Page 32 of See You Again
“Not exactly.” Mark finished the last swallow of his sweet tea. “After the argument, Amy was seen walking back toward the road where everyone’s vehicles were parked. A young couple making out in the trees saw her vandalize the car, but once she walked further, they were otherwise… distracted.”
“They didn’t hear her scream or call for help?”
He shook his head and let out a long, slow exhale. “Amy just vanished.”
“Until last spring, when her body was discovered.”
“Correct. A team was sent to the Rutherford timberland to mark which trees were to be harvested. They were clearing some underbrush and saw a partially exposed bone sticking out of the ground.”
Cami struggled to keep her face neutral, but it was difficult. Normally, she compartmentalized her cases, but she’d been friends with Amy’s sister Tara in grad school, and that made it more difficult than usual.
“Why do you think her body wasn’t discovered until then? It’s been over three years since she disappeared. Amy’s parents told me there were extensive searches done at the time.”
“It’s hard to say. When someone hears you’re searching, they think it’s only a matter of time, but the search area was huge. They were working in fingertip-length lines from the last spot her phone pinged—almost ten miles from where she was last seen at the party and deep in timberland. A lot of underbrush and thick forests. Ravines, creeks… You get what I’m saying?”
“Would it be possible for me to see the location?”
He raised his eyebrows. “There’s nothing there anymore. Just trees.”
“I understand. I would just like a feel for if it was secluded… hard to get to… Was it the kind of place only someone familiar with the area would know about, or…”
His lips twitched. “I’ve listened to your podcast. I know you’re thorough, but what does that?—”
“No stone unturned.” She flashed him a smile.
Mark stared at her a minute before he chuckled, his face relaxing. “I’m the same way. Though no one has ever put it that nicely. Stubborn is usually the word I get. I’d be happy to take you out there some time. It’s not difficult to access. A logging road off a county road, and then only about a hundred feet in.”
Cami’s brow furrowed. “Is it a place someone could find on a map app?”
He shook his head. “Good thought, but no. Nothing about the location points to a suspect. The timberland is owned by a corporation out of Rhode Island. They still call it Rutherford because that’s the family who owned it up until just before Amy went missing.”
Cami chose her next words carefully. “What about the remains?” She knew from speaking with Tara that the police had revealed to the family they believed Amy was strangled. Her hyoid bone was found broken amidst the other bones. However, now almost a year later, with the cold case open again, Cami hoped the department would be more forthcoming.
Mark’s face blanked. “Like what?”
Cami smiled. She’d been here before with law enforcement. Detectives didn’t like to show their cards during an investigation, but Detective Barlow wouldn’t have agreed to talk with her if he wasn’t open to sharing.
“DNA? A handy dropped driver’s license?”
Mark snorted. “That would have been nice.” His gaze fell to her phone again, where the clock on the recording app was counting up. He took a deep breath and said in a lower tone, “Normally we wouldn’t share this information, but like I said before, we’re stuck. I visited Amy’s family before this trip and shared this information with them, and I have been authorized to share with you that the body was in a shallow grave, wrapped in a navy-blue comforter. There was some biological evidence left with the body that didn’t match Amy.”
Cami’s pulse picked up. “What kind of biological evidence?”
“I’m not prepared to share that today?”
“Was there evidence of a sexual assault?”
Detective Barlow eyed her shrewdly. “It wasn’t semen. But the body was in skeletal form, so there is no way of knowing for sure.”
“Did it match anyone in CODIS?”
“We ran it, but nothing hit.”
“What about a familial match?”
He made a face. “I heard your last episode. I know you’re excited about that as a tool. But those are expensive tests and still controversial in some courts. People do those family ancestry kits not thinking they are helping catch a criminal in their family.”
“Well, then maybe their family member shouldn’t commit a crime,” she said sweetly.