by Robin Mahle
A quick coffee and pastry to go and Katie was out the door. On her way to the office, she knew none of what they’d discussed with Chief Wilson could be shared. Although there was one person in whom she’d hoped to confide. Detective Avery could offer guidance, but how much to disclose to him remained to be seen. Katie felt guarded now, as if she’d been violated simply by the revelation of what the monster had done so long ago.
She slipped into the office, carefully avoiding conversation with any of her colleagues. Her desk was clean, organized in a manner verging on compulsive. She turned toward the window and pulled open the blinds, allowing the light to bathe the room in its warm radiance. It was only the sound of her ringing cell phone that forced her to turn away from the comforting glow. “Good morning, Marshall. How are you?”
“Great thanks. Listen, there was a development on the Thompson case over the weekend. You remember meeting Johansen?” The detective’s note of urgency came through loud and clear.
“Of course, how could I forget?”
“The team found his truck and got a warrant to search his house. Just about everything in the guy’s place has been transferred to the warehouse for entry into the system. I was thinking you might like to come with me and take a look at the truck and some of the other evidence.”
A sudden rush of excitement replaced her earlier apprehension at what the day would bring. “Did you clear this with Susan? I’d love to go, but not without her approval.”
“She said anything we needed, we could count on you guys to help us out with. I need help processing the paperwork on all this evidence. Now, do you want in or not?”
“Yes, definitely. I’ll let her know and I can meet you down at the station in thirty minutes.”
“Great, see you then.”
The request was unusual. Katie had no experience in this type of work, but what she wouldn’t give to see an investigation in action. She’d have to spin it carefully.
“Susan?” Katie peeked into her office.
“Good morning. What can I do for you?”
“I just got a call from Detective Avery. I guess some new evidence came in over the weekend and he was asking if I could come down to the station to catalog it. He says they’re shorthanded and could use some administrative help.”
“I wonder why he didn’t call me first.” Susan seemed mildly offended by the circumvention. “That should be fine. This case is our top priority, so whatever we can do to help. All right, I’ll see you later on today, then?”
“I’m sure I’ll be finished by this afternoon, but please let me know if you need me sooner.”
“No, that’s fine, Katie. Go on. I’ll let the detective know I gave you authorization.”
Katie was more than pleased and quickly disappeared back to her office to gather her things. The day was unfolding better than expected.
Detective Avery arrived in the lobby of the station where Katie waited patiently. “Kate, glad to see you. Follow me; we’ve got a lot of work to do today.”
She followed Marshall back to a large storage area that held boxes and boxes of what she assumed to be evidence. “Oh my God, is this all from Johansen’s house?”
“No, no. This is where we keep evidence for several pending cases. See the labels on these boxes? They have different file numbers. The ones we’re looking at today are over here.” He continued down through the warehouse, where she spotted the white truck and several other items laid out on a table in bags, labeled Case No. 13-619030.
“Is Johansen under arrest?” Katie asked.
“Yes ma’am, he is. After you left on Friday, I checked with the Sex Offender Tracking Division. They notify local authorities when an offender has registered a change of address or other pertinent information. He was no longer required to be under the supervision of a parole officer, but he is and will always be required to notify the Division of any change that occurs, employment, residence, anything. Mr. Johansen did not inform the division of his change in address and, in his case, because he was convicted of felony sex abuse, not notifying the department is also a felony. That gave me and the Department of Justice the right to arrest him.”
Katie was reeling at Marshall’s enthusiastic pace. This was the break he had been looking for. “But why didn’t this come up during the initial interview?”
“That’s a very good question. At the time, we had no idea someone knew there had been a white truck parked on Isabelle’s street for two days. No one came forward until the call on the hotline last week. When our officers conducted their initial five-mile sweep of the area, Johansen was questioned. It wasn’t known that he was a sex offender because that address, according to the Tracking Division, wasn’t registered to him. The officer who spoke with him asked if he was a Mr. Hollinger, who was previously at that address. Of course, Johansen agreed. Where he screwed up was that he changed his address with DMV to get his car tags. It wasn’t until we ran a DMV check that his name came up as one of the six people who had that type of vehicle. DMV also alerted us to the fact that he was a registered offender. They keep that information as well. They’re supposed to send monthly updates of any changes to the Tracking Division. It just so happened that the report hadn’t yet been sent. You’d be surprised how often we lose track of registered offenders. It’s not a perfect system, that’s for sure.”
“Was there any evidence in his house that might have belonged to Isabelle then?” Katie asked as she tried to keep up with him.
“We don’t know yet. That’s where you come in. I need your help cataloging the evidence in these bags. We have civilian staff who assist in this type of admin work, but they’re completely swamped right now. Forensics is already running prints and DNA, but there could be something else here that might lead us to Isabelle. Time is of the essence.”
“Okay, I’m ready. Just show me where to start.” The excitement about a break in the case was rubbing off on Katie. She wanted to find Isabelle, now more than ever.
Marshall proceeded to guide her on the process. “You are only to enter the numbers onto the forms. Do not handle anything inside the bags, understand? I need to get back and check on the lab. If you have any questions, just ask Officer Reilly.”
“Got it.”
Officer Reilly was the man in charge of everything that came into and out of that warehouse. He, along with a few others, appeared to have their hands full, but had been instructed to monitor her progress closely.
“Great. I’ll check in with you later. This will be extremely helpful in expediting our review of the evidence, Kate. Thank you.”
Katie worked diligently throughout the morning. Her hands were cramping as she wrote everything down on the forms. This information would then be entered into their database. She thought they could have skipped a step and just entered it directly into the computer. Maybe she’d make the suggestion to Marshall later, but right now, she would do as directed and was glad to have been given the chance to help.
So far, she hadn’t found anything particularly interesting. Most of these items were random things that could be found around most people’s homes. Receipts, utility bills, a few DVDs. Then she came across a radio-controlled car, not a sophisticated replica like some hobbyists keep. No, this was a child’s toy. Katie was repulsed by the idea that he might have used this toy possibly to lure a young child and wondered how he would have convinced Isabelle to go with him. In her mind, she had already condemned Johansen. It would prove difficult to stay impartial on a case like this. Marshall must have figured as much.
No sooner had his name crossed her mind did he arrive back at the warehouse.
“How’s it going?” He examined the table, nodding in approval. “Looks like you’ve made good progress. Why don’t we get some food in you?”
They walked outside, leaving the police station and headed toward a taco stand around the corner.
“These guys make the best tacos anywhere.”
“You don’t take much time to eat do
you?” Katie asked. She was beginning to get a glimpse into the life of a cop.
“What do you mean? You want to go to a restaurant or something? I like restaurants.”
Katie laughed. “No, no, this is fine, really. I’m starving and there’s too much to do anyway to sit around in a restaurant.”
“Well geez, now you’re making me feel bad, like I’m some kind of slave driver.”
“Not at all, Marshall. In fact, I want to thank you for letting me help you on this case. I can’t tell you what it means to me. You’ve already taught me a lot.”
They sat down on a bench opposite the stand.
“Wow, these are good tacos,” Katie said.
“See? I told you.” He smiled, pausing for a moment to take another mouth full. “Listen, Kate. I really do appreciate all your hard work. You have a knack for this sort of thing. Maybe someday I’ll convince you to come over to my side of the fence.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’ve got some pretty major things going on in my life right now. I honestly have no idea what direction I’ll be headed.”
“So you decided to pursue reopening the investigation?” Marshall seemed to turn serious.
Katie had wanted to tell him, but he’d been consumed with Johansen and she just didn’t know how to bring it up, but it seemed he had just opened the door for her. “I flew home over the weekend and talked to the Chief of Police in Rio Dell. He was the detective on my case. I asked him to consider reopening the investigation based on what we discussed last week, you know, the necklace?”
“And is he going to?”
“He’s looking into it. Says it will take up a lot of his resources and he needs to be sure what I’ve given him is enough.”
“That makes sense. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Revealing the reason behind her assurance wasn’t an option. No one could know what happened to her, what he had done to her. Katie didn’t want pity. “My main concerned is of the impact this will have on my fiancé and my family, and everyone else who will get caught up in it too.”
“You want to find him, don’t you?”
Here was someone who understood her. Someone who knew what it meant, this need for justice. “He ruined my family, my parents’ lives.”
“You think he ruined you too, don’t you?”
“He did, Marshall. I’m not sure I would be okay with knowing he’ll never have to pay for what he did.”
“A lot of people have to learn to be okay with the terrible things that have happened to them. Too many bad people get away with their crimes, but you can’t prosper in life if you’re living out some sort of vendetta. Listen, I understand what you’re going through. Believe me, I’ve worked with enough victims to be able to empathize. We catch the ones we can and try to help the ones whose offenders go unpunished. Ultimately, it will be up to you to decide how you’ll best be able to move forward.”
“Thank you, Marshall. I suppose we ought to be getting back now. I think I still have a few hundred items to log.”
“I’ll give you a hand. I’ve done everything I could do today, it’s up to forensics now. The important thing is that Johansen is off the streets. You know, I can help with the other stuff too, Kate. Just ask, got it?”
Her thin smile conveyed her appreciation but she knew this was on her now.
Detective Avery had to pull a few strings, but managed to get Susan to agree to let Katie continue her work at the station for the remainder of the week. The sheer volume of evidence required close attention to detail and this was exactly up Katie’s alley. And this work helped her keep her mind off the fact that she still hadn’t heard from Chief Wilson about reopening her case.
They weren’t any closer to charging Johansen with kidnapping either. Forensics hadn’t finished analyzing the fingerprints, fiber samples, or sweeping the truck. Marshall was right; cases were never so neatly packaged that they could be solved in as short amount of time as the crime shows on TV were.
At the end of the week, all the evidence had been processed. Boxes and boxes of items were stacked into a corner of the warehouse, ready to be filed away on the shelves that ran along the walls and down the center of the storage facility.
“You’re interested in learning about this stuff? Come on, let’s take a walk down these aisles and I’ll show you what we deal with.” Marshall said.
Katie followed him as he led her down a row filled with boxes similar to the ones she had just catalogued.
“You see this one?” Marshall pointed to a box that appeared to have yellowed with age. “Case number 04-245195, a homicide from 2004, unsolved. These boxes will sit here until the case is closed because there is no statute of limitations on murder. Now, if you’ve got a good investigating officer, he’ll ensure the destruction of evidence once a case has reached its statute, like a burglary. Here in California, kidnapping, arson, and even embezzlement have no statute either, which is why our storage rooms are bursting at the seams.”
They continued down toward the back of the warehouse. Katie was fascinated by the inner-workings of the department and willingly listened.
“DNA evidence is something altogether different; it’s handled very carefully and kept indefinitely or at least until the convicted inmate has exhausted all appeals and then sometimes even after that. You see why the Rio Dell chief is carefully considering his options right now as it relates to your case? He’s right to be concerned about resources. It would take an officer years to identify and clear out old evidence. You’re asking him to go back and pull case files that God knows where they ended up, if they are even legible at this point, and to reopen an investigation based on some dreams or memories you had.”
Katie began to reconsider whether or not Detective Avery was really her advocate. He was certainly doing his best to discourage her at the moment. “Don’t you think it’s worth some time and money to capture a murderer?” Her defenses were high and she realized that probably came out a little harsher than she had intended.
“I’m only trying to point out the complexity of the situation, Kate. You need to be fully aware of what you’re asking of the chief and of yourself. You dig into this further and you could risk everything you’ve worked for. Trust me on this, I know how obsessions begin and how they usually end.”
His reality check hit her hard and she had no further line of defense.
“Looks like you can go back to your office on Monday. I’m sure you’re tired of being stuck in this place anyway.” Marshall seemed to sense her growing antipathy and changed the subject.
“Actually, I have really learned a lot this week and I appreciate you giving me a chance to see how things work on this side. I mean that. And, well, I get your meaning, too.”
Marshall brushed it off and put his arm around her shoulder in a big brother sort of way. “So, are you ready to come work for me, then?”
Katie couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but after everything she had learned this week, admittedly, the idea was intriguing. “Sure; you just need to convince Susan to let me go. They’ve been shorthanded for so long, I’m not sure she’s going to give up the help willingly.”
“You never know. How about we go and grab a drink? I think we’ve earned it.”
“Okay, why not?” Katie reached for her cell phone. “I just need to let Spencer know I’ll be home late. I’m sure he’s busy working on his case anyway. He’s due to go to trial next week.” When she looked at her phone, there had been three missed calls and two messages. Two were from Spencer and one was from area code 707. “That’s a call from back home. It must be from Chief Wilson.”
They both stopped in their tracks while Katie listened to the message.
“Katie, this is Chief Wilson with Rio Dell PD. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, but I had to get several people involved with the issue we discussed last week, including the Humboldt District Attorney’s office. After reviewing your case
files and the information I received from you, it has been decided that there is not enough for us to go on and we cannot reopen the investigation. I am truly sorry, Katie, but if you need anything from me, I am glad to help out where I can. And, if at any time you can provide further details into the case, please let me know and we will re-evaluate your request. Goodbye, Ms. Reid, and I wish you the best of luck.”
Katie felt completely deflated; her heart sank at the news.
“What is it?” Marshall asked.
Her voice trembled as she struggled to keep it together. “They’re not going to reopen the investigation.”
“Did he say why?”
She looked up at him. “They said I didn’t have enough for them to go on.”
“I am sorry, Kate. Listen, I’m sure you’d like to go home and discuss this with your fiancé. I’ll buy you a beer another time.”
“No.” She continued walking. “I could use one now. I can’t handle talking to Spencer about it now because, to be honest, he’ll be more than happy they’re going to let this thing go, but I need some time to process it. I’ll send him a text and tell him about it later tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll take you down to Paddy’s. It’s as good a place as any to forget your troubles.”
Paddy’s was a hole-in-the-wall Irish pub that many on the police force frequented. It was near the station; quick and easy to get to.
“I’ll have a bourbon and whatever the lady wants.” Marshall gestured to Katie.
“Make that two, please,” she replied.
The bartender grabbed the bottle and placed two shot glasses in front of them.
“I didn’t realize you were a bourbon-drinking kind of girl, Kate.”
“I am tonight.” She downed her shot without hesitation.
Marshall appeared more than a little surprised by this. “Okay, well, maybe you should reel it in a little and tell me what happened with the police chief. What exactly did he say? Why the no-go on the investigation?”
“The DA said they didn’t have enough new evidence to open it back up.”
