“But your truck was seen on the dirt road near the mill that day,” Sam said. He wasn’t actually sure if the truck was seen there that day. Rita had only said she saw it there sometimes. But he figured it might rile Forest up a bit to tell him that someone had seen him at the murder scene.
But Forest didn’t seem riled. He seemed thoughtful. “Okay, I do cut through there. Otherwise, I’d have to go all the way back out Bartlett Street and then onto Cherryvale and then to Forester. I’d have to backtrack the streets I’d already been on. I figure I’m saving the town gas money to cut through that road.”
“We do appreciate that,” Sam said.
“Besides, the day the mayor was killed, my route was on the other side of town. I do different sections each day so that everyone gets pickup once a week. And wasn’t he killed at night, anyway?”
“Yep, ’round suppertime,” Sam said.
“Well, then I wouldn’t have seen anything because my route ends at two p.m. So by suppertime, I’m at home, playing video games.” Forest gestured toward the TV, where Sam saw a video game in pause mode. “So I wouldn’t have been anywhere near the mill when the mayor was killed.”
Sam exchanged a glance with Jo. He couldn’t sense if Forest was lying or not. The guy seemed the type to get nervous if he was guilty, but if he was one of Thorne’s distributors, he might be good at acting.
What Forest had told them made sense, though. Sam was going to have to do his due diligence and check it out. In the meantime, they had no reason to pull him in. “Okay, well, thank you. If you do think of anything or hear anything, would you please let us know?”
Forest nodded. “Of course.”
Jo and Sam said goodbye and headed back to the Tahoe.
“So what do you think about that?” Sam asked as he pulled out of the driveway.
“He seemed nervous at first and when you asked about Tyler, but when I asked about Dupont’s murder, he didn’t appear unduly shocked. I didn’t see any of the usual tells,” Jo said. “But he could be an accomplished liar. I think we need to keep investigating.”
“Me too. I have a funny feeling that Forest Duncan is involved. I’m pretty sure he was lying. And he knew Tyler better than he lets on,” Sam said.
Jo glanced over. “Why’s that?”
“He had a White Rock Police Department mug on his counter. Now where do you think he got that if he wasn’t in cahoots with someone in the department?”
Chapter Sixteen
Wyatt, Kevin, and Bev were back in the squad room by the time Jo and Sam returned to the station. Wyatt had gotten the crime scene photos as Bev had requested, and they’d tacked them on the corkboard.
The photos were about what Sam had expected. A dirty shallow grave covered with leaves. A pale body with a gunshot wound in the head. Sam’s stomach churned. He’d seen worse, but it never ceased to amaze him to see the violence people could inflict on one another.
Lucy trotted over and sat down next to Bev, staring up at the photos as if going over the case along with them.
Bev turned. “Glad you guys are back. We got the crime scene photos, and we’re going over what the investigating detective told me.”
“Anything new?” Sam asked.
“Afraid not.” Bev consulted the notes on her cell phone as she paced around the squad room, spewing information. “Victim was buried in a shallow grave, single gunshot to the head.45-caliber bullet. No gun found. So far, no idea who did it.”
“According to the medical examiner down there, Elliott can’t be the killer,” Kevin said. “Turns out Scott Elliott was killed not long after Dupont, and he had no gunpowder residue on his hands.”
“So maybe that fingerprint on the leaf was Elliott running away from Dupont’s killer?” Jo asked.
“Who knows? Do you think he was just an innocent witness?” Sam asked. “Jesse said he was a cog in Thorne’s drug dealing, so I doubt he was very innocent.”
“True, but it’s a big leap from being a small-time drug dealer to a murderer,” Jo pointed out. “He might have become frightened and bolted.”
Bev pursed her lips. “If so, how do you explain his fingerprint at the crime scene of Officer Richardson’s death? Seems he’d be used to murder after being involved in a cop killing.”
“Elliott might not have been in the car when Richardson was killed. The fingerprint could have been left earlier,” Wyatt said.
Bev turned toward Wyatt. “Good point. But let’s say he was with Dupont’s killer. Why would he have been outside the mill?”
“Making sure they didn’t leave any evidence?” Wyatt suggested.
“Why would they worry about that? They wouldn’t have been near the spot where Kevin found the leaf.” Sam turned to Kevin. “You said you found it behind the mill?”
“Yep. Near the walking path.”
“The killer would have parked in front. That’s where the parking lot is.”
“Might have parked on side roads so the vehicles wouldn’t be seen,” Kevin offered. “The neighbors around there keep a close eye on comings and goings.”
“It’s all a mystery, and that’s what we need to dig into.” Bev looked thoughtful as she continued to pace, her eyes on the floor. “My question is, what is the tie-in with this Elliott guy and Officer Richardson? Do you think Richardson was investigating Elliott?”
“If he was, I didn’t know about it. Seems to me, though, that Elliott is connected with Thorne.” Sam pointed to the photo of the shallow grave. “This looks like Thorne’s work. We already know Elliott was at the mill, and it’s no coincidence he ended up dead hours later.”
“Maybe he freaked out and they were afraid he would get a case of nerves and tell the cops,” Jo said.
“I still have a feeling this whole thing is somehow tied into Tyler Richardson’s murder. And there’s no physical evidence that leads to Thorne.” Bev glanced at Sam. “Not that I don’t think the guy is capable, but you have to bring me more to go on. Meanwhile, don’t let your vendetta against him color the way you see the case.”
Was that what he was doing? Misinterpreting the clues? But that piece of paper in Dupont’s hand, linking Tyler and Thorne, was physical proof. Too bad he couldn’t tell anyone about it. Not to mention the reason for meeting with Dupont in the mill in the first place. “Don’t forget that Dupont was going to give us information that could nail Thorne. Who would have a better motive? That’s the main reason Thorne is number one on my list.”
Bev pressed her lips together, still pacing. “Point taken. I checked ballistics. Richardson, Elliott, and Dupont weren’t killed with the same gun.”
“They never did find the gun that killed Tyler,” Kevin said.
“Yeah, well, criminals have a way of making guns disappear,” Jo said.
“Or rendering them untraceable, like the one that killed Dupont,” Bev added.
“You might be on to something with your idea that Tyler was investigating on his own,” Sam said. “After we went over Tyler’s case with you, we decided to dig a little further into his calls. I might have a viable suspect.”
Bev turned from her pacing, her brows notched up. “Really?”
Sam told Bev, Kevin, and Wyatt how they’d stumbled across Forest Duncan’s name and about their visit to his home. Sam played up the idea that Tyler was investigating Forest in connection with Thorne, maybe even grooming him as an informant as Sam had done with Jesse. It wasn’t so much that he was protecting Tyler, but he couldn’t give away what he knew about Tyler’s connection to Thorne without making himself and Jo look bad.
“That does sound promising,” Bev said. “But now we need to find something to tie him to this case. Did he have any pets?”
“I didn’t see any,” Jo said. “He was afraid of Lucy, though, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a dog.”
“You’re thinking about the hair found in the gun?” Sam looked at Bev.
Bev nodded.
“Forest didn’t seem keen on dogs, but maybe the hair isn’t from a dog,” Sam said. “Do you know what species of animal it was from?”
“I can find out.” Bev continued talking as she typed a text on her phone. “So what priors does this Forest Duncan have?”
“Uh, well, none. We just noticed he was mentioned in some of the police calls Tyler went out on.”
Bev looked up from her phone, her brows knitting. “But he was never arrested?”