“Let’s see if we can find what went with this—like a box or maybe some type of leather satchel.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What are you thinking?” said McGaven.
“Not sure. But what do you need a lock for?”
“To protect something valuable.”
Katie smiled. “Yes. Like…?”
“Coins, jewels, or cash money,” he said.
Katie nodded. People still buried their treasure or money even today. It was a good way to hide valuables.
“Could this be part of the family secret?” McGaven asked. “Maybe that’s why the family members were murdered?”
“People kill for a lot less. But greed and money is pretty much number one.”
They both thought about it.
“Maybe we’re getting closer to the motive?” she said.
The detectives and officers dug up the remaining areas that had been excavated—and there was nothing more in the holes. Katie documented the old locking mechanism, noting the location, and then secured it in a crime scene container attaching the chain of custody.
“Maybe John can find out the age and origin of the lock?” she said.
“I bet he will.”
Deputy Andrews took the evidence and would check it in to the forensic department. Katie drove the Jeep back to her house so that McGaven could pick up his truck and go home to his family.
“Have a great evening,” she said.
“You too!”
Katie put Cisco in the house but returned to her vehicle once again. She couldn’t shake a nagging feeling and headed to the police department to research more about the Collins family.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Saturday 1630 hours
Katie hurried to the forensic division. The lighting was dim in the building and she didn’t hear any voices, which was usual for a Saturday. There would be deputies coming in and out at different times, but other than that it was quiet.
She opened the door to the entrance into the forensic rooms. They too had minimal lights on to help conserve energy and money. With the new information racing through her mind, Katie headed to the office. She was surprised she didn’t meet Andrews checking in the evidence, but maybe he would wait until the end of his shift to do so.
Katie switched on the light in her office. The overhead fluorescents were bright and made the murder board look unsettling, which it was, but it seemed more so in that moment. Studying the board, Katie updated the findings from the Collins property.
“What was so important that it made someone search for it?” she whispered to herself. Family fortune? Stolen artifacts? She thought about Roberts’ secret basement with all the antiqueproperty maps. It made her think of the saying “X marks the spot.” It was a silly thought, but perhaps in this case there could be some truth to it.
Buck had told her adamantly that they needed to trace Bruce Collins’s lineage. Did he know about the possibility of something valuable? It seemed he was telling her a little bit more every time she talked with him. Was he dragging this out or was it his way of telling his story?
Katie sat down and opened McGaven’s laptop, thinking about the holes on the Collins property. She ran through several scenarios and kept coming back to the idea of something being buried that was worth money. It was the oldest motive in the book for people to kill.
An alert popped up on the laptop. Katie opened a file and stared at it.
Bruce Collins == wife: Meredith (Griffin) Collins == brother of Meredith: Ian Griffin.
No known siblings for Bruce Collins.
