They’d found no latents or traces. The lab was still analyzing Lisa’s nightgown. Nothing concrete had emerged from the neighborhood canvass. No witness accounts, no unreported incidents that could be related. They’d also shared their information with other investigative units. They’d requested to be alerted to anyone recently arrested that they could question about knowledge of burglaries or sexual assaults in the area. They were going through the Taylors’ phones, computers and routines for the past days and weeks to see if they’d encounter anything that stood out. They were working through the list of contractors: a landscaper, a window washer, a pool company. No flags so far. They were also preparing to request a warrant for all phone communication in the area within the time frame of the attack.

“Why were they targeted? Did they have any enemies?” Reddick asked.

“New arrivals, no security—they were vulnerable. Crime of opportunity,” Cruz said.

“Nothing taken.” Reddick nodded. “They likely interrupted him.”

“What troubles me is the sex assault,” Cruz said. “What if he was counting on Lisa being alone, and he wasn’t there to steal anything?”

“Or he planned to bind and kill them?” Reddick typed commands on his keyboard. “I’ll take another run through other reports and field interviews for suspicious people, vehicles, disturbances and neighbor complaints to see if this is similar to any others in proximity.”

“We’ve had burglaries in Coral Terrace and Coral Gables,” Cruz said, typing. “I’m going to sift through local systems for recent cases. Then I’ll submit our case to the national databases.”

After combing through the local, regional and state crime repositories, Cruz began submitting all the information she could on the Taylor case to national networks, starting with the National Crime Information Center. Operated by the FBI out of Clarksburg, West Virginia, NCIC was the federal government’s central database for tracking crime-related information. Cruz used the appropriate codes that applied to the Taylor case for Burglary–Forced Entry–Residence, Sex Assault and others, adding remarks on the case where she could.

Once she was done, she moved on to the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. She scrolled through the form. ViCAP was the nationwide database that gathered and analyzed details of missing-person cases and unsolved violent crimes, especially murder, and linked them to others with similar patterns. The FBI in Quantico ran the system.

ViCAP’s aim was to detect signature traits that would pinpoint the crimes committed by the same offender. The submission process was meticulous and time-consuming, and Cruz knew her case didn’t apply to every section of the form. It didn’t involve murder, sexual homicide or anything ritualistic, yet instinct told her they should get the Taylor case in all systems, including ViCAP. Other investigators monitored it for updates.