Now it was the editors who went silent for a long moment.
Stay near your phone, Chuck said. Well get back to you.
Kate hung up, cupped her hands to her face, then got busy. She went online and sent Grace an email of a picture of bighorn sheep shed seen in the mountains. She checked flights again. After shed started packing, her room phone rang.
It was Chuck.
Youre on the story. Get to Syracuse tonight and touch base with the bureau and go with our bureau photographer to Rampart in the morning for the news conference.
Okay.
What can you give us thats exclusive?
That it appears that my sister may have survived her crash and was abducted from Canada to become a victim in Rampart. I have elements that point to that scenario.
Chuck took a second to absorb that.
All right, I want you to file a setup piece that includes that exclusive angle.
Do you want it first person?
No, write it news style and well attach a disclosure disclaimer to your piece, clearly stating your relationship. Well do it with anything you write thats relevant to the case.
All right.
I want it by 5:00 p.m., New York time, today. Looks like you can fly from Calgary to Chicago with a connection to Syracuse. You can write on the plane and file from OHare, if you dont have Wi-Fi in the air. Well cover all costs as you now are officially on assignment.
Thank you, Chuck.
If you screw up, Kate, its your job.
I know.
And mine.
23
Rampart, New York
I just finished reading your story, Kate. Its incredible.
Jay Raney, Newsleads chief photographer at the Syracuse bureau, pocketed his phone and introduced himself to Kate in her motel lobby. He was a soft-spoken man in his late thirties with a few-days-growth beard. As he helped her with her bags and led her to his Ford Escape, she contended with her overriding fear about her sister.
Were the newly discovered human remains Vanessas?
Was today the day shed find the truth?
They headed north on Interstate 81 for Rampart and that mornings news conference. After some small talk-theyd discovered they had mutual news friends in Ohio and California-things fell quiet and Kate worked as the miles rushed under them.
Her flight back had been smooth. Shed slept well and was energized after talking with Grace on the phone earlier, before Raney arrived. Now, with farmland flashing by her window, Kate concentrated on her laptop, starting with a message from Chuck.
Pickup of your story was very strong, he had said. Keep us out front.
Scrolling through the rest of her messages, Kate came to a new one from Elliott Searle, the retired Mountie.
With regard to the partial plate, look for an article in one of the Denver papers, within a month of TDMs disappearance. It mentions the plate.
Kate began searching the databases for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. The Rocky had folded in 2009, but its stories were archived. Each paper had small wire items about Tara Dawn Mae and the search for a missing Canadian girl, but none mentioned the plate.
She responded to Searle. Cant find it. Maybe youre unclear. If you have the article, why not just give it to me?
At the time, the information in the article was leaked by US law enforcement and ruffled some feathers up here. The storys there. Keep looking. You have to find it.
It was frustrating that some cops were so weird that way. Kate knew they didnt want to be accused of giving out anything contained in case files but would point you to public information. She continued searching before asking Newsleads news library for help, just as her phone chimed with a text from Reeka. Well need to see your story within an hour of the news conference ending. The sooner the better.
Kate rolled her eyes, replying with, Okay. Thank you.
After theyd arrived in Rampart, Raney drove them to the town hall where the news conference was to be held.
They got there twenty minutes before things were to start. The parking lot and street were filled with TV trucks and news cars from Watertown, Rochester and Syracuse; radio stations from Plattsburgh and Potsdam; newspapers from Ogdensburg and Massena.
I bet AP, Reuters and Bloomberg have people here, maybe even the Post and Daily News, too. Raney grabbed his gear from the back.
Inside, they showed their credentials to a man at the reception area. He slid a clipboard to them.
Sign in, then go to the right, end of the hall.
About two dozen news people, along with a dozen or so police types were in a large meeting room. TV cameras on tripods lined the back like a firing squad as operators made adjustments. Local reporters in folding chairs gossiped; others talked on phones or were making notes.
At the front of the room, four solemn-faced men took their places at a table heaped with recorders and microphones with station flags. To the right was a tack board bearing enlarged photographs of Carl Nelson, John Charles Pollard, Bethany Ann Wynn and Tara Dawn Mae, from the time shed vanished.
Staring into Tara Dawns face jolted Kate.
Thats Vanessa up there. Now, after what Ive learned, I believe in my heart thats her. All these yearsstopyou dont know that she died here
As Kate grappled with her anguish and anger she spotted Detective Ed Brennan standing against the wall with his partner. Brennan gave her a slight nod and she tightened her hold on her pen.
Is everybody ready? One of the men at the table spoke, allowing for several reporters to approach them and switch on their recorders.
Thank you for coming, especially those from out of town. Im Captain Dan Kennedy, with the Rampart PD. We lead this investigation and were supported by a number of agencies, some of which are here. To my far right, Lorne Baker, Riverview County Sheriffs Office, Max Insley, the New York State Police and to my left, Emmett Lang, with the FBI out of Syracuse. Ill read you a summary of the case, then well take a few questions.
At this time, our investigation into the deaths at the state property known as the old burial grounds leads us to conclude that the individual known as Carl Nelson did not die in the fire at an abandoned barn, as first suspected. We believe that Nelson murdered Bethany Ann Wynn, after keeping her in captivity for three years. Nelson also murdered John Charles Pollard and staged the scene to make it appear as though he had taken his own life.
Additional human remains have been found within proximity of the barn leading us to believe that Nelson may have killed other people. Work is under way to confirm the identity of those remains, and were expanding the scene and bringing in more people for an extensive search of the area. Were going to scour every square inch of the property. Now, based on evidence found at the scene, weve reason to suspect that the case is linked to the disappearance of Tara Dawn Mae, whos been missing from Brooks, Alberta, Canada, for over fifteen years.
Soft gasps rippled among the reporters along with the hurried turning of notebook pages. Kate glanced at Tara Dawns face, then at Brennan. It was more real, for now they were closer to talking officially about a link to Vanessa. Kate regained her concentration as Kennedy continued.
Additional human remains have been found within proximity of the barn leading us to believe that Nelson may have killed other people. Work is under way to confirm the identity of those remains, and were expanding the scene and bringing in more people for an extensive search of the area. Were going to scour every square inch of the property. Now, based on evidence found at the scene, weve reason to suspect that the case is linked to the disappearance of Tara Dawn Mae, whos been missing from Brooks, Alberta, Canada, for over fifteen years.
Soft gasps rippled among the reporters along with the hurried turning of notebook pages. Kate glanced at Tara Dawns face, then at Brennan. It was more real, for now they were closer to talking officially about a link to Vanessa. Kate regained her concentration as Kennedy continued.
Were working with the RCMP on this part of the investigation. Finally, we believe Carl Nelson is alive and at large using an assumed name. A warrant has been issued for his arrest for the murders of John Charles Pollard and Bethany Ann Wynn. Today, the FBI will place him on its Most Wanted list. Nelson should be considered dangerous. He should not be approached by the public. Were also appealing to anyone with any information concerning this case to call our tip line or their local police. Okay, well take a few questions.
Hands went up.
Yes, Kennedy said, Marissa, from the Rampart Examiner.
Are you telling us that Nelson held one of his victims in captivity in that barn for fifteen years?
We know that, in the Canadian case, Tara Dawn Maes been missing for that time. We know that Nelsons been in Rampart for ten years.
Kates hand shot up, but she was passed over for a newspaper reporter from Rochester.
Where was Nelson before that time?
Thats under investigation.
Kate raised her hand, but Kennedy went to a reporter from Plattsburgh.
Is the case connected to the abandoned insane asylum?
Were looking into that. I see lots of hands-next.
Again Kate tried but lost out to a TV reporter from Syracuse.
Captain, how is it that Nelson, a computer technician and recluse, was able to keep prisoners at that barn for as long as a decade without anyone noticing?
The property was abandoned. We found evidence of confinement rooms concealed in a lower level. He stole small amounts of electricity undetected from the grid. Few people traveled that deep into the wooded area-in fact none to our knowledge, until the discovery of the fire. Next.
Kates hand went up again, but the Bloomberg reporter got the question.
You said you found confinement rooms. What was going on out there?
We dont know.
Its rumored there was bondage, perhaps torture?
We dont know. We can only speculate that it was horrible. Next.
Kennedy looked directly at Kate and she started to speak, but he shifted his attention, taking another reporters question. She knew what was happening and was tempted to raise her middle finger.
Given that Nelson worked at the MRKT DataFlow Call Center, did you find Bethany Ann Wynns financial records there? a radio reporter from Ogdensburg asked. And did Nelson have access to them? Is that how he selected his victims?