Page 63 of Murder on the Boardwalk

“That’s about the size of it,” Brent returned.

“Wait a minute,” Birk stated, getting out of his chair to approach the whiteboard. “Jade caught me up on everything, including your theory about this Pellico woman. But if you’re trying to tell me a decorated marine went on a kidnapping and murder rampage with this Canadian, I’m not buying it.”

“Neither am I,” Beckett echoed. “Isn’t it more likely that Russell Miller became one of Katharine’s early victims? Besides that, it doesn’t mean Miller walked out on his own.”

Brogan went over her notes. “We know Ellen Pierson disappeared from Lebanon, New Hampshire, on December 31st. And David Campbell, the Syracuse student, two weeks into the new year. Let’s say around January 14th. Could Katharine have pulled off those two abductions and still been around for Miller to go missing on the 17th? How far is Portland, Maine, from Lebanon, New Hampshire?”

“Two and half hours separate the two,” Kelly said, staring at her phone. “Katharine could’ve doubled back to Portland and nabbed the marine. I say it’s possible.”

Brogan exchanged looks with Lucien. “I’m putting this on the table for discussion. Please don’t yell at me. But ask yourself one question. Why would Katharine Pellico keep a dead guy’s remains around when all she had to do was dump the body on a roadside somewhere between Maine and California? That’s a long trip, guys. She made all these other people disappear, including two teenagers. Even the Maine lumber heiress was never found. So why not make Russell Miller disappear, along with everyone else? Miller had to be Katharine’s partner in crime. If not that, then let’s discuss why Miller was so special that she brought him with her to Pelican Pointe.”

Jade chewed her lip. “Good point, but remember, Miller was injured, recovering from a chest wound. That’s a serious recovery. His injuries might have precluded him from participating in any of the abductions, let alone Katharine’s trail of violence. Plus, if Miller was the accomplice, then why didn’t we find his driver’s license in the box?”

“Or his dog tags,” Beckett tossed out. “Why wasn’t something belonging to Miller found in Katharine’s metal keepsake box? And is it just a coincidence that Russell Miller was a medic, and we found the Army medical box buried in Katharine’s backyard? What about that?”

“All good points,” Brogan conceded. “But it doesn’t explain why she brought his remains here.”

“The problem is there’s no proof this guy was her accomplice, not a single thing to make that case,” Kelly interjected. “And I should point out that he did end up in Katharine’s bedroom, preserved in a hope chest of all things. Why would she do that? It’s creepy behavior any way you look at it.”

Lucien nodded. “If you want to connect Miller to Katharine’s kidnappings, then you’ll need to find a direct connection to him. I’m willing to keep an open mind about it. I mean, did Katharine know Miller before he went into the service? That would be a connection. Did she visit him at the VA hospital and talk him into leaving on his own? Were they lovers before Miller entered the service? That might explain a few things. The connection is the key.”

“Agreed,” Birk muttered. “If you can’t find that one link, I’m not buying that Miller kidnapped people at Katharine’s behest.”

“Exactly,” Beckett spit out. “But I will grant you the proximity to where the Winterborne kidnapping occurred in Orono, Maine, and the Pierson disappearance in New Lebanon is more than a coincidence.”

“Guys,” Brent bellowed over the discussion. “Look at the timeline. Talia’s kidnapping took place on December 6, 1968. Miller wasn’t even in the States until January 1969. He couldn’t have been part of abducting the lumber heiress. We need to start thinking that maybe Katharine committed all these crimes on her own.”

“Unless the military has the dates wrong.” Brogan huffed out a sigh. “It wouldn’t be the first time the Army made a mistake in their recordkeeping. There are no easy answers to this. I’ll grant you that. None. The timeline doesn’t even make sense.”

Brent leaned back in his chair. “What doesn’t make sense is that Katharine Pellico lived as Vera Lockhart for almost fifty years in Pelican Pointe. And during all that time, no one knew what a psychopath she was.”

Colt Del Rio and Eastlyn Parker traded glances. But it was Eastlyn who said what they were both thinking. “That’s what makes this job so dangerous. You never take anything for granted when you’re answering a call. That little ol’ lady might seem harmless enough, but the truth is she could have a violent streak you know nothing about.”

Brent looked at Colt. “Go ahead and tell them your other news.”

“It was a joint effort. Eastlyn and I tracked down the buyer of the shoes. When the results from San Sebastian turned up nothing, we widened our search to Santa Cruz. It seemed the logical next step since Santa Cruz is so much bigger. The man who bought the fancy pair of Nikes was a guy named Samuel James Brownlee.”

“Who’s Samuel James Brownlee?” Lucien asked.

Brent rubbed the side of his jaw. “Well, it’s interesting. Sam Brownlee is a young man employed by the commercial real estate firm known as Marshall Companies.”

“A link to Dennis Marshall,” Lucien said, pumping his fist. “I knew it.”

Brent held up a hand. “The thing is, Colt and Eastlyn talked to this guy. Brownlee claims that Dennis Marshall paid him to try and scare you guys off the Gidget case. However, when presented with the shoe evidence, Marshall lawyered up and hung Brownlee out to dry.”

Eastlyn locked her fingers together and leaned forward. “But we’ve got Brownlee on several counts of trespassing, vandalism, defacing private property, and making criminal threats to another person’s safety.”

“So he’ll get a slap on the wrist,” Brogan realized.

Eastlyn smiled. “Not so fast. You might want to tell him that. He’s in a cell in the back as we speak for the assault on Jade. But he says he can’t make bail.”

“Good news,” Brogan highlighted. “But what about Marshall?”

“We’re working on indicting Marshall for hiring Brownlee to do his dirty work for him,” Brent explained. “The county attorney is reviewing the penal codes looking for exactly what to charge him with.”

“Why would Marshall hijack the investigation like that if he wasn’t guilty of killing Gidget?” Lucien prompted.

“Good question. But since he’s lawyered up, we’ll likely have to wait for the feedback from the county attorney to find out more.”

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