“But it was when Ms. Wagner kidnapped me that you had what you really needed for a warrant.”
“Correct,” Brian said. “She made statements to both you and Ms. Merritt that implicated her in multiple felonies. Unfortunately, she was shot and killed while attempting to kill you and Ms. Merritt.”
“I’m a forensics student,” Lucas said, “and I am more comfortable with the science than with other investigative techniques. Would you have been able to get a warrant to search Wagner’s house without her decision to kidnap me?”
“Yes, based on Ms. Bergamo’s statement, I would have been able to get a warrant. Even before then, the DA was looking at precedents to admit Candace’s journal into evidence for the purpose of a warrant. That was in the works when Ms. Wagner decided to set the chemical bomb and kidnap you.”
“There is some question that the initial police investigation was compromised because Ms. Wagner was dating the detective in charge. A media report—which I didn’t comment on—wrote about it this morning.”
“The official statement of Flagstaff Police Department is that the Candace Swain investigation is being reviewed for compliance with departmental policy, but to date, all procedures were followed. But my own unofficial analysis is that the detective who was in charge had done everything he could with the evidence he had available to him. An investigation is only as good as the evidence we can find, and in this case the delay in the state lab coupled with false statements by Ms. Wagner and Ms. James contributed to the faulty investigation. We are currently reviewing our process of working with NAUPD and the state lab on any future investigations, including how we retain and use security footage.”
“One more question, Detective Hernandez. You have been looking into the past of Rachel Wagner and the death of another Sigma Rho college student, some years ago, at the University of Arizona. Can you share what you know?”
“We’re working with the Tucson Police Department in a joint investigation, but a sorority sister went missing near the end of her sophomore year of college. Her name was Brittney Posner. Her body was found off campus over a year later, at the bottom of a cliff near a trail on Mount Lemmon. The Tucson police investigated the disappearance and interviewed several people in the sorority, including Rachel Wagner—the victim’s roommate. Ms. Wagner gave conflicting statements, but the police found no physical evidence tying her to the victim’s disappearance. When her body was found, they again questioned Ms. Wagner and again found no probable cause—but she remained a person of interest. The main issue was that two autopsies conflicted. The first said cause of death was indeterminate, that they couldn’t confirm whether she’d died from the fall or was already dead when she fell. A second autopsy suggested that she died from the fall itself. Tox screens were done, but many drugs don’t last in the body over time, and when found the body was in such an advanced state of decomposition, many of the tests were inconclusive.
“We’re now helping to revisit the case, and based on some documents we found in Ms. Wagner’s residence, we believe she may have been involved. I can’t say more right now but hope to have a full report shortly.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to share that report with my listeners on my final podcast episode in two weeks.”
“If I can, I will.”
“Thank you for your time, Detective.”
Lucas cut off the call and said, “One accidental death six and a half years ago spiraled out of control, resulting in the deaths of three other people—and the attempted murder of three more. Why? Why did Rachel Wagner go to these lengths to protect her reputation? How did she manipulate people into helping her? Those are answers I don’t have. On Friday, I’ll be interviewing Professor Henry Clarkson of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department and Dr. Edith Vlansky, a forensic psychiatrist and honorary professor here at NAU. Maybe between them, we’ll find answers.
“But even if we have answers as to why, that doesn’t discount the lives lost. We have answers, and we might have justice, even though Rachel Wagner was killed and families won’t be able to face her in court. But do we have closure?
“I don’t know. What is closure, anyway? People we care about are still gone. Justice may be served, but justice doesn’t fill the hole in the hearts of those who loved Candace and Adele.
“The Swain family and the Overton family know what happened to their daughters, but they may not be at peace. Yet, this is all that we can do. Sometimes, it has to be enough.”
Lucas caught Lizzy’s eye. She nodded to him, and he nodded back. “I’m going to end with one final thought. In her journal, Candace quoted Martin Luther King Jr. He said, ‘It’s always the right time to do the right thing.’ Candace died by that motto, but she didn’t die in vain.”
Acknowledgments
Sixteen years ago, my first book was released into the world. Now, forty books later, I feel so blessed that I can continue to do what I love—write stories that entertain.
My early books I wrote without much thought about research—largely because when I asked questions, people would look at me oddly (i.e., How can I disable a car? What poison will immobilize a person but not kill them?) Everything I learned then I learned from books.