that truth on almost every case I have. It’s…just thinking about that mother.”
“Yeah.”
“Where was the victim from?”
“She lived in Dallas with her boyfriend, but the mother, Gladys, lives in Athens, just east of Dallas.”
“So, do we have any clue who killed Lisa Wells?”
“We do. Her mother says she was living with a man named Johnathan Rowell. The police had been called to their home numerous times for domestic violence. Lisa had been hospitalized several times for broken bones. Each time, she went back to him and charges were dropped.”
“Great. So, has he been charged yet?”
“Now wait.”
I sighed.
“Let me finish. We collected as much evidence as we could from the crime scene. The body had been wrapped in a blanket, and we checked that against fibers we took from the trunk of Rowell’s car.”
“That’s a long shot. Plus, if the blanket belonged to them, why wouldn’t fibers from it be in the car?”
“The blanket didn’t belong to them.” Drew smiled.
“Give,” I said, shooting him a look.
“I showed the blanket to Mrs. Wells when she came down to claim the remains. She said she didn’t recognize that particular blanket, but that it looked similar to something that Rita’s mother had made.”
“And Rita is…?”
“Lisa’s best friend. Her mother handweaves blankets, rugs, you get the picture.”
“So…”
“So, I contacted Rita—Rita Gallekamp—Rita says the blanket was hers. It was new and her mom had made it for her. She brought it over to Lisa’s the night before Lisa disappeared. Rita’s husband was out of town, and Johnny was out playing cards and drinking with his friends, and Rita and Lisa had decided to watch a movie on TV, eat popcorn, and have some fun—you know, a girls’ night in. Rita gets cold easily and she brought the blanket because she said Lisa’s place was always cold. Johnny kept the apartment cold, and he’d get mad if Lisa turned the heat up.”
“Cheap?”
“Yep.”
“So, the place was always cold and she brought her blanket.”
“She also wanted to show it to Lisa because it was new and her mom had just made it for her and given it to her as a birthday gift.”
“So, how did it wind up wrapped around Lisa’s discarded body?”
“Rita left the blanket there by accident. She was going to go back and get it the next day, but then Lisa disappeared. She asked Johnny to look for it, but it was gone. Johnny told Rita that maybe Lisa had taken it with her. Rita’s mother was real mad about the blanket. Rita kept thinking that Lisa would call her, but they never heard from her, and Rita never got the blanket back.”
“Any chance Rita was involved in this?”
“Not in my book. Rita is happily married, and she was Lisa’s best friend since they were eight. According to Lisa’s mother, Rita couldn’t stand Johnny, and she had begged Lisa to leave him a million times. She still hates him. Also, she and her husband have since moved to San Antonio—the husband got transferred.”
“Hmm. Interesting. Still, the fiber is a long shot.”
Drew smiled. “We also have Johnny’s credit records for the time period when Lisa would have been dumped in that cottonwood grove. Hutto is a long ways from Dallas.”
“So, you’re looking for any receipts that tie him to the area near Hutto.”
“Bingo. Lisa’s mother said that to her knowledge they did not make any trips anywhere within three months before Lisa disappeared. Lisa and Johnny didn’t have much money, and he spent what they did have on drinking and playing cards with his friends.”
“So, you might have a chance if you can tie him to this area.”
“Right. Also, that handmade blanket was real different.”
“What do you mean?”
“State Crime Lab says the fibers are very unique, so a match would be a good, solid match.”
“Drew, he’s probably cleaned that car a million times since then.”
“We only need one fiber match to nail the creep.”
I
“Yeah.”
“Where was the victim from?”
“She lived in Dallas with her boyfriend, but the mother, Gladys, lives in Athens, just east of Dallas.”
“So, do we have any clue who killed Lisa Wells?”
“We do. Her mother says she was living with a man named Johnathan Rowell. The police had been called to their home numerous times for domestic violence. Lisa had been hospitalized several times for broken bones. Each time, she went back to him and charges were dropped.”
“Great. So, has he been charged yet?”
“Now wait.”
I sighed.
“Let me finish. We collected as much evidence as we could from the crime scene. The body had been wrapped in a blanket, and we checked that against fibers we took from the trunk of Rowell’s car.”
“That’s a long shot. Plus, if the blanket belonged to them, why wouldn’t fibers from it be in the car?”
“The blanket didn’t belong to them.” Drew smiled.
“Give,” I said, shooting him a look.
“I showed the blanket to Mrs. Wells when she came down to claim the remains. She said she didn’t recognize that particular blanket, but that it looked similar to something that Rita’s mother had made.”
“And Rita is…?”
“Lisa’s best friend. Her mother handweaves blankets, rugs, you get the picture.”
“So…”
“So, I contacted Rita—Rita Gallekamp—Rita says the blanket was hers. It was new and her mom had made it for her. She brought it over to Lisa’s the night before Lisa disappeared. Rita’s husband was out of town, and Johnny was out playing cards and drinking with his friends, and Rita and Lisa had decided to watch a movie on TV, eat popcorn, and have some fun—you know, a girls’ night in. Rita gets cold easily and she brought the blanket because she said Lisa’s place was always cold. Johnny kept the apartment cold, and he’d get mad if Lisa turned the heat up.”
“Cheap?”
“Yep.”
“So, the place was always cold and she brought her blanket.”
“She also wanted to show it to Lisa because it was new and her mom had just made it for her and given it to her as a birthday gift.”
“So, how did it wind up wrapped around Lisa’s discarded body?”
“Rita left the blanket there by accident. She was going to go back and get it the next day, but then Lisa disappeared. She asked Johnny to look for it, but it was gone. Johnny told Rita that maybe Lisa had taken it with her. Rita’s mother was real mad about the blanket. Rita kept thinking that Lisa would call her, but they never heard from her, and Rita never got the blanket back.”
“Any chance Rita was involved in this?”
“Not in my book. Rita is happily married, and she was Lisa’s best friend since they were eight. According to Lisa’s mother, Rita couldn’t stand Johnny, and she had begged Lisa to leave him a million times. She still hates him. Also, she and her husband have since moved to San Antonio—the husband got transferred.”
“Hmm. Interesting. Still, the fiber is a long shot.”
Drew smiled. “We also have Johnny’s credit records for the time period when Lisa would have been dumped in that cottonwood grove. Hutto is a long ways from Dallas.”
“So, you’re looking for any receipts that tie him to the area near Hutto.”
“Bingo. Lisa’s mother said that to her knowledge they did not make any trips anywhere within three months before Lisa disappeared. Lisa and Johnny didn’t have much money, and he spent what they did have on drinking and playing cards with his friends.”
“So, you might have a chance if you can tie him to this area.”
“Right. Also, that handmade blanket was real different.”
“What do you mean?”
“State Crime Lab says the fibers are very unique, so a match would be a good, solid match.”
“Drew, he’s probably cleaned that car a million times since then.”
“We only need one fiber match to nail the creep.”
I
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