Stepping into the situation room, David felt the buzz of excitement. Each day, the FBI forensics team was able to identify more victims, allowing families to understand, after all these years, what had happened to their loved ones. And the sheriff’s department continued to flesh out the background of the McGregors to understand the timeline and ensure all angles had been investigated. Each afternoon, everyone shared information at a roundtable meeting.
That morning, they had identified the lone female victim. Lieutenant Gilman had been digging through her background. But David started the meeting with their primary focus. “I understand we identified two more boys.”
Agent Gonzalez handed across two folders. “Two minor children consistent with our pattern, boys who disappeared when they were six and eight years old, respectively. One was from Abingdon, Virginia and the other from Dalton, Georgia. Both disappeared during summer months without any valuable witnesses or reliable evidence. Lots of leads followed up, but nothing solid ever came of them. One did have a sighting of a van, but the description was vague, and they had so many vehicles to follow up on that it wasn’t of much use. And frankly, we don’t even know if the van spotted was our van or not. Gilman has been coordinating with the local police departments to ensure families are being notified, so at least they will finally have an answer.”
“Not much consolation.”
“No, but it’s something for them.”
David looked at the photos inside each folder, pictures of sweet, innocent boys who should have had carefree childhoods ahead of them. He closed the files and placed his hand on them. After a few minutes of silent prayer, he slid them back across the table. “Okay, update me on the female.”
Agent Gonzalez opened a thicker folder. “Female extracted from grave number two has been positively identified as Bethany Ann Andrews. Born in Morristown, Tennessee. History of petty crimes as a juvenile. Reported as a runaway three separate times. No father listed on birth certificate. Her stepfather has a lengthy record for assaults and drug possession. Mother has a record for drug possession and prostitution. The last contact either had with our subject was shortly before Bethany’s eighteenth birthday, when she left the house for Nashville to be a star.”
Gilman picked up the story. “About a month after she left home, she was arrested by Knoxville PD for prostitution and drug possession. A few weeks later, she was arrested a second time. She was convicted on both and sentenced to community service and a rehab program. I spoke to her probation officer, who said he thought she was going to be one of the few to turn things around. She was passing her drug tests and had enrolled for classes at Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville. And then she started missing her appointments with him. He guessed she had skipped town and reported it. The court issued the standard bench warrant, but it shows as never served because she never crossed anyone’s radar.”
“So she disappeared without a trace?”
“Not exactly. I called a Knoxville vice detective I know, and he dug through the old records. Turns out about six weeks after the warrant was issued for Bethany, a former coworker was arrested in a prostitution sting. The detective on the case thought to ask her about Bethany’s whereabouts. She claimed the last time she saw her, Bethany was getting into a van with a guy. Said she remembered it because Bethany had told her she was out of the life.”
“A van?”
“Even better. The notes describe a two-tone van with North Carolina tags, exact plate unknown. She gave a description of what Bethany was wearing, right down to the navy-blue book bag she was carrying.” Gilman pointed his pen toward a stack of plastic evidence bags.
“Okay, I get what you’re saying. Bethany Ann is last seen in Knoxville, carrying a blue book bag just like the one we found, climbing into a van resembling McGregor’s.” David stood and walked over to the timeline written on the whiteboard. He tapped the board with his hand and spun around. “But this is saying she was kidnapped six months before I last saw Rick.”
“Yep, I pulled the reports to make sure we had the dates right. You wrote him a ticket for running a stop sign.”
“I remember it clear as a bell. Mark had blown himself up in that stupid meth lab. I figured I would find drugs, put Dad in jail, and finally make detective, but I searched the van, and it was clean. Let him go with just the ticket.” David stared at the board. “So we’re saying she was kidnapped six months before I stopped Rick, and she was killed two years after Rick was killed. That means she was alive and being held hostage the night I stopped him.”
Agent Gonzalez said, “Yes. The forensics are clear.”
“But Rick would have known about the house, so where was Matt hiding her from him?”
Gilman answered. “We don’t think Matt was hiding her.”
David spun around. “Rick knew she was kidnapped?”
“More than that.” Gilman gestured at his notes. “The eyewitness describes the driver of the van as a white male in his fifties or sixties.”
“What?” David sat down hard in his chair and cradled his head in his hands. “But why would Rick kidnap her? And if he did, for whatever reason, why would Matt keep her alive for so long after he killed Rick? Unless you think they kidnapped her together?”
David stood and paced the room. “What was her cause of death? Was she killed violently like Rick?”
Gilman pulled out the autopsy report. “No. She appears to have died from malnutrition and illness. Simply put, she was in such a weakened state, a flu virus could easily have killed her. Tissue samples may ultimately answer exactly what, but we don’t have a specific cause yet. Unlike the other victims, she doesn’t appear to have met a specifically violent end.”
“So whether Matt knew or didn’t know Rick kidnapped her at the beginning, he didn’t treat her as violently as the others. And he kept her alive for another couple of years.” He turned to Roxanne. “The profilers must be having a field day. What’re their thoughts?”
Roxanne folded her hands. “They suggested her different treatment was because he viewed her differently, maybe simply because she was a woman and he couldn’t bring himself to murder her. Remember, he didn’t have a lot of experience with women in general.” She turned back to the table and read from a file. “Matt’s mother died of a drug overdose when Matt was two. Mark’s mother left when he was an infant and never returned. We found she died of cancer, years ago in Texas. No sign she ever made any attempt to contact the McGregors after she left, so they may never have known. Rick had a number of girlfriends over the intervening years, but no one special and no indication another woman ever lived in the house long-term, based on neighbor interviews, though everyone is fairly isolated up there.”
“So… Bethany was Rick’s idea of a girlfriend? He just kidnapped a prostitute because he was lonely?”
“Can’t answer that, but it might explain Matt’s behavior toward her after Rick was murdered. In his own sick, twisted way, he might have perceived her as a maternal figure even though she was younger. Or maybe he thought of her as a sister.”
David snorted. “So loving he let her starve to death rather than beat her or club her with an ax.”
Roxanne shrugged. “The worst part is that Rick may have inadvertently taught his son how to satisfy his cravings. He may have given Matt the idea of kidnapping and holding boys at the house.”
“What a sick family.” David looked out the window at Main Street below him. “Okay. Let’s move on for now while I try to puzzle this one out. You said we had four new IDs today. What’s the last one?”
From behind him came the sound of shuffling folders and then Roxanne’s quiet voice. “You’re going to want to sit down for this one.”