Tuesday, September 8 at 11:03 a.m.
Thanks to a restful night’s sleep, Jo sat at her desk fully engaged for a change. Earlier this morning she’d finally talked to Scott Russo, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend. Someone in his family told him what happened to Sarah and the poor guy hopped on a plane back to the United States over the weekend. Jo was thankful, because Scott had encountered the man he saw with Laura on more than one occasion.
Jo asked him, “Would you say he was a regular at the restaurant?”
Scott answered, “I wouldn’t say I’ve seen him every day or every week, but he has eaten at the restaurant a few times. When he does come in, it’s usually during the lunch hour and he orders the same thing. He may have been on some diet, because he always ordered the double Angus burger without the bread, medium rare with a side salad. Just water to drink. One time I asked him if he wanted to try the special for the day, he almost looked offended. He said he didn’t like change. He liked what he likes.”
“Do you recall if he paid with a credit card?”
Jo cringed as Scott stated, “Sorry, he was a cash only guy. He left great tips.”
Despite jet lag, Scott was willing to share what he remembered with a sketch artist. Jo looked at the time. She’d requested for her sister Toni to come in and work with Scott on a sketch.
While she waited, she decided to review Maddock’s case files since she would be called in about a week to take the stand at trial. In the back of her mind, she hoped nothing would pop up to make her doubt their work on that case. She also thought it was a good idea to check for any missing loose ends. So far there were no clear connections to Maddock and Laura or Sarah’s cases, which would have been pretty impossible since the guy had been in prison.
Still, there was the copycat theory that both her and Pete bounced around with hesitancy. Jo couldn’t shake the similar patterns, especially in the victim’s appearance and the manner in which they were killed. Sarah in particular. She made a note to get a record of Maddock’s correspondence from prison as well as any visitors. She hated to follow up Pete’s craziest theory, but Jo wanted to be assured Maddock wasn’t influencing someone outside of prison.
She scoured the interview notes, searching for anyone in Maddock’s circle who may have been extra loyal or a devout fan. Most people thought Maddock was a charming, handsome man with no family. His friends were shocked by his arrest, and those a bit closer commented they’d always wondered why the forty-five year old never married. While he was friendly enough, he was a bit standoffish. What Jo saw was an intelligent, manipulative man who patiently waited to do his evil deeds.
Maddock never showed anger as they accused him of his crimes. Even more disturbing, he neither denied nor confirmed his involvement. What remained the same was the persistent smirk that lifted the right side of his face in an odd way, marring his good looks. Jo was not looking forward to facing him again in a courtroom, but she had to make sure he and his arrogance stayed behind bars for a long time, preferably for life.
She leaned back in her chair to rest her eyes. Her eyes landed on a photo of Sarah. Sarah’s death was unexpected. Jo still reeled with shock. She was sure Sarah’s assailant attacked her in a fit of rage. Jo wondered if Sarah had found out anything before she could share it with them.
There was no turning back now, but Jo really wished they had not spent so much time focused on Matt because finding this other guy in Laura’s life had become maddening to Jo. Witnesses were notorious for getting details wrong. However, in this case no one could give her much more than a generic description of the man. It was like he purposely made sure he stayed hidden in the shadows so no one would recognize him later.
We are going to find you soon!
Jo stood and stretched her arms above her head. From behind her, she heard, “Jo, here is what I have.”
Jo turned around to see her younger sister standing with a folder in her hand. She had to grin. The free spirit of the family surprised them all when she finally settled down to use her artistic talent in a forensic career. It was still hard to believe. “I hope Scott gave you something to work with for the sketch.”
“He did his best. He was really upset about losing his girlfriend. He kept correcting himself saying she was really his ex-girlfriend. I could tell the poor guy was still in love with her.” Toni held out the folder. “At least now you have a face for your mystery suspect.”
Jo took the folder from Toni, but hesitated for a moment like she had to prepare herself for what she was about see. She flipped the folder open and stared at the sketch. Jo frowned.
Why did this guy seem so familiar to her?
“What are you thinking, Jo?”
Jo focused on Toni, who peered at her over her thick-framed glasses. “You did a great job. I just can’t shake this feeling that I’ve seen this guy before.”
“Well, I know you’ll find him, Jo. If anyone can, you can, sis.”
Jo hugged her sister. As she watched Toni walk away, she noticed Pete coming towards her with the captain not far behind him.
Upon approach, Pete asked, “Do we have a face?”
Jo handed over the sketch and watched as Pete examined the sketch and then the captain.
Pete voiced out loud, “Is it just me or does this guy look like he could be Maddock’s brother?”
A slow tense pounding formed around her temples. Is that what’s bothering me? She didn’t recall Maddock having any siblings. “I’ve been looking at Maddock’s case files all morning. He had no family. It was him and his mom. She’s been dead ten years. I do think we need to look a little more closely at who’s visited or corresponded with Maddock.”
Pete raised an eyebrow. “So my crazy theory about Maddock being involved is sounding plausible now?”
Captain nodded in agreement. “I agree it may not be a bad idea. You both need to cover any ground you can so we can keep the D.A. up to speed on anything that could throw the Maddock trial off course.”
Pete asked, “So what do we do with the composite? Do we want to send this to the media now?”
The captain pondered Pete’s question for a few seconds before responding. “Show it around discreetly for now. Start with the places this guy has been seen already. Somebody has to know this guy personally and can give us a name.”
Jo was thinking the same thing. They were closer than they had been in weeks.