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Stacy waited a moment before looking at the pictures again.
Austin leaned against the wall in one of the interrogation rooms used to take information from the public and question individuals with specific info connected with an ongoing investigation. Stacy felt a lump form in her throat when she realized the last person she had seen questioned in this room was Miguel Olivo.
Stacy stared at the blown-up color pictures of Hector Corassco, Brian Dowdy, Juan Martinez, and LeCharles Wayne. Gavin leaned against the wall on the other side of the room. He was dressed in tan slacks with a navy sports coat and a crisp white shirt. His freckled purple tie was crumpled under his arms, both of which were crossed over his chest. Gavin had remained silent, although she noticed his sharp blue eyes darting back and forth between Stacy and Austin as they spoke to one another.
“I got these headshots from some of the articles in the Houston Chronicle during the coverage of Jesse Williams’s murder trial. I blew them up as large as I could. Some of them ended up a little grainy.”
Stacy looked at the image on the far right of the row. It was Brian Dowdy. Stacy squinted and cupped her hand over the top of the page to shield the overhead lights from casting a white hue on his features.
Stacy studied the picture. He had light brown hair, but it was shaven close to the scalp and didn’t match the description of the hair that Maddox mentioned at the hospital. But when she looked closer, she saw the blue-green hue of his eyes. It reminded her of the color of water seen in the Caribbean. They were sharp and full of emotion. Stacy wondered at what point during Dowdy’s arrest or the trial was this picture taken.
“Those are the same eyes from the picture we looked at earlier,” Stacy announced. Austin came around the table and held up the picture. The color of the eyes matched.
“Those eyes are certainly distinct,” Austin said.
Stacy pointed to the pictures Chance had taken of the man facing the camera. “That’s the same outfit as the man I saw at the hospital. Dark and baggy.” She pointed down to his legs. “The sweatpants he wore at the hospital swelled out from his legs, just like in this photo.”
Gavin was restless behind them, and he finally spoke, his voice creeping into the conversation like it had been let out of a trapped space.
“Let us assume that the person at the hospital was Brian Dowdy. If he’s trying to stay in hiding, why would he risk being seen by Officer Maddox or anyone at the hospital?”
Stacy turned around to face him. “In several of those pictures, Brian is standing near Kendall, so perhaps they were friends and had a relationship.”
Gavin leaned forward, away from the wall, and walked over to the pictures. “Has any consideration been given that these two might be working together as a team on something else connected to the group?”
Stacy seemed confused by the question.
“It happens. I’ve prosecuted several cases where a group of thugs is working toward a common goal when a couple of them don’t like the way everything is going, so they break off from the main group to form their own alliance.”
Austin looked over at Gavin. “All possibilities are on the table, Counselor,” he huffed.
A knock on the door interrupted the questions.
Nate Fryson poked his head in. “Am I interrupting?”
Austin waved him in. “No, come in.”
Stacy folded her arms. “I hope this is good news.”
Nate nodded curtly. “It is.” He wore a black T-shirt and brown pants with tennis shoes. The gold shield of the Cleveland Police Department was stitched onto the tee pocket. As he turned to close the door, Stacy could see the word FORENSICS emblazoned on the back.
Nate looked at Stacy with a gaze that was direct yet meek. His small, narrow-set eyes, thin black beard, and monkish, close-cropped black hair fit the appearance of someone who worked in a laboratory most of the day. A woman was standing next to him.
“This is Karen Wexley from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.”
Gavin raised his eyebrows. “From Columbus, Ms. Wexley?”
“That’s correct,” she said. She was small, with dark hair tinged with gray, brown eyes, an olive complexion, and a tiny pockmark on her forehead.
“Nate and I did an internship together at BCI during college. He came to Cleveland. I never left.” She flashed a wide grin. Austin gave her a stern look in return as Gavin stared at the folder tucked under her arm.
Stacy introduced herself and conducted the introductions. Once they had finished, Karen refocused the conversation.
“I was able to analyze the computer found in Maria Fernandez’s house.” She spoke with an accent that reminded Stacy of someone from New York, but softer and less harsh. "She had quite an active social media life," Karen added, untucking the folder and holding it out in front of Stacy. "She did a lot of messaging with guys on a social media platform named Okay Cupid."
Stacy shook her head. “I’m not familiar with it.”
Nate pursed his lips. “It’s like Grindr or any other hookup site where people want to meet for sex. Except this site is designed for people who want to get to know each other first before they hook up."
Stacy blinked. Austin furrowed his brow while Gavin frowned.
“He’s right,” Karen added. “Maria had been talking to over forty different men using her profile. She made hundreds of calls using the dating app. Calls are their version of messages.”
Stacy broke the spine of the folder and flipped through the pages. “Was her profile real, or was she catfishing other people?”
Karen and Nate exchanged a look. “No, it was hers. I printed off the conversations that she’d been having with a CleveGuy2001.”
Austin broke in. “Colton DeVito.”
Karen brightened. “Yes. They’d been talking to each other for several months when the chatting stopped about a week ago.”
Austin walked over to Stacy and peered over her shoulder. “That’s what we thought.”
“I didn’t read the messages closely, but there is some discussion between Maria Hernandez and CleveGuy2001 about meeting in person.”
Gavin walked closer to Stacy and peered over her shoulder. “That must be when they scheduled his visit back to Cleveland.”
Karen folded her arms and set her jaw. “There’s a lot of messages between the two, and I imagine any questions you might have about their relationship will be addressed in them.”
Austin let out a breath and took the folder from Stacy. “I’d better get on it.”
Karen held up a finger. “There’s something else, Detective Cerrera.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
She and Nate exchanged a look. “In addition to the messages between Maria and this CleveGuy2001, there are many messages with another person. Deckhand1801.”
Stacy gave the woman a hard look. “And?”
“The HTML inscription behind that screen name was hard to decode. This person was skilled at hiding his personal information.” Karen pointed to the folder. "I wasn't sure if this person was important to the case, but he had the most messages sent to Maria outside of CleveGuy.”
Austin flipped through the pages until he reached the backside of the folder. When he read the name, his face paled. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them up, staring at Stacy and Gavin with dismay.
“Deckhand1801 is Brian Dowdy.”