“So what’s on your mind?” said the retired detective. His full attention was on them. “I heard bodies were found at the location where they’re going to build the police and fire training centers. Does it have to do with that?”
Katie glanced at McGaven. The retired detective was sharpand still seemed to have his skills of deduction and paid attention to details. “Yes. They haven’t been officially identified yet, but we have clues.”
“Oh. But you both are here.”
Katie smiled. “This is confidential information in an open investigation.”
“Of course, Detective. I’m well aware.” Ventura kept Katie’s gaze.
She wondered if he knew more than he let on.
Ventura seemed to read her well. “Detective Scott, I can see you’re not sure if you should trust me or not.”
“I have no reason to think that one way or another,” she said. Katie sensed McGaven tense next to her. She decided to move forward. “We searched through the missing persons files from ten to twenty years ago.”
“I’m assuming the bodies were completely skeletonized, then?”
Katie nodded. “We came across a report for a seven-year-old girl, Misty Collins.” She waited to see Ventura’s reaction.
Ventura kept his poker face intact as he let out a breath. “I see.”
“You do remember?” said McGaven.
“Yes, I remember it well.”
“The report didn’t have much information,” Katie said.
“It was a strange case.”
“Strange how?”
“A man reported his niece missing and when I asked about the girl’s parents, he said he’d have more information for me later about the mother. If my memory serves me well, his name was Griffin, Ian Griffin.”
“What happened?” said McGaven.
“We went to the address he gave me for the parents. It was strange. No one home. And it appeared no one had been there in years, but it was still unclear. Of course, we did a preliminarysearch of the grounds, but I didn’t have any other names of anyone I could check with or speak to.”
“What about Misty’s friends or school?”
“That’s just it. I checked with nearby schools and none of them had any student by the name of Misty Collins. No Collins at all, in fact.” He paused a moment as if remembering taking the report. “Ian Griffin talked more about Misty and how she was such a wonderful little girl, no trouble, and smart as a whip. He also said you could usually find her on her swing a little ways from the barn. She was shy and didn’t have many friends.”
“I see,” Katie said, jotting down notes, wondering if the girl was homeschooled. “Would you remember the home address or any other names?”
“I can’t recall. But I have my notebooks here. I’ll search through them and get back to you, if that’s okay.” He hesitated. “I never heard from Ian Griffin again. I tried for a few months to contact him and even went back to the house, but it was still vacant. I never saw or talked to Mr. or Mrs. Collins. I remember that the house was under the Collins name. It was like they had vanished.” Ventura seemed to shudder at the thought. “I’ll get my notes to you this afternoon or tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. Anything you can find or remember would be helpful,” she said.
“I’m not one of those spiritual or ghost-hunter types, but that house and the entire area spooked me. I can’t put my finger on it, but it was the first and only time in my career I actually got a cold chill at a scene… It was like we were being watched,” said Ventura.
Katie felt as if she was listening to a ghost story instead of a missing persons case.
“Oh, you might want to look up a missing person case for Ian Griffin. Since I couldn’t find him or get a hold of him, I opened an unofficial case for him too. I hope that helps?”
“Thank you. It definitely gives us more informationthan we had.” Katie’s mind flashed on the grave and the trap that had been set up. “Mr. Ventura, until this case is closed, it’s best you be careful. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with yet.”
“Detective, I’ve survived this long. I’ll be just fine.” He smiled, looking at the younger officers. “I’ve heard about you two. There’s a few of us old retired cops that get together once or twice a month and we’ve heard about the two cold-case detectives that have a perfect record.” Ventura leaned forward. “You have your work cut out for you. But I know you’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I hope so,” she said.
