Chapter 29

Chad Wilson

Friday

“Of course, this is why there was no flour on Anna’s body, because he kidnapped her after he stopped going to work. Wait, the sketch doesn’t look like the photo and they didn’t recognise him,” said Maggie. “

“It’s an old photo. I wouldn’t have guessed they were the same person.” He held up the photo and the sketch. “See the nose is wrong. Different face shapes. Maybe he’s had his face altered.”

“Didn’t Jenkins say that the manager and girl couldn’t agree when they described him?”

“Yeah, that could explain the differences. Maybe if I’d shown Chelsea...”

“Don’t beat yourself up.”

“We should go back to the bakery to find out about a vehicle and show them a photo,” Maggie suggested. “We should check at the café too.”

“If only I’d thought of this yesterday. We could have been onto this sooner. It should have clicked when we were going over the notes, but with everything going on .... I have to be more focused than this.”

“I missed it too, partner. Even if we could have been sure they were the same person, we have no clue where he lives. They still may not be the same guy.”

“After we’ve been to the bakery and café, if our suspicions are correct, I’ll call Peterson and Stewart to let them know that Wesley is Chad, just in case they come across him while doing their door-to-door, and they can ask the neighbours about both names.”

“Good idea. We haven’t briefed them on our updates yet.

The same assistant was at Ben’s Bakery when they arrived.

“Hello Detectives,” she said after they walked in. “How can I help you?”

“We just need to ask you a couple of questions about Chad Wilson,” Maggie began.

“Sure go ahead.”

“Do you recognise this man?” she asked showing her a photo of Wesley.

“It looks a little like Chad, I think.” She looked closely at the photo for a moment. “He looks younger there but it could be him.”

“Did you ever hear him referred to as, or use the name, Wesley Robinson?” Maggie said.

“Not that I remember.”

“I assume no employment records have turned up?” Lucas asked.

“No.”

“Do you know what type of car he drove?”

“Yeah, a dark blue sedan, um, a Ford, I think.”

“Are there any other details about the car that you can recall?” Maggie said.

“No, I don’t remember the registration number or anything. I just remember the car because I’d seen him arrive in it and thought it was a nice car.”

“Don’t you remember anything else about him?” Lucas demanded impatiently.

“No, I don’t.” She glared at him.

“That’s okay. If you think of anything else give us a call. Thank you for your time,” Maggie said.

“Sure thing.”

“Take it easy, Lucas,” Maggie said once they were outside. “We need all the information we can get and being rude is not going to get us anywhere. I know you’re worried about Chelsea but you have to stay cool.”

He nodded. “I know, I’ll try and keep my emotions in check.”

“Good”

They went into the café and were fortunate enough to find the waitress who informed Maggie about Chad. She had the same ‘could be him’ recognition as the bakery assistant towards Wesley’s photo but didn’t know what type of car he drove. She thought he’d always walked to the cafe and couldn’t recall ever seeing him in a car.

As they were driving back to the precinct, a call came over the radio from a uniform who’d found a car parked outside an abandoned building. The officer called in the registration number, its description and its location.

“That street runs behind Chelsea’s house and it’s the kind of car we’re looking for,” Lucas said.

They waited for the dispatcher to come back with the findings and she told the officer the vehicle was reported stolen three weeks prior. The officer said he would have the car brought to the impound lot.

Maggie jumped on the radio and advised the officer the car could be part of a murder investigation and it needed to be checked for evidence. The officer said he would make sure it was organised for them.

“Could he have been this close to her all along?” Maggie asked him.

It’s like he knows when I’m home.

Lucas cursed.

“What?”

“Chelsea told me when the calls came in she’d been just leaving or just getting home. He also called once when she would normally be at the shop. She said it was like he knew when she was home. I assumed he was stalking her and was making the calls from the pre-paid phone while watching the house. It never occurred to me that he could see her from where he lived.”

“Didn’t Peterson and Stewart canvass all the houses on her street?’

“Yes, but there were a couple of houses where no-one answered. I’ll ring Peterson now. They are closer than us. They can check the building then canvas the street where the car has just been found. Chelsea’s house has windows front and back, so it’s possible he was living behind her.”

“And we can check the other houses on her street.”

The first house they stopped at was down the road from Chelsea’s and seemed unlikely as a possibility due to its location. Her house was only partially visible but anything was worth a try. The lady living in the house hadn’t seen anything and didn’t know Chelsea or Elle. She also didn’t recognise Wesley Robinson’s photo.

They knocked on the door of the second house directly across the road from Chelsea’s and next door to the last house they needed to visit.

A short, blond lady answered the door.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“We hope you can, Ma’am. I’m Detective Johnson and this is Detective Hudson. We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about your neighbours across the street.”

“Oh yes, Chelsea and Elle. Very tragic what happened to her.”

“You knew Elle?”

“Only to say hello or wave. Chelsea too.”

“Chelsea was kidnapped last night by the man we think killed Elle.”

“Oh dear that’s terrible! She seems like such a lovely girl.”

“She is,” said Lucas. “Were you home last night, Ma’am?”

“No, I’m a doctor at the local hospital and I work long hours. I was on call last night and was at the hospital from around five until about one this morning. My name is Helen, by the way.”

“We’re sorry to disturb you so early, Helen, but we’re trying to find Chelsea,” Maggie said.

“That’s ok. Please ask me what you need to.”

“As you weren’t home you probably can’t help us with what occurred last night, but the weekend that Elle went missing did you see anything?" Maggie asked. "That was the weekend before last.”

“No, I’m sorry, I’m not going to be much help there either. I actually had the weekend off so I went to visit my sister and was gone from Friday night till Sunday night.”

“Do you know anything about the person who lives next door?” Lucas asked her pointing to the neighbour on her left.

“No not really. He lives there alone as far as I know. He must be a shift worker like me as I have seen him leave the house at odd times during the night. I remember because I found it strange that he sometimes went out on foot in the middle of the night and didn’t use a car.”

“What does he look like?” Lucas asked her with urgency.

“Um, he has dark hair and is medium height. The few times I’ve seen him he was wearing a baseball cap so I couldn’t really see his face. He seems to keep to himself and he’s quiet.”

“Have you ever seen him bring any women to the house?” Lucas asked.

“Once, she was a pretty little thing with dark hair.”

“Do these photos look like any of the girls he brought here?” Maggie asked showing her photos of the four brunette victims.

“Um, it could have been but they all look quite alike don’t they. I didn’t get that good a look, I’m afraid, but it’s possible.”

“When was this?”

“Um, last week sometime. May have been Wednesday of last week but I can’t be certain.”

“Do you recognise this man?” Maggie asked, showing Wesley’s photo.

“He looks familiar.”

“Could he be the man living next door?”

“Well the hair colour is wrong and I haven’t ever really seen his face properly.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us about him?”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“Do you know if he is home at the moment?”

“I don’t know.”

“Thank you for your help, Helen,” Maggie said and handed her a business card. “If you think of anything, no matter how small, please give me a call.”

“I will. Have a nice day, Detectives.”

“Is it possible he lives right there?” Lucas said.

“It’s possible but the description doesn’t match.”

“Even if he’s not our man, he may have seen something.”

They knocked on the door and got no response. Lucas walked around to the back of the house, checking all the windows as he went, but the blinds were all down. At the back of the house was an alley which could easily be used as a service road to the garage, also in the rear. If someone wanted to get in and out undetected, they could.

He came back around the front and there was still no response at the front door. Maggie saw the look on Lucas’ face and knew what he was thinking.

“You can’t go in there, Lucas. We don’t have probable cause and if it’s not the right house, you’ll have a serious problem.”

“But what if it is, Maggie? She needs me and she could be right here.”

He took a step forward and Maggie grabbed his arm

“We’ll continue looking, try to find a reason to go in there or we just have to wait for him to be at home.”

“How can I wait?” He shrugged off her arm.

“Lucas, if you go in there and you’re wrong, you could be taken off the case. You won’t be able to help her at all if that happens. Think about it.”

He frowned. His eyes went between Maggie and the door until they finally came to rest on her. “Fine, you’re right. I’m just going out of my mind.”

As they got back into the car Maggie called Peterson to discover the abandoned building, where the car was found, had been searched and was empty. They were also part way through canvassing the street so, Lucas and Maggie went to give them a hand.

After making no headway with their interviews, they tried the house on Chelsea’s street again and there was still no response. Peterson and Stewart left for the evening and would continue with their interviews in the morning. Two detectives were assigned to stay on the house and watch for any movement. They would also keep knocking until they got an answer, in case he arrived home through the back. Lucas and Maggie went back to the station, they needed to start again.