Michael watched the press conference with interest, not having attended because of a previous meeting with Nick about a new case, but he was curious to see how Craig performed and what the purpose was of putting him in front of the cameras.
Usually, it was to encourage citizens to send in any tips they had on the missing person's whereabouts. Seeing a distraught relative or loved one break down on television elicited sympathy in viewers and led them to call in with tips. It often took a public event to tweak people's memories and motivate them to call in with information. As soon as a press conference was over, the police tip line would be flooded with calls -- most of them bogus sightings and musings of people on what happened. But there was almost always a tidbit of truth here and there that helped move the case forward.
Sometimes, it was to encourage citizens to call police with what they knew about the suspect. Seeing a suspect in the case in front of cameras acting all upset would lead to a tip that helped close the case -- someone remembering an event in the suspect's past that helped build a case against them -- or exonerate them.
That might be Chambers' thinking in this instance.
If he was honest, Chambers had to be as uncertain as Michael was, because Craig did not feel like a killer. Perhaps Chambers just wanted to show that he was working the case and really hadn't decided to pursue Craig to the exclusion of all other suspects. There were enough sex offenders in the Metro Seattle area to keep them busy following up on everyone's whereabouts for days. Michael had spoken with a few of the other detectives in the department and knew they had their minds made up that Craig was responsible for the disappearance of Rachel and Sadie and all that was left was building the case.
There were a number of strikes against Craig: he didn't report them missing, and only confirmed they were gone when police questioned him hours after their abandoned vehicle was discovered. A neighbor in the building said she heard Craig and Rachel arguing the night she left and saw Rachel and Sadie leave the apartment building alone. The neighbor didn't report seeing Craig leave the apartment, but she went to bed soon after and he could have left without her knowing.
So, it was still possible that Craig followed Rachel up to the location, killed them both and left the vehicle there. Who could say where he might have buried the bodies?
There were thousands of miles of old logging roads in the northern Washington area.
Unless they found a crime scene that had blood evidence showing that Rachel and Sadie had been murdered, all they had were two missing persons cases and a lot of suspicions.
It was at that point that Michael thought about Mickey and decided to go have a chat with the man.
He'd been dissatisfied with Tess's discussion with Mickey. Maybe it was time to really push him for information about Rachel and her past. It was a big empty box and there was nothing he or the police could really go on to build a theory of the case outside of Craig being the main suspect, killing her and Sadie out of jealousy or anger.
He got on the phone and called Mickey's bar, asking to speak to Mickey. He identified himself as an investigator with the DA's office and waited while the hostess found Mickey.
Finally, the man came on the phone.
Michael introduced himself again and asked if he could come by and speak with Mickey about Rachel.
"Sure," Mickey said, and he didn't sound at all upset at the prospect of being questioned. "Always glad to help the investigation. When would work for you?"
"I can come by in fifteen."
"Okay but don't come to the bar. I'll meet you farther down Aurora at the donut shop. I don't want police in my bar. The employees will worry that I'm in trouble."
"You're not in trouble, Mickey. I'm just filling in some blanks in my file."
"I understand," he said finally. "See you in fifteen."
"See you then." Michael ended the call and pulled together his files, looking over the evidence collected to date, deciding on his approach to Mickey. How could he get Mickey to give up more background on Rachel than he already had? Mickey had a pretty rough past, had been in prison, involved in a motorcycle club. He'd found Jesus and turned his life around and was now apparently a saint.
He looked on Rachel as one of his children, as a success story. The man would want to do whatever he could to find her, if that was the case.
He drove along Aurora Avenue to the donut store a few blocks south of Mickey's Bar and Grill and parked on the street about a block down from the entrance. He glanced around and saw Mickey walking down the street towards the store. The man was looking around nervously, and then ducked into the donut shop. Michael got out and went in after him.
Mickey was at the register ordering a coffee and donut when Michael arrived at his side.
"Hello, Mickey?" he said and extended his hand.
Mickey turned to look at Michael. "You're Special Agent Carter with the CARD team? I remember you from the case in Paradise Hill. It was all over the news back in January."
"Not a special agent anymore," Michael replied. "I'm working with the DA's office as an investigator." He pointed to his right shoulder. “I had an injury that keeps me from shooting. Can't be trusted with a gun any longer." Michael smiled, trying to make light of it.
"That's too bad," Mickey said. "I'll go grab us a booth."
While Michael ordered his own coffee, Mickey took a booth by the window and waited. Once his coffee was ready, Michael joined the man, still wondering how he should approach Mickey.
"Look," Michael said after taking a seat. "I'll get right to the point. I'm hoping to save Rachel and Sadie's lives. We need to know everything that anyone knows about them so we can find them. Everything. Good or bad. If her life is in danger, we need to know who might be a threat. If she and Sadie have been harmed, we need to find who did it and bring them to justice."
Mickey took in a deep breath and sat back. "I'm just as anxious as you are to make sure Rachel and Sadie are safe. Those two are like a daughter and granddaughter to me. I'd do anything to keep them safe. I hope you understand that. Anything.”
"That's good to know. So according to your report to the police when they questioned you, Rachel called in and said she was taking a vacation and needed some time off. Is that right?"
"Yes. She said she wanted to take Sadie on a short vacation. Didn't know how many days. I needed to find someone to cover for her shifts. I always make the schedule up a week ahead and I'd already made it up. I'd have to cover her three shifts the following week."
"That must have been inconvenient for you."
"It happens."
"Straight up." Michael said, wanting to get to the point. "What do you think happened? The police are leaning towards Craig as the prime suspect, but I want to know what you think. Do you think it was Craig?"
"Straight up? No, I don't think it was Craig. I think she was afraid of someone from her past and ran away."
That surprised Michael. "You didn't tell that to police."
"I took her at her word that she was taking a short trip with her daughter, but when the car was found, maybe she wasn't telling me the truth. After her car was found abandoned with her luggage and handbag still inside, I had to consider that maybe, someone had it in for her."
"So, you think she was afraid and that's why she left. Not because she wanted a vacation."
Mickey nodded. "Maybe someone she was afraid of found her. All I know is that it wasn't Craig. Of that I am certain."
Michael made a mental note of that. Someone who knew her well was certain that the main suspect wasn't guilty. There was no reason other than the man didn't think Craig did it.
"What can you tell me about Rachel's past? I understand she was a runaway and came to Seattle from Montana."
Mickey took a bite of his donut and chewed for a moment before responding and in that hesitation, Michael felt the man was trying to decide what to say -- or how much to reveal.
"She had a very bad, abusive past," Mickey said. "Father was a monster. A real scumbag. From what she told me, he abused her, sold her to pedophiles. Finally, he started using a knife when he raped her, and she ran. I mean, this was a thirteen-year-old girl. What a horrible life. She told Craig that she was afraid her past was catching up with her. Well, that might be what she was running from."
“Did you tell this to police?”
Mickey shrugged. “I told them she had a bad past. They didn’t dig any deeper than that.”
Michael shook his head in disgust. "I knew she had a troubled past but had no idea it was that bad. Was this in Montana?"
"Yes, but there are links to Washington State. You should be looking up north, Bellingham area. There's a big network across the three states, and they operate in Washington as well. Bellingham. Rachel mentioned it once, if I recall correctly. Her father used to travel there. They may have spent some time in the area when she was growing up."
Michael frowned. He knew there were pedophiles operating online across the country, and who sought out children for sex, preying on street kids and the children of addicts. But Bellingham? It wasn't like it was a known hotbed of pedophiles.
"Her father was into child porn as well. He took pictures, made porno films. Photography was his specialty. He was into cameras. You should be checking it out."
Michael nodded. "We will. This is really helpful. I’m surprised the police didn’t ask you this. Why didn’t you tell them?"
“I did but they didn’t dig any deeper.”
They spoke for a while longer, but there was nothing else Mickey could tell him about Rachel's past.
He shook Mickey's hand and they parted, Mickey walking north to the bar and Michael to his Jeep. He drove back to the office, an unsettled feeling in his gut. Mickey had a lot to say about Rachel’s past that he hadn’t told police. Police didn’t seem interested in what Mickey had to say.
Michael intended to check out anything he could find on pedophiles operating in the Bellingham area. Someone into cameras and making child porn. Mickey appeared to suggest that was who might have taken Rachel and Sadie, if anyone did.
It wasn't much, but it was something.
And it seemed to tie in directly with his double murder case...