“Here is what happened. Donna Stokes walked in on Coyle butchering Tanya. Coyle killed Stokes in Caitlin’s room and cut her up, too. He was still at it when Caitlin and Troy came home from school. Coyle killed the boy but kept Caitlin alive. He tied Caitlin up with the fan cord and put the pillowcase over her head. Coyle used Donna Stokes’ Mercedes to stash Caitlin somewhere and to dispose of the bodies at the ruins of the old Planet of the Apes set in Malibu Creek State Park. That’s when the ranger stumbled on Coyle, who forced him at knifepoint to drive him nearly home.”

Duncan nodded, thinking it through. “So you think Coyle killed the ranger to keep him quiet, left the knife behind in the truck, and walked back to his place. From there, he either walked or rode a bike to the Topanga trailhead where his Toyota was parked. That’s why the Toyota was clean.”

“Yes,” Eve said, encouraged that Duncan was at least following the evidence. “The ranger was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Coyle had to kill him to cover up his crimes. But the ranger showing up was also a golden opportunity for Coyle. The ranger gave Coyle a way to get home without using Donna’s car, which could forensically link him to the murders at Tanya’s house if he was caught driving the Mercedes or if it was found near his place. The car is probably still somewhere in or near Malibu Creek State Park and close to wherever Caitlin is trapped.”

“My God, Ronin,” Moffett said, shaking his head. “Listen to yourself. Your story is getting crazier by the minute.”

“It’s not crazy. It all fits. Coyle has been arrested twice for masturbating in public while watching young girls, and those are just the two instances that we know about. He lives right behind a school for girls, so I suspect there are a lot more cases where he wasn’t caught,” Eve said. “On top of that, he’s obsessed with a movie where humans are kept as house pets.”

“Telling me he’s a pervert with an ape obsession doesn’t mean he’s capable of plotting the elaborate scheme you’ve just laid out,” Moffett said. “In fact, it argues persuasively against it.”

Eve slapped the stack of photos on Moffett’s desk. “I’m telling you Caitlin is stashed somewhere, probably in a house near Malibu Creek State Park that Coyle visited before on a service call.”

“Eve,” Duncan began, but she cut him off, whirling around to face him.