Page 268 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

They needed something concrete on Parsons. He rubbed his eyes as he sorted through evidence boxes looking for anything that would get them the warrants they needed. It felt like the walls were closing in on him.

The box on his desk contained the few items obtained in the missing persons investigation of Mary Van Britton. She’d beenreported missing on July 11, 2016. The last person to see her was an evening security guard at the courthouse. She was seen leaving the office at 7:00 p.m. on July 8th. There was home security video showing she made it home and left the house around 8:30 p.m.

What they didn’t know was where she went, or why she’d left home that evening. He needed to talk through the evidence. He found Jamie in the break room. “Want to setup a murder board with me?”

Her eyes lit. He found her obsession with organization strange, but her fastidiousness helped them catch criminals more frequently than he cared to admit. After pouring himself a coffee, he grabbed the files they had for each of the victims and ambled over to the large whiteboard which covered a good portion of the south wall of the station. They taped pictures of Stacy McGuire, Lorraine Moore, Amanda Curtis, Genevieve Adams, and Mary Van Britton up on the board, then listed their known whereabouts on the days leading up to their disappearances.

Jamie stared at the board. “I don’t see an overlap. They all shopped at different stores. McGuire lived a peaceful life as an accountant. Her office was in her home. Moore traveled around visiting farms for her job. Van Britton spent her days in a courthouse. It’s possible the judge and Genevieve Adams have a connection since Adams was a lawyer, but for the most part, these women couldn’t be more different.”

“Except that they are all career women,” he said. “They’re brunettes of similar size and stature. So, the similarities are age, looks, and careers. None of them were housewives or stay-at-home moms.”

“That gives us the killer’s type, but it doesn’t tell us where he’s meeting them.” Jamie pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Nor does it give us his motive.”

“Do you have notes on the clothing and jewelry the victims were wearing when their bodies were recovered?” he asked.

She rifled through her briefcase and produced a notebook. “All of them were wearing a simple black sheath dress. No frills. He most likely purchased the dresses himself. We’ll have to follow up on brand and see if we can identify where he might have bought them.

“No jewelry was found with Van Britton, a rose gold watch was found with McGuire’s body, and Moore was wearing a diamond-studded cross. From what her stepson said, I doubt she was wearing it when she left home, unless she had a date before her flight.”

“You might be onto something. Let’s look through dating profiles on the popular apps and see if we can find profiles for any of these women.” He gestured to the crime board.

“I’ll print out a list of sites and we can split them down the middle.”

“Works for me.” Wade smiled.

A few hours later they were back at the murder board and Wade added details he’d found on the judge’s dating life. “The judge had profiles on two of the sites I checked.”

“I found her on one, too.” Jamie tapped her pencil eraser on the desk closest to her. “Van Britton didn’t mention her occupation in the profile.”

“Same with the ones I found.”

“That’s strange. Don’t ya think?” Jamie asked.

“Maybe she was afraid her career would intimidate potential suitors?”

“It’s certainly possible.”

“We can try to get a warrant for the records from the dating websites, but it’s a long shot,” Wade said.

“Let’s check her computer. We have it in evidence from her missing person’s case.”

“If she stored her passwords that may work. That’s if we can login to begin with,” he said.

“A big if,” Jamie said.

Wade studiedMary Van Britton’s profile on ForeverTogether.com. He’d been surprised by how easily Jamie had guessed the judge’s computer password.

“Click there so we can see her matches.”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “Do you want to do this yourself?”

“No. You’ve got it.”

“Then back off, buster.” She elbowed him in the ribs, and he took a step back.

“Ouch.”

“You’re a big baby.” The screen loaded three matches from the week before she disappeared. “Isn’t that McGuire’s boyfriend? Lester? The one with the enormous boat and a cooler large enough to store a human body?” Wade asked.

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