Ben said, “I’ve gotten to know Detective Shanks very well. He’s a good guy, Nora. I know he wants to have something concrete before he contacts Berkeley.”
Nora said, “You’re defending him.”
“He’s all I have.”
“Touché.” Nora smiled sadly. “Let me tell you what my detectives have found.” She leaned forward. “An unknown DNA male profile and a partial profile from another male. Most of the citizens in Berkeley and the environs offered samples. I would welcome a new profile to test them against.”
“Two profiles?”
“One profile was taken from material under her fingernails: the killer. The second profile was taken off her clothes. It wasn’t blood, it was sweat. My daughter was out jogging. It was a warm day. She could have bumped into another sweaty jogger. We don’t know.”
“This is different. I’ll talk to Shanks.”
Nora put down her saucer and picked up a notepad. “I appreciate your detective’s sensitivity, but I don’t care about being disappointed. I only care about results. If the River Remez PD has a profile, please tell them to get in touch with Berkeley.”
“I’ll make a call. It would help if you told the Berkeley PD about the latest development. Means much more coming from you than from me.”
“I will call Derek Whitecliffe as soon as we’re done. From your comments, I found your sister’s grave eerily similar to my daughter’s—the fact that it was meticulously dug. What about Katie Doogan’s grave?”
“The same.”
Her exhale was one of frustration. “What is wrong with law enforcement that they can’t coordinate?”
Ben answered, sounding more like Shanks than he would care to admit, “I suppose we’re just working on our one case and they’re working on a lot of them.”
“Why? What’s the crime rate in River Remez?”
“Practically nothing. But in Santa Fe and especially in Albuquerque where Katie Doogan lived, it’s pretty high. New Mexico is home to a lot of bad guys. It’s a good refuge for men on the run.”
“We’re not doing too much better,” Nora said. “I think Oakland has one of the highest crime rates in the country.” A sigh. “Maybe I should be more patient.” She looked at Ben. “I’m not a patient person.”
“Ben has enough patience for all of us,” Ro told her. “He’s prudent, patient, and meticulous.”
“A good person to have on our side.” Nora’s eyes teared up.
Ben looked down. “I’m sorry if this is too personal—”
“Oh please,” Nora said. “What’s your question?”
“I walked the area yesterday where Julia was found. It’s pretty far from here.”
“You walked in Mount Diablo?”
“Yes, ma’am. I wanted to see how similar it was to where my sister was found.”
“And?”
“It’s similar. Wooded area in a national park, very isolated, and in the backcountry, as we call it. The spot was far away from the trail and near running water.”
“That’s important?”
“In my mind. I think the streams gave the killer a guide to where he had dug his grave.”
“Do you think he dug the grave beforehand?”
“He had to have done it beforehand. To be that precise, it was planned.” Nora said nothing. Ben said, “The spot is about twenty miles from here.”
“He definitely took her to that dreaded ‘second location.’”
“I know that on the day she disappeared, she was jogging near here.”
Nora looked away. “Would you like me to show you where? It’s a bit of a climb.”
“We’re both excellent walkers.” Ro got up. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“You’re welcome. Hold on a minute.”
Nora disappeared, then she came back a moment later with some fresh roses from the garden. “Let’s go.”
It wasn’t a sheer vertical drop, but the walk was steep. They seemed to be climbing up hundreds of tiny, moss-covered steps. When they got to the top, even this close to sea level, Ro was winded—unlike Ben, who never seemed to get out of breath. At the top of the stairs was a gravel trail that cut through a woodsy area of pine and brush. Ben’s eyes scanned the area like two radar beams, his head swiveling around like a camera panning over a movie scene. Nora, on the other hand, marched forward oblivious to the surroundings. Ro vacillated between the two of them: keeping up with Nora while pulling Ben along. The day held beautiful weather and the path was filled with people—walking, speed walking, and jogging. As Ro tugged at Ben’s hand, she had to twist and turn to avoid moving bodies. It was easy to see how people could bump into one another. The path was narrow but lit by sunshine. It certainly wasn’t hidden.
Nora suddenly veered off course, leaving the trail and bushwacking her way through brush and trees. The area became darker and spooky with shadows where someone could lie in wait. The ground underneath was soft and giving. There were piles of pine needles. Ro was wearing rubber-soled boots, definitely not hiking shoes. Ben fared much better in his high-tops.
Nora came to an abrupt halt near a pine tree that looked like any other pine tree. Her eyes went wet. “They found one of her sneakers here.” She bent down and squatted, gently caressing the ground. “Right . . . here.” She placed the roses from her garden at the spot and stood up. “I always say a little prayer when I come.”
Nora closed her eyes and then opened them a moment later. She said, “What do you think?”
Ben was quiet, looking over the surroundings. It took a few moments before he spoke. “Where’s the nearest road?”
“Spoken like a true detective,” Nora said. “It’s down about a hundred feet down. He probably knocked her out and dragged her to his car. If there were two of them, it wouldn’t be that hard to overcome her.”
“Does Detective Whitecliffe really suspect two men? That might redefine my way of thinking.”
“You’ll have to ask him. I’ll tell him to expect your call.”
“Thanks.” A pause. “Did the detectives find any drag marks in the brush?”
“I don’t think so. She may have been walking at this point and just lost her footing and a shoe. Or if there were two of them, they could have carried her down.”
Vicks nodded.
“You don’t think so?”
“No, it makes sense . . . to let gravity work for you.”
“Meaning?”
“It’s easier to go down than up. Did you find any other items belonging to your daughter other than the sneaker?”
“No. Nothing. And the police looked.”
“Huh.” Ben thought a moment. “Can you show me the quickest way down to the road?”
“Of course.”
It took a few minutes until they reached an unpaved utility pathway that was camouflaged by trees and brush. Ben said, “Where does this connect to?”
“If you follow it for about three hundred feet, it connects to a paved road. You want to see?”
“Sure . . . in a minute.” He looked at her. “Did they find tire tracks?” When Nora didn’t answer, Ben said, “If they had a car here, there would have been tire tracks. Look how loose the gravel is.”
Nora pulled out her smartphone. “I’ll make a note to ask Derek about it.”
“Can I see where this leads?” Ben asked.