Background
Muder, Missing persons and a rookie detective
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There was a flurry of activity at the precinct. Many of the officers returned with reports from witnesses, a few had videos from convenience stores both with and without images of the missing persons. The most common thread that Terry was able to deduce was actually Dr. Mark Conners.
He was the doctor at the clinic where all of the missing persons had appointments recently or with one, the day, that they went missing. He was also the husband of the most recent missing person. He claimed to be out of town when his wife disappeared but there were no flight records of him leaving or returning.
Terry brought her findings to Hayes. She suggested that someone needed follow Dr. Conners without him knowing. As a prominent citizen and the son of the Governor, a very careful plan was needed. A corporal Baker volunteered to do the surveillance on the doctor. He was to do so while in plain clothes and in a ghost car. He wasn't to approach him at any time.
During the 2 days of the investigation, Terry was surprised at how hard Hayes was working. He was exercising his detective muscles and actually doing a good job. He was organized and attentive to Terry's suggestions. He in turn was also impressed by Terry and thought maybe he was a little harsh on the little thing. She did seem to have a good detective brain, not that he would be able to rely on her in a pinch but she was an able detective.
They gathered all of their findings and Terry and Hayes went to see the captain. It was time to bring him up to date.
Terry noticed that Hayes was nervous around the captain, while she saw the captain as her supervisor but also as an equal. The balances and nuances of personality had always fascinated her. Her psychology degree was useful in this investigation and she was formulating a theory.
"Captain Jensen, good afternoon and thank you for seeing us." Hayes said with his hand out for a shake.
He took Hayes's hand and motioned for him to sit. He looked at Terry with a smile.
"Afternoon Detective Smythe. I can guess why both of you are here, I just got off the phone with Governor Conners." Hayes noticed that the captain only directly addressed Terry. This was another reason he was irritated with her. Women using their wiles on men always rubbed him the wrong way.
"We wanted to bring you up to speed on the task force. We have our first reports for you sir. Sargeant Hayes assembled a team and we have gathered some good intel. There seems to be a correlation between the victims. They all have a variation of the name Alexander or Alexandra. That seems to be the only connection between them all, so far. Now in doing some more research, we also find out that all are patients of Dr. Mark Conners."
Terry's report was clear and succinct.
"Exactly how did you figure that out?" Was Jensen's answer.
"They all either had a receipt from the pharmacy, where a prescription was filled out or surveillance showed them in the same pharmacy or clinic." Terry answered while showing him documentation and photographs. "The clinic listed them all as patients."
"And Dr. Conners, where was he when his wife went missing?"
"He says he was out of town. However, we cannot find any flight information either going out of town or returning." Hayes offered.
"His wife went missing Monday afternoon," Terry continued, "Our greatest concern here, is with Dr. Conners being son of our state Governor, Alistair Conners. And his mother is none other than, Cindra Conners. Politics aside, I thought it important to point out that his parents' names are also variations of Alexander. This lead both of us to bring this to your attention. We have gotten Corporal Baker out as a tail on Dr. Conners and he will report back to us as soon as he has something, but what we really need is to get into Dr. Conners office and check out all of his patients."
"Detective Smythe, good work. However, I would suggest getting another look at their residence. Check his office there, don't leave anything uninspected, tell him its to help find his wife. I will keep the Governor updated and off your tail as much as I can. Bring in anyone you need to get this resolved." Jensen ordered.
"Thank you for saying that, I wanted to bring back Detective Warren Black in from SJPD. He was the one who helped figure out the name correlation. Also, a Lieutenant Leven from Yellowstone PD. He has a lead on at least one of the missing persons." Terry asked.
"I would also like to bring in a forensic psychiatrist as well, a Dr. Peter Davis. He is one of the best. Maybe he can help us build a clearer profile." Hayes added.
"Yes, to both of you. I am going to get more involved in this case. I will follow up with the physical evidence and see if we can get those reports back a little faster."
With that all three stood up, Terry and Hayes exited the office. Within seconds both were on the phone. Terry had Warren on the next available flight and soon after she was on the phone with Leven. Hayes was off to see Dr. Davis and see if he could get him on board.
Captain Jensen was excited to get his feet wet again in the detective pool. His promotions kept him mostly in administrative duties and he really missed the thrill and excitement of investigations. The fact that the governor was pushing for a quick result didn't hurt either. The governor promised all the funds that the department was going to need. His words were, 'there is no limit to the funds needed to find my daughter-in-law and also no limit to my authority.' A threat? Probably, but Jensen didn't need it, he was ready to get the job done.
