the tile floor next to the carpet portion near that couch. If something terrible had happened, criminalists would have to test all of the wet and stained items.
Although the probe into the whereabouts of Susan Powell was growing more ominous, there were still plausible reasons for the wet couch and fans. Little boys are well known for spilling things.
All of the items that Susan would surely have taken with her if she decided to leave Josh and her boys were still in the master bedroom: her clothes, makeup, purse, credit cards, cash, identification, driver’s license, and her keys.
And her cell phone had been found in Josh’s Chrysler van.
* * *
One of the more modern tools of forensic science is the ability of detectives to follow cell phone “pings” from the towers that are sprinkled all across America. Ellis Maxwell and his crew now subpoenaed Josh and Susan’s phone records to see who—if anyone—either of them might have called on Sunday or through the daytime hours of Monday. The last call made or received on Susan’s phone was at 2:29 P.M. on Sunday. That proved to be a call Susan had made to JoVonna Owings, who came over to visit shortly thereafter.
Josh’s mobile phone records showed that he had used his phone Sunday at 12:14 P.M., when he called his father’s cell phone.
There was no more activity on Josh’s phone until 3:02 P.M. on Monday, when JoVonna’s son, Alex, called. Alex didn’t know what to say to a man he knew his mother had been trying to find all day and he hung up. But JoVonna called Josh only a minute later.
She asked him where he was, and was he aware that Susan hadn’t come to work at all that day? Josh said he and the boys were just driving around the West Valley City area, and that he didn’t know that Susan had missed work.
And then Josh drove about twenty miles before he called Susan’s mobile phone to leave a voice message for her—asking if she needed a ride home from work. At that point, he knew Susan hadn’t gone to work, so there was no point in leaving that message for her.
JoVonna Owings had just told him that Susan never made it to work. And he must have seen Susan’s phone on the console in the minivan. It looked very much as though he was frantically trying to set up alibis for himself.
Chapter Six
Simpson Springs in Tooele County is about eighty miles south and west of West Valley City. It was once a main stop on the Pony Express route as stagecoaches and riders crossed through Utah in the mid-1800s. Simpson Springs was highly desirable then for the quality and plentitude of water available there.
In modern times, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has a campground at Simpson Springs and the Future Farmers of America have constructed a replica of the original Pony Express station, but few tourists visit the historical site in the darkest days of winter. And hardly anyone camped overnight there in December.
It was much too cold for tent camping, and even in the Powell minivan, the 10 degree temperature and fierce winds would have been hard on Charlie and Braden.
Josh said the weather hadn’t deterred him from his quick trip with the boys; he and Susan often took them to the west desert to camp. He still couldn’t understand why the police had to be involved.
The Utah detectives spread out, talking to everyone they could locate who had known Susan Powell: Amber Hardman, Kiirsi Hellewell, JoVonna Owings, Susan’s family, Josh’s mother and sister. Everywhere they went, they were told that Susan would never have abandoned her boys. They also learned that Susan and Josh had been having marital problems, financial troubles, and disagreements so wrenching that Susan was considering filing for divorce.
West Valley City police chief Buzz Nielsen’s detective team also learned that Josh was the beneficiary of a number of insurance policies written on Susan’s life.
“How much? How many?” Ellis Maxwell asked.
The answer and then the
Although the probe into the whereabouts of Susan Powell was growing more ominous, there were still plausible reasons for the wet couch and fans. Little boys are well known for spilling things.
All of the items that Susan would surely have taken with her if she decided to leave Josh and her boys were still in the master bedroom: her clothes, makeup, purse, credit cards, cash, identification, driver’s license, and her keys.
And her cell phone had been found in Josh’s Chrysler van.
* * *
One of the more modern tools of forensic science is the ability of detectives to follow cell phone “pings” from the towers that are sprinkled all across America. Ellis Maxwell and his crew now subpoenaed Josh and Susan’s phone records to see who—if anyone—either of them might have called on Sunday or through the daytime hours of Monday. The last call made or received on Susan’s phone was at 2:29 P.M. on Sunday. That proved to be a call Susan had made to JoVonna Owings, who came over to visit shortly thereafter.
Josh’s mobile phone records showed that he had used his phone Sunday at 12:14 P.M., when he called his father’s cell phone.
There was no more activity on Josh’s phone until 3:02 P.M. on Monday, when JoVonna’s son, Alex, called. Alex didn’t know what to say to a man he knew his mother had been trying to find all day and he hung up. But JoVonna called Josh only a minute later.
She asked him where he was, and was he aware that Susan hadn’t come to work at all that day? Josh said he and the boys were just driving around the West Valley City area, and that he didn’t know that Susan had missed work.
And then Josh drove about twenty miles before he called Susan’s mobile phone to leave a voice message for her—asking if she needed a ride home from work. At that point, he knew Susan hadn’t gone to work, so there was no point in leaving that message for her.
JoVonna Owings had just told him that Susan never made it to work. And he must have seen Susan’s phone on the console in the minivan. It looked very much as though he was frantically trying to set up alibis for himself.
Chapter Six
Simpson Springs in Tooele County is about eighty miles south and west of West Valley City. It was once a main stop on the Pony Express route as stagecoaches and riders crossed through Utah in the mid-1800s. Simpson Springs was highly desirable then for the quality and plentitude of water available there.
In modern times, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has a campground at Simpson Springs and the Future Farmers of America have constructed a replica of the original Pony Express station, but few tourists visit the historical site in the darkest days of winter. And hardly anyone camped overnight there in December.
It was much too cold for tent camping, and even in the Powell minivan, the 10 degree temperature and fierce winds would have been hard on Charlie and Braden.
Josh said the weather hadn’t deterred him from his quick trip with the boys; he and Susan often took them to the west desert to camp. He still couldn’t understand why the police had to be involved.
The Utah detectives spread out, talking to everyone they could locate who had known Susan Powell: Amber Hardman, Kiirsi Hellewell, JoVonna Owings, Susan’s family, Josh’s mother and sister. Everywhere they went, they were told that Susan would never have abandoned her boys. They also learned that Susan and Josh had been having marital problems, financial troubles, and disagreements so wrenching that Susan was considering filing for divorce.
West Valley City police chief Buzz Nielsen’s detective team also learned that Josh was the beneficiary of a number of insurance policies written on Susan’s life.
“How much? How many?” Ellis Maxwell asked.
The answer and then the
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