Chapter 48

On the morning of Gavin Spencer’s status hearing, Niki Vang carried four files to her meeting with Andi Fitch, three cold case homicides and the Vauk file. The Vauk file now held a stack of pictures of the Bronco, taken by the crime scene tech. Every inch of the vehicle had been examined, photographed, and pressed with tape in an attempt to draw the tiniest speck of evidence out of hiding. And yet she and Matty had nothing more to give Andi beyond those pictures.

“He probably took it through a car wash before ditching it,” Matty said as he handed the pictures to Fitch. “I’ve seen brand-new cars dirtier than this.”

“Vacuumed, wiped down, the floor mats and cargo mat gone,” Niki said. “I’m surprised he didn’t rip the leather off the seats.”

“What about the tread?” Andi asked. “Does it match the cast from Nicollet Island?”

“No,” Niki said. “Either that wasn’t his tread print, or…he was smart enough to swap out his tires before he ditched the truck. We’ve been calling some tire shops, but it’s a needle in a haystack.”

“Do you have any good news for me?” Andi asked.

“A couple things,” Niki said, pointing at two of the pictures in front of Andi. The first was of the side of the Bronco taken at the impound lot. “Look at the door. The Bronco used to belong to a well drilling company. There used to be a magnetic sign on the door and you can see where it faded the paint.”

Then Niki pointed at a grainy shot from a stoplight camera taken a few blocks from Bebe’s Salon. “See the spot on the door?”

Andi picked the picture up and examined it carefully. “I think so.”

“It’s the same vehicle. We can put Gavin’s Bronco within a few blocks of Sadie Vauk within an hour of her abduction.”

Andi squinted as she looked again at the picture. “I’m not sure a jury will buy it. I mean, I see the spot because I want to—but a jury?”

“We sent the footage to the FBI to see if they can clean it up, but this might be as good as it gets,” Niki said.

“It helps, but the case is still weak. You got anything else?”

Niki laid the three cold case files on the table. “I’ve been looking into the other women pulled from the river, and…” She opened the Ludlow file first. “We think we have something that might bolster the Vauk case. Chloe Ludlow was a model. She worked the Twin Cities Auto Show a week before she died. Gavin Spencer was there as a photographer.”

Niki slid a photo across the table to Andi. “Matty found this picture of Gavin at that same event, taking pictures of cars.”

Matty said, “They hired him to do publicity for the high-end room. Notice that green shirt he’s wearing.”

Niki slid a second photo to Andi. “This one’s from a distance, but—you see that man in a green shirt standing in front of that booth with the orange logo?” Niki pointed with the tip of a pen. “That’s Gavin Spencer standing at the booth where Chloe was working.”