“Then we get a search warrant.” Katie looked at where John had cut some of the wire or cable that held the branches.
“This is 3/8-inch wire for this five-inch-diameter branch. It’s definitely sufficient to hold these branches, acting more like a cable than wire,” he said.
“How common is this size of wire?” said McGaven.
“It depends,” said John. “It’s mostly used in large projects, buildings and reinforcing certain types of foundations.”
“Again, it seems to point back to construction supplies,” Katie said.
“The creator used a pulley type of system that would engage when someone broke the tripwire. It’s basic but very effective.”
“I’ve heard the people who set traps, fires or bombs regularly have a type of signature they leave. Like a certain way they tie a knot or a trigger and so forth,” said Katie.
“Good point. Yes, a lot of times they do,” John said, giving her a smile.
“And did they leave a signature?” said McGaven, seemingly extremely interested in the trap.
John moved around the side table and took a small area of the branch, no bigger than a poker chip. “The wire was wound and knotted and then wound again, leaving a small length where they tied three distinct knots.”
“Three knots? Is that usual?” Katie said.
“My opinion is no,” said John. “But most people would tie them on top of one another and not three separate ones.”
“One… two… three,” said McGaven.
“Exactly.”
“It’s such a small detail. How can we be sure it’s a signature?” said Katie.
“That’s the beauty of it. The person who made this didn’t make those knots for everyone to see, they made them for themselves.”
“Like giving them kudos for a job well done,” she said. It made her realize the person who orchestrated this could be very clever and able to put together something like this anytime…and about anywhere.
“Maybe Buck put this up?” said McGaven. “He’s got the means and training to do this.”
“I know. But until I have clues connecting him, I don’t think he did this.” She looked at everything more closely. “He would have to purchase supplies and I think the sales people would notice a big guy like him.”
“There are ways of getting what he needs. You said how clever he was at finding you and not being seen.” McGaven frowned and stared at the apparatus.
Katie nodded. She knew she couldn’t completely disregard Buck yet, so he had to stay on the persons of interest list.
“Okay,” she said while McGaven took more notes.
John moved to the center of the room where the bone remains of Meredith and Misty Collins lay. Katie sighed. She hadn’t immediately looked at the remains when she entered the room. She made that a practice so that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Taking one piece of evidence at a time was the best way for her to process objectively.
“We were able to find almost all the bones for each skeleton with the exception of some rib bones. They were both positively identified from dental records by the medical examiner’s office as Meredith Collins, thirty-four years old and in good health, and Misty Collins, seven years old, and also in good health.”
“Cause of death?” said McGaven.
“Meredith was kicked and beaten, causing broken bones,”he said. Pointing out the areas of the ribs and right arm, he continued, “You can see here and here. But that’s not what killed her.” He turned the skull so that the detectives could see a definite hole, a little bit larger than a quarter, indicating significant blunt force trauma.
“What about the little girl?”
John took a breath. It was clear anything that had to do with children upset him. “She had been strangled. You can see her upper spine and thoracic area was crushed. There are no other indications of injuries either before death or during it.”
The room became quiet.
John walked to another computer and sat down. “Now Ian Griffin’s injury causing death. We have the bullet, which is a large caliber .45 most likely from a Colt, Smith and Wesson, or even a Glock. We ran it for any potential matches, but came back empty. If you find the gun or other bullets, we can then compare.”
