With a single lap around the bed, Mackenzie was sure that there was nothing here that would push the case along any further. She looked elsewhere around the room the bedside tables, the dresser drawers, and the small entertainment center looking for even the smallest detail.
She saw a slight indentation in the wall, no larger than a quarter. But there was speck of blood around it. There was more blood beneath it, a slight dribble that had dried on the wall and the smallest little fleck of it on the carpet beneath the indention.
She went to the indentation in the wall and looked at it closely. It was a peculiar shape, and the fact that there was blood centered around it made her think one was the result of the other. She stood up straight and checked the small holes alignment with her body. She raised her arm slightly and bent it. In doing so, her elbow aligned with the hole almost perfectly.
What have you got? Harrison asked.
Signs of a struggle, I believe, she answered.
He joined her and took note of the indentation. Not much to go on, is it? he asked.
No, not really. But the blood makes it notable. That and the fact that this house is in pristine condition. It makes me think the killer did everything he could do hide any signs of a struggle. He almost staged the house, in a way. But this sign of a struggle could not be hidden.
She looked down at the small blood splotch on the carpet. It was faded and there were even very faint traces of red around it.
See, she said, pointing. Right there, it looks like someone tried cleaning this up. But he was either hurried or this last little bit just would not come up.
Maybe we should double-check the Kurtz house then.
Maybe, she agreed, although she felt confident that she had thoroughly looked the place over.
She stepped away from the wall and went to the enormous walk-in closet. She looked inside and saw more tidiness.
She did see the one single thing that could have been considered as messy within the entire house, though. A shirt and a pair of pants were crumpled up, pushed almost against the closet wall. She pulled the shirt away from the pants and saw that they were mens clothing perhaps the last clothes that Gerald Sterling had ever worn.
Taking a chance, she reached into each of the front pockets. In one, she found seventeen cents in change. In the other, she found a crumpled receipt. She straightened it out and saw that it was from a grocery store five days agothe last day of his life. She looked at the receipt and started to think.
How else can we discover what they did on their last days alive? Or the last week, or even month?
Harrison, in those reports, didnt the Miami PD state that they had gone through the phones of the deceased to check for any red flags?
Thats correct, Harrison said as he cautiously stepped around the bloody bed. Contacts, incoming and outgoing calls, emails, downloads, everything.
But nothing like Internet search history or anything like that?
No, not that I recall.
Placing the receipt back into the pair of jeans, Mackenzie exited the closet and then the bedroom. She headed back downstairs, aware that Harrison was following behind her.
What is it? Harrison asked.
A hunch, she said. A hope, maybe.
She walked back to the roll-top desk in the sitting area and opened it again. In the back, there was a small basket. A few pens stuck out, as did a basic single-sheet personal checkbook. If they keep a house this tidy, Id assume their checkbook is in the same condition.
She took the checkbook out and found that she was correct. The figures were kept with meticulous care. Each transaction was written very legibly and with as much detail as possible. Even ATM withdrawals were accounted for. It took her about twenty seconds to realize that this checkbook was for some sort of secondary account and not for the Sterlings primary checking. At the time of their death, the account held a little over seven thousand dollars.
She looked through the check register for anything that might give her some sort of clues but nothing jumped out at her. She did, however, see a few abbreviations that she did not recognize. Most of the transactions for these entries were for amounts of around sixty to two hundred dollars. One of the entries she did not recognize had been written out for two thousand dollars.
While nothing in the register seemed immediately curious, she remained hung up on the abbreviations and initials that she was not familiar with. She snapped a few pictures of those entries with her phone and then returned the checkbook.
You have an idea or something? Harrison asked.
Maybe, she said. Could you please get Dagney on the phone and ask her to task someone with pulling up the Sterlings financial records over the last year? Checking accounts, credit cards, even PayPal if they used it.
Absolutely, Harrison said. He instantly pulled out his phone to complete the task.
I might not mind working with him so much after all, Mackenzie thought.
She listened to him speaking with Dagney while she closed the roll-top desk and looked back toward the stairs.
Someone walked up those stairs four nights ago and killed a married couple, she thought, trying to envision it. But why? And again, why were there no signs of forced entry?
The answer was simple: Just like with the Kurtzes, the killer was invited in. And that means that they either knew who the killer was and let him in or the killer was playing a certain partacting like someone they knew or someone in need.
The theory felt flimsy but she knew there was something to it. If nothing else, it created a fragile link between the two couples.
And for now, that was enough of a connection to go on.
CHAPTER SIX
While she had been hoping to avoid speaking to the families of the recently deceased, Mackenzie found herself working her way down her to-do list faster than she had expected. After leaving the Sterlings house behind, the next natural place to go for any answers was to the closest relatives of the families. In the case of the Sterlings, their closest family was a sister that lived less than ten miles from the Kurtzes townhouse. The rest of the family lived in Alabama.
The Kurtzes, however, had plenty of family nearby. Josh Kurtz had not moved very far away from home, living within twenty miles of not only his parents, but his sister as well. And since the Miami PD had already spoken extensively with the Kurtzes earlier in the day, Mackenzie opted to check in with the sister of Julie Kurtz.
Sara Lewis seemed more than happy to meet with them, and although the news of her sisters death was less than two days old, she seemed to have accepted it as well as a twenty-two-year-old could.
Sara invited them into her house in Overtown, a quaint one-story house that was little more than a small apartment. It was decorated sparsely and held the sort of edgy silence that Mackenzie had felt in so many other houses where someone was dealing with recent loss. Sara sat on the edge of her couch, cupping a mug of tea in her hands. It was clear that she had done her fair share of crying recently; she also looked like she hadnt slept much.
I assume that if the FBI is involved, she said, that means there have been more murders?
Yes, there have, Harrison said from beside Mackenzie. She frowned briefly, wishing he had not so willingly divulged the information.
I assume that if the FBI is involved, she said, that means there have been more murders?
Yes, there have, Harrison said from beside Mackenzie. She frowned briefly, wishing he had not so willingly divulged the information.
But, Mackenzie said, interjecting before Harrison could continue, we of course cant make any solid claims about a connection without a thorough investigation. And thats why weve been called in.
Ill help however I can, Sara Lewis said. But I already answered the polices questions.
Yes, I understand, and I appreciate that, Mackenzie said. I just want to cover a few things they might have missed. For instance, do you by any chance have any idea how your sister and brother-in-law were in terms of financial standing?
It was clear that Sara thought it was a strange question but she did her best to answer nonetheless. Okay, I suppose. Josh had a good job and they really didnt spend too much money. Julie would even scold me sometimes for spending too frivolously. I mean, they certainly werent loadednot from what I know. But they did okay.
Now, their neighbor told us that Julie liked to draw. Was this just a hobby or was she making any money off of it?
More of a hobby, Julie said. She was pretty good, but she knew it wasnt anything spectacular, you know?
How about ex-boyfriends? Or maybe ex-girlfriends Josh might have had?
Julie has a few exes, but none of them took it hard. Besides that, they all live halfway across the country. I know for a fact that two of them are married. As for Josh, I dont think there were any exes in the picture. I meanhell, I dont know. They were just a really good couple. Really good together disgustingly cute in public. That sort of couple.
The visit felt too brief to end but Mackenzie had only one other route to pursue and she wasnt quite sure how to refer to it without repeating herself. She thought back to those odd entries in the Sterlings checkbook, still unable to figure them out.
Probably nothing, she thought. People keep their checkbooks differently, thats all. Still, worth looking into.
Thinking of the abbreviations she had seen in the Sterlings checkbook, Mackenzie continued on. As she opened her mouth to speak, she heard Harrisons phone vibrating in his pocket. He quickly checked it and then ignored the call. Sorry, he said.
Ignoring the disturbance, Mackenzie asked: Would you happen to know if Julie or Josh were involved with any sort of organizations or maybe even clubs or gyms? The sort of place theyd routinely pay fees to?
Julie thought about this for a moment but shook her head. Not that I know of. Like I saidthey didnt really spend a lot of money. The only monthly fee I know of that Julie had outside of bills was her Spotify account, and thats only ten bucks.
And have you been contacted by anyone like an attorney about what happens with their finances? Mackenzie asked. Im very sorry to ask, but it could be pressing.
No, not yet, she said. They were so young, I dont even know if they had drawn up a will. ShitI guess I have all of that to look forward to, dont I?
Mackenzie got to her feet, unable to answer the question. Thanks again for speaking with us, Sara. Please, if you think of anything else in regards to the questions Ive asked you, Id appreciate a call.
With that, she handed Sara a business card. Sara took it and pocketed it as she led them to the door. She wasnt being rude but it was clear that she wanted them to leave as quickly as possible.
With the door closed behind them, Mackenzie found herself standing on Saras porch with Harrison. She considered correcting him on so quickly letting Sara know that there had been more murders that could be related to the murder of her sister. But it had been an honest mistake, one that she had made once or twice when she had started off. So she let it go.
Can I ask you something? Harrison asked.
Sure, Mackenzie said.
Why were you so fixated on their finances? Did it have something to do with what you saw in the Sterlings place?
Yeah. Its just a hunch for now, but some of the transactions were
Harrisons phone started vibrating again. He scooped it out of his pocket with an embarrassed look on his face. He checked the display, nearly ignored it, but then kept it out as they walked back toward the car.
Sorry, I have to take this, he said. Its my sister. She called while we were inside, too. Which is weird.
Mackenzie didnt pay him much attention as they got into the car. She was barely even listening to Harrisons end of the conversation as he started speaking. However, by the time she had pulled back out onto the street, she could tell by his tone that something was very wrong.
When he ended the call, there was a shocked expression on his face. His bottom lip had a sort of curl to it, somewhere between a grimace and a frown.
Harrison?
My mom died this morning, he said.
Oh my God, Mackenzie said.
Heart attackjust like that. Shes
Mackenzie could tell that he was struggling not to break down in tears. He turned his head away from her, looking out of the passenger side window, and started to let it out.
Im so sorry, Harrison, she said. Lets get you back home. Ill set up the flight now. Anything else you need?
He only gave a brief shake of the head, still looking away from her as he wept a bit more openly.
Mackenzie first made a call to Quantico. She was unable to get McGrath on the phone so she left a message with his receptionist, letting her know what had happened and that Harrison would be on a flight back into DC as soon as possible. She then called the airline and grabbed the first available flight, which departed in three and a half hours.
The moment the flight was booked and she ended the call, her phone rang. Giving Harrison a sympathetic look, she answered it. It felt terrible to resort back to a work mentality after Harrisons news but she had a job to do and there were still no solid leads.
This is Agent White, she said.
Agent White, this is Officer Dagney. I thought you might want to know that we have a potential lead.
Potential? she asked.
Well, he certainly fits the profile. This is a guy that was booked on multiple home invasions, two of which included violence and sexual assault.
In the same areas as the Kurtzes and Sterlings?
Thats where it gets promising, Dagney said. One of the instances that involved sexual assault happened in the same group of townhouses the Kurtzes lived in.
Do we have an address for the guy?
Yeah. He works at an auto garage. A small one. And weve got confirmation that hes there right now. Name of Mike Nell.
Send me the address and Ill go have a talk with him. And any word on the financial records Harrison requested? Mackenzie asked.
Not yet. Weve got some guys working on it, though. Shouldnt take too long.
Mackenzie killed the call and did her best to give Harrison his moment of grief. He was no longer weeping, but was clearly having to make an effort to keep it together.
Thanks, Harrison said, wiping a stray tear away from his face.
For what? Mackenzie asked.
He shrugged. Calling McGrath and the airport. Sorry this is such a pain in the midst of the case.
Its not, she said. Harrison, Im very sorry for your loss.