly home to its residents. A beautiful, scenic haven from the pollution and crime of city life.
The Cathleen Hodges homicide shouldn’t have happened here. Brady Newcomb’s tall shadow filled his doorway. “Wil, I talked to the mother again like you asked.”
Wil motioned him to sit. “Did you get anywhere?”
“I got a name. Cathleen Hodges lived with a guy named Michael Moore for three years in Pine Bluff. Do you know how common a name that is?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s too much to hope she knew his middle name or initial.”
Brady shook his head. “But she does have a photograph of the two of them. She’s taking it to one of those places like Kinko’s or the UPS store and having it scanned and e-mailed to us. I figure that’d be better than faxing it. It’ll probably be a lousy image, but it’s all we’ve got on the dude.”
“Michael Moore. Elizabeth Stevens said she thought Cathleen Hodges had a restraining order against him, so there may have been domestic violence charges. Do a check with the Arkansas police to see if he has any priors.”
“Already did. I’m waiting for an e-mail.”
Pride filled his chest. Jamie Peterson wasn’t the only thorough cop on his force. Wil had developed a good team over the past two years, even for so small a department. “Good work, Brady. Keep me posted.”
“Will do. Have you heard from FDLE yet?”
“They recommend we call in Ronda Lou Buckner, which tells me they don’t have much in the way of evidence,” Wil said. No surprise there.
“The profiler?” Brady asked. “What’s to profile?”
“She might be able to offer insight from her experiences with other cases. We need to come up with characteristics of a likely offender so we have some idea what to look for. JSO uses profilers—”
“That’s
Jacksonville’s
Sheriff’s Office. We can solve this case without outside help, Wil.”
Although Wil appreciated Brady’s enthusiasm, he knew passion didn’t solve crimes. “Let’s not kid ourselves. We have no eyewitnesses, no apparent motive, and very little evidence.”
“My money’s on the Michael Moore dude,” Brady said. “He has motive.”
“I’d love to solve this case on our own, but I’d be a fool to turn down the opportunity to work with Buckner. She’s not just any profiler. Rumor has it truTV wants her for a series of programs, like Dayle Hinman’s
Body of Evidence.”
“I remember that show.”
“Buckner lacks Hinman’s years of experience, but she has similar training and
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