Chase // Van McCann

12. I Gave a Killer a Ride

Everything was slowly coming together. I could sense it all coming to an end soon. We were close and that excited me. I knew this feeling all too well.

The team tasked with searching his credit card statement found that Peter had an oil change for his vehicle within the past two months. That meant he lied about it being a year since he had last seen Erica. He also went to the hardware store multiple times to buy who-knows-what and there were multiple Amazon purchases. To the untrained eye, it may seem like it was related to the pandemic but they were small purchases and so frequent like he bought something and realized he needed more stuff. If needed, we would need another search warrant to delve into the specific items he purchased but I felt that it wasn't necessary. The biggest giveaway had to be him clearing out his bank account on the very day we interviewed him. I was curious about his hair sample and whether it matched what was found on Erica's body.

Searching the car yielded nothing but hair, fibers, and fingerprints. The fingerprints and hair were run along the database but no match was found. They most likely belonged to Peter if it wasn't Erica's. It looks like Peter never had a run-in with the law despite his involvement in drug paraphernalia, that lucky bastard. Car maintenance records were found in his car. The paperwork for the oil change he had two months ago lined up with his credit card statement.

Crime scene investigators were able to isolate blood, hair, and fiber samples from Amanda's body. Unfortunately all the blood, hair, and fibers were traced back to Amanda. It looks like the killer was more careful the second time around, quickly learning and concealing their footsteps to not be caught.

Now I was curious about the murder weapon. We did not find a baseball bat or knife in his room. For all I know, those items could still be in his flat or he might've taken it with him or destroyed the murder weapon.

My mind kept wondering why he would do such a thing. Why would he murder Erica and Amanda? I tried so hard not to think about it because what good does it do when we don't have the evidence to prove his guilt yet?

I stayed up all night thinking until exhaustion overtook me.

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The office was buzzing the next day. There was a different kind of energy in the air. It's like everyone knew and everyone was waiting for the DNA results from Peter's hair. The soonest they could have it ready was in two days so that meant we had to wait another day.

It pained me that I couldn't do anything while we were waiting. Meanwhile, Peter was making his great escape and we couldn't chase him down until we knew it was for sure him. I tried to picture what he was up to and I wondered where he was. You can run and hide but only for so long before everything catches up to you. In the end, justice will win; it always does.

I slunk back to my office, trying to distract myself with mundane tasks. Waiting was always the worst part; I never had the patience for it.

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The day we were all waiting for finally arrived. As soon as the lab staff walked over with the report, we moved on him like a pack of wolves stalking their prey. I dunno how Bondy managed to be the first to grab the packet without his clothes being torn off in the process but he did it. Bondy quickly tore open the envelope, laid the paper out neatly, and began reading. I carefully watched his face.