The local police assumed three of them were part of The Carnations Killer murders because they exhibited the same kinds of torture as all the other women.
One of the deaths struck Aidan’s interest, and he could tell it did with Shaun as well.
Her name was Keisha Moffett, thirty years old, single with no kids.
And she was African American, which was not part of the offender's usual object of interest.
Aidan had asked why Keisha wasn’t in the federal database and was informed that the agent assigned to the case back then didn’t believe she was a victim of the same killer as the other murder. Aidan was told that the agent had claimed it was a state matter and not federal.
Twenty-nine-year-old Brenda Wilkes was found by a group of hikers near the end of one of the trails of the Porcupine Mountains. While the police were searching the area, they came across the body of Keisha Moffett approximately two miles away. She had a few scrapes and bruises, was stabbed multiple times, and she had bled out from a deep gash across her throat.
The Chief of Police in Ottawa County strongly believed Keisha was a victim of the same man who murdered Brenda. But there was no evidence saying she was, and her murder had never been solved. At best, the FBI claimed she was a target of a copycat, but more likely the victim of abuse.
According to the police reports, Keisha and Brenda didn’t know each other. The day they were found murdered was the day Keisha’s boyfriend, Jamal Foster, had taken her on a day-long hiking date. His family had told the police he planned on asking her to marry him during the hike. But she was found murdered before it ever happened, and Jamal vanished.
The investigating federal agents suspected the boyfriend and believed he killed Keisha and started a new life somewhere else.
The situation surrounding the murders and Jamal’s disappearance baffled the local police and the FBI. Theories passed from mouth to mouth, but nothing made sense of what really happened.
Although Aidan understood why the original agent believed what he did, he couldn't help but wonder if Keisha and Jamal happened upon the offender as he was dumping the body. It was possible. If they did, and the offender saw them, then he’d have to take care of them in order to ensure he’d remain unidentified.
Taking that into consideration, Aidan decided on a possible scenario most law enforcement, including the FBI, hadn’t seemed to believe.
“What are you muttering about?”
Aidan looked across his desk at Shaun, who was busy flipping through paper copies of the FBI and police reports.
“So, the offender’s MO is tasing his victims, torturing them, then killing by strangulation,” Aidan began, leaning back in his chair. He crossed one leg over the other and began rapping his pen against the edge of his desk. Shaun looked up to give Aidan his undivided attention. “He’d leave them where they’d be found later, right?”
He nodded his agreement.
“So, when he killed Brenda Wilkes, he followed his system. Then enter Keisha Moffett and Jamal Foster. They'd planned to spend the entire day in the mountains. Hiking, fishing, camping, whatever. During their hike, maybe they saw something they weren’t supposed to see.”
“A man tossing a dead body to the side,” Shaun put in.
“Right,” Aidan said. “The offender saw his uninvited guests. Maybe he heard them approach, or they asked if he needed help. But it didn't take much to realize something was wrong, so they'd obviously want to get the heck out of Dodge.” Aidan narrowed his eyes. “If it happened to Cheyenne and me, I would tell her to run as fast as she could, then I’d do whatever I could to give her enough of a chance to escape.”
Shaun nodded. “According to reports, Keisha was found heading down the mountain.”
“Yeah, so if Jamal tried to protect her, then it makes sense he’d fight off the killer. And we know the killer had a knife because he used it on Keisha. So, he probably used it on Jamal, chased after Keisha, and caught up with her a couple of miles away.”
“So, what happened with Jamal’s body?” Shaun asked. “He was never found.”
“The wonderful thing about mountains is they are enormous. Plenty of hiding spots. The police and FBI alike weren’t thinking of looking for a third body. After finding Keisha, they immediately suspected her boyfriend killed her and took off.”
“So,” Shaun said, “Jamal Foster’s remains could still be somewhere in those mountains.”
Aidan swallowed hard.
“It’s starting to make sense.”
“What?” Shaun asked.
Aidan regarded him with hesitation. “I didn’t investigate Brenda Wilkes’ murder. Or Keisha’s and Jamal’s.”
“Okay…” Shaun pressed.
“The following year, The Carnations Killer started leaving me his notes.”
“Oh.”
They fell into silence.
Aidan told Shaun that he wanted to get Monroe to send out a search party to comb the Porcupine Mountains. He realized she wasn’t going to like it because it’d take more people and time, but he believed it had to be done.
Aidan rose from his chair and they made their way to Monroe’s office. After her muffled voice told them to come on in, they did.
“We may have a break,” Aidan told her.
Monroe looked up from a report she was in the process of signing.
“You’re kidding.”
Aidan sat and crossed his leg over his knee with a despondent sigh. “We don’t know how much of a break it is. Could be nothing. But I do think we need to follow up and see where it leads.”
Shaun and Aidan took turns in telling Monroe
