“And it takes some level of skill to disarm a car alarm these days,” Patrick noted. “So we’re dealing with at least a minimally sophisticated subject—though not a rocket scientist. If he were that, he would have wiped his prints or worn gloves.”
Casey nodded. “I agree. What about security footage? A Ring security camera would be a dead end if the killer entered the house through the garage. But was any activity caught on camera?”
“Nothing in the report about that,” Ryan replied. “I’m sure that’s when ERT arrived and the FBI took over. But my guess is that the killer avoided all cameras.” He looked up. “As Marc and I saw firsthand, there were no signs of a struggle, and the house wasn’t ransacked. This was quick and dirty. My cousin had no warning and no chance to defend himself.”
“I’m sure the weapon is in a nearby dumpster somewhere,” Marc said. “The Bureau will recover it. But, unless it has a history, it’s of no use to us.”
“Do you think the killer was already there when Shane got home?” Emma asked.
Marc shook his head. “No. Shane was an agent with Violent Crimes. He’d see the raised garage door and his antennae would go up. And he sure as hell wouldn’t stop to go to the bathroom before searching his house—unarmed, as we recall.” A quick glance at Ryan. “So that’s it?”
Ryan shrugged. “Yeah. Other than what we saw firsthand. Shane’s iPhone was smashed to bits—it was lying right beside him. But there are a lot of unanswered questions.”
“Damn straight,” Marc replied vehemently. “Starting with the car. Ryan, you told me that Caitlin always parked in the driveway and Shane on the street, right?”
“Yes.” Ryan’s wheels were turning. “Assuming the killer didn’t know that, and he saw only one car parked outside the house, how did he know it was Shane’s and not Caitlin’s? He’d want to be sure it was Shane who was home. So how did he figure that out?”
“Maybe he already knew,” Casey said quietly. “I’m assuming Shane wasn’t often home in the middle of the afternoon, right?” She waited for and got Ryan’s nod. “So why was he there yesterday? Could there be a reason the killer was somehow aware of? We’d better figure that out. And, further, one car—presumably Shane’s—meant no Caitlin. The killer’s target was alone, or so he thought.”
“But we know the car arrangements the Walshes had, so that’s not how it went down.” Marc furthered Casey’s logic. “For whatever reason we have yet to figure out, the killer thought it was Shane’s car he was breaking into. We know better. We know that Caitlin was working home that day. Which means we know that she was already inside the house.”
Casey paused. “Which brings us to the question we all have—was Caitlin killed, kidnapped, or is she on the run? Just as the idea of her being a suspect is out, I think the idea of her being killed is also out. If she walked onto the murder scene, the killer would have shot her dead on the spot. Could they have taken her with them and killed her later? It’s possible, but weak. So the question is, was she kidnapped or did she run? And, if she ran, was she injured when she did?”
“Why would a killer kidnap her?” Emma wondered aloud. “She and Shane aren’t rich, are they?”
Again, Ryan shook his head. “Not even close. And Caitlin’s family is all gone, so there’s no other fountain of wealth for a kidnapper to go to for ransom money.”
Casey pursed her lips, looking adamant about whatever she was about to say. “I don’t see this as a kidnapping. As you said, with Shane dead, there was no one to blackmail. No, my instincts tell me that Caitlin bolted. And we must find her, since she obviously has firsthand knowledge of the homicide. If she was home, which the presence of her car and the nature of her job suggest she was, then she saw something—if not the murder itself, then perhaps the killer coming or going. If Marc is right about her blood being on the scene, she could have been inadvertently grazed by a bullet, and then taken off. The only piece that doesn’t fit is her leaving Kennedy behind.”
“I agree.” Claire set down her cup of tea, her gaze inwardly focused. “There has to have been a powerful reason for such a loving mother to vanish and leave her child behind. Caitlin didn’t take her car. She didn’t contact law enforcement, even though Shane worked for the FBI. She didn’t contact us, although I’m sure she knows who Ryan works for and knows how successfully we’d handle this. That tells me she was in a panic. Maybe she knew the killer was right behind her, and she feared for Kennedy’s safety if she took her on the run. Doing that would put Kennedy in the same danger as Caitlin herself was in.”
Ryan turned to Claire. “Is that speculation or something you’re sensing?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe both,” she replied, her shoulders lifting in an uncertain shrug. “Remember, I sat with Kennedy for a while last night. Broken images are flitting about in my mind. But if Caitlin did see the killer and—more importantly—if she were aware that they’d seen her, she’d never rush to Kennedy’s school and, as a result, lead the murderer there.” A sudden spark of intuition lit Claire’s eyes. “Caitlin would ensure Kennedy’s safety by making sure she left her daughter in the best of hands before she tossed her cell phone and took off.”
Ryan heard the conviction in Claire’s tone, and jumped on it. “That last comment was more than just supposition. It was sensory awareness. Going with that, Caitlin is on the run, and the ‘best of hands’ would be my mom. No question.” A pause, as he thought back. “My mom didn’t recognize the cell number the text came from, and the number wasn’t in service when she called back. To me, that screams a burner.”
Marc nodded. “And she assumed it was Shane who used that burner, since his name was typed at the bottom of the text.” A scowl. “A weak theory, at best. Clearly, Shane’s assailant caught him off-guard. There was no time for him to react. So when would he have time to contact Ryan’s mom? Plus, when would he have time to access a burner?”
“He wouldn’t,” Ryan stated flatly. “Which tells me that Caitlin sent that text. She witnessed the murder, escaped from the killer, and then sent the text herself to make sure Kennedy stayed safe.” He sat up straighter, his expression filled with sudden realization. “Shane kept a couple of guns locked in his office desk. He was a just-in-case guy, so I know he also hid a few burners and some cash. I don’t know the hiding places, but I’m sure Caitlin did. She must have grabbed the stuff, knowing she’d need it.”
“Yes,” Claire agreed—a statement not a conjecture. “That’s just what happened. Shane was already gone. Caitlin took over from there.”
“Making her the existing threat,” Patrick followed through. “The killer knows she’s very much alive and fleeing. I’m sure the burner phone she used to text Ryan’s mother has long since been tossed, especially since Caitlin has others. She’s a smart woman.”
“Which makes finding her central to this investigation,” Casey concluded. “She’s alive. She has knowledge she’s terrified to share, a possible injury, and a killer hot on her heels.” A pensive pause. “We might get lucky. I can’t imagine that Caitlin won’t want to check on Kennedy again. Maybe she’ll send periodic texts to Ryan’s mother. Ryan, alert your mom to that. We have to be prepared to jump on it.”
“Done.” Ryan was clearly ready to move. “I’ll have a long talk with her and my dad. They’ll be prepped and ready. I’ll also use my devices to log into Shane’s iCloud and restore everything that was on his cell phone—particularly his calendar, so I can see what he had on tap for yesterday that the killer could have found out about.”
“Good.” Casey nodded. “Meanwhile, we’re going to have to divide and conquer. Figure out who killed Shane, and locate Caitlin and bring her home. The latter would obviously help with the former, but we can’t put all our eggs in that one basket. We need to investigate both simultaneously.”
She glanced around the room. “Marc, call Aidan. Let us know when you hear back from him. In the interim, you and Patrick use all your FBI connections—retired as well as active—to gain information on Shane’s investigations, as well as any potential enemies he might have made, these past eight years. I wish I could ask Hutch, but, as I said, there’s no way he’d tell me anything. Nor, in good conscience, would I request that he did.”
“Don’t hold your breath on the active agents,” Marc warned. “They’ll be as tight-lipped as Hutch. The retirees aren’t a much better option. They’d normally be more forthcoming, but not given it’s FI they’d be talking to. Our best bet will probably be the former agents, those who changed careers and who don’t have fierce loyalties to the Bureau.”
“Then go that route, see what you can find out. We’ll have to accept the fact that, in this particular investigation, the FBI is going to be our weakest source of leads. That means subverting them and focusing on everything and everyone else.”
Ryan’s mind was now in high-gear. “I’ll hack into the NYPD’s archived files. I’ll get into every one of them where Shane was the detective or officer of record, or those in which he was even peripherally involved. I’ll go back to the first year he joined the police force, and move forward from there, focusing closely on the last few years of his NYPD employment—his years as a detective. Yoda can cross-reference all Shane’s cases against parolees or those who’ve completed their time, and then winnow some of them down.”
