Part 6 (2/2)
”Yeah. Scary, isn't it?”
”Definitely.”
A few more clicks brought up the man's entire history, transcripts of the trial, and everything else they could possibly want.
”What about his family?” she asked.
More taps on the keyboard. ”Hmm,” Dominic said, ”he's left a lovely legacy. He's fathered four children all with the same mother. He's got a son who's in jail for murder.” She watched his eyes scan the screen. ”Looks like Trey Lindell got in a bar fight that went really wrong. He ended up killing a guy not long after his dad's trial. Two more sons, Pete and Nate. Pete's location is presently unknown.” He glanced at her. ”Which can mean dead, but not necessarily. Nate, who is the oldest at forty-two, is a lawyer here in town. Interesting.” Back to the screen. ”And finally, we have a daughter. Gwendolyn Lindell, age thirty-nine. Location also unknown.”
A young woman's face appeared. Serena sighed. ”She's pretty even without makeup. Very natural looking.” Slender, with hair so blond it looked almost white, blue eyes, clear skin. ”She has sad eyes.”
”This was taken at her dad's trial. Apparently she was the only family member in attendance.”
”Then I guess she has a reason to look sad.”
”After the guilty verdict, she said she never wanted to have anything to do with him again. Here's her quote. 'I can't believe this. He's betrayed me and I hope he rots in prison.'” Dominic shook his head. ”Pretty bitter.”
”Do you blame her? Poor thing. I can't imagine.”
A few more clicks brought up the photos of the shed containing the evidence. He said, ”The shed was soundproofed as was the room below it.”
”Guess that explains why no one in the neighborhood heard anything out of the ordinary.” As he scrolled through the photos, she narrowed her eyes. Blood spatter covered the wall behind a poker table. Cards littered the table and the floor next to the table. A roulette table backed up against a wall.
A length of chain with handcuffs attached to the end lay on the floor beneath a steel chair. Serena could see the bolts holding it in place.
”What's that?” she pointed.
”I don't know.” A piece of steel that looked to be about fifteen inches long lay on the poker table. ”Says they didn't know what it was for. But some of the victims' DNA was found on it.”
”Poker. So, he was a gambler.”
”Looks like.”
He pressed print, then leaned over and grabbed a manila folder from the bottom drawer.
Placing the stack of papers inside, he said, ”One more thing.” A few more clicks of the keyboard. ”Okay, the case agent on the Doll Maker's case was Howard Bell.”
”Then we need to talk to Mr. Bell.”
”He retired four years ago, but I bet he's the perfect place to start.” Dominic sent the man's contact information to his phone.
Serena said, ”I wonder how Chad and Katie are coming with Leslie's investigation.”
”I'm sure they've notified the family by now. I guess the next step will be releasing the body to them.”
She nodded. ”Yes. And I'm not ready to do that yet.”
He frowned. ”I thought you were finished with the autopsy.”
”With the preliminary stuff. I want to go over a few more details before I let her go.”
”Like what?”
”The Doll Maker Killer's victims. I want to look at their autopsies.”
”And compare them to Leslie?”
”Exactly.”
8.
TUESDAY, 9:45 A.M.
Howard Bell agreed to talk to them at ten o'clock. Serena had slept fitfully the night before, waking often, hearing the echo of her gunshot in her dreams. Only the Glock in her nightstand and Yoda's comforting presence at the foot of her bed kept her from pacing the floor all night.
She looked with satisfaction at the reports she'd finished, the result of the last two hours. Mr. Gary Hanson had definitely died of heart failure. The tox screen came back clean of any suspicious drugs. His heart had simply stopped and no amount of drugs or procedures had been able to get it started again.
The family wouldn't want to accept that. They were a noisy lot and Serena wasn't looking forward to sharing her findings with them. Maybe she'd pa.s.s them off to her boss. She smiled at the thought. He would tell her she was a wimp and she'd agree.
Camille had called in the midst of the report writing and grudgingly admitted, ”It's not so bad here.”
Serena prayed the girl would stay put. The home would allow her to continue her education during the school year, attend parenting cla.s.ses and even an optional Bible study. Serena fully believed G.o.d needed to be in these kids' lives, but she wouldn't shove him down their throats.
Serena set the folder on the edge of her desk. She'd drop it by Daniel's office when she left.
A glance at the clock said she needed to get a move on. Dominic had asked if she wanted to go with him to meet the retired FBI agent, Mr. Bell, and Serena did.
Gathering her things and the folder, she headed to Daniel's office. She left the folder where he could find it easily and made her way up the stairs and out the door into the parking lot.
Dominic was waiting for her. She slipped into the pa.s.senger seat. ”Good morning.”
”Morning.” He offered a smile and a cup of coffee. ”Sweet with cream, right?”
She took a sip and sighed. ”Perfect. Thanks.”
Dominic pulled from the lot and made a left. ”Howard can be a crusty dude, but underneath the gruff, I think he's a decent guy. He's not happy to have a copycat of the Doll Maker Killer walking the streets and is willing to answer questions and share information.”
”Good.” Serena sipped her coffee and thought about the case. ”Thanks for letting me come along.”
”Sure.”
They continued the small talk until they pulled up to the front of Mr. Bell's house and climbed out of the car.
Serena took in the details. Middle-cla.s.s neighborhood with a quiet street. The two-story white house with green shutters looked well taken care of, but Serena was surprised by the yard. It didn't look like anyone ever did anything with it. Overgrown and neglected, it was obviously the eyesore of the neighborhood.
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