the information JJ had relayed. “Plus, I need you to track down anyone Collins previously partnered with. And send me the link to your notes. We need to read through them again.”
“Sure thing, boss. I’ll call you back in a bit.”
Brantley disconnected the video call, got up to pace the floor.
“We need to talk to the officers who answered these calls, the ones who went to the houses. I want to know why they were sent instead of a detective.”
Reese sat on the edge of the bed. “What I want to know is, how did Collins get assigned to all of these cases? Was it by chance? Rotation? From what the families said, they called in to report the women missing. Considering how overworked Collins says he is, how did he end up with Jody Henderson’s case?”
“Wait.” Brantley stopped moving. “You said the families reported them missing?”
“Correct. All four of their families confirmed that.”
“So who found the cell phones and headphones at the lake?”
Reese’s eyebrow lifted as he stood. “Good question.”
Brantley resumed pacing when Reese took a seat at the small desk and began typing something on the computer.
“Jody Henderson’s husband said he went lookin’ for her,” Brantley said, recalling what Trey had told him. “Did he find the cell phone?”
“Collins doesn’t have any notes regarding who found them, but he does reference that they have them in evidence.”
“That doesn’t make any damn sense. Either he’s a shitty detective”—he turned to look at Reese—“or he’s coverin’ somethin’ up.”
“Or both,” Reese muttered.
“I want to see them.” Brantley wasn’t sure what they would tell him, but he needed to see those damn cell phones for himself.
“Right now?”
“Why the hell not?”
They were in the SUV heading back to the Northeast substation ten minutes later. While Brantley drove, his mind churned through the information. He was vaguely aware of Reese talking on the phone with JJ.
How the hell did they have cell phones and headphones when the families were the ones to report the women missing? Who knew to go look there? They knew in Jody Henderson’s case that she had been jogging, because her husband informed them of that. Had the other women’s families said the same? Was an overall grid search done? That could’ve been how they found the phones, only Brantley didn’t recall seeing any information regarding a search.
“We need to ask Mr. Henderson specifically where on the trail that he looked for her. The crime scene tech said the phone hadn’t been there during their initial search. I wanna know if Mr. Henderson looked in the same place.”
He realized he was talking to himself when he glanced over to see Reese was still on the phone.
Then he got an idea.
Brantley tapped Reese on the shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Tell JJ to send us a picture of the detective.”
Reese relayed that information, then glanced back at him. “Why?”
“Because we’re goin’ to talk to Mr. Henderson ourselves. I want to know if he’s seen Detective Collins before.”
He wasn’t sure why he had a hunch the detective and the officer who went out to the house were one and the same, but he did. The question was, why would he do that? Why pretend to be an officer versus the detective assigned to the case? Yeah, it sounded a little crazy when he thought about it that way, but now that the thought was planted in his brain, he couldn’t seem to shake it.
“I need directions,” he told Reese. “Now.”
Reese ended the call with JJ and used his phone to pull up the map. The automated voice began telling him where to go, so he followed dutifully until they’d made it to the Henderson residence. He parked on the street, glanced up at the house. It was lit up like the surface of the sun, so he had to assume they were still awake. It was nineteen thirty, so he hoped it was still early enough for a house call. With so many kids, he had no idea when they went to bed.
Brantley glanced around as they made their way to the porch, smiling when he remembered reading Baz’s notes and the reference to the shrubbery being neatly cut. The guy didn’t miss a detail.
On the porch, Brantley knocked on the door, then rang the doorbell for good measure, silently apologizing if he was waking a sleeping baby. He stepped back to stand beside Reese, hearing footsteps and chatter coming from inside. When the door opened, a young girl appeared. Probably somewhere around ten or so, Brantley