Chapter 26
"You do realize that if we can pin anything on Gus for Julie Carter that the Feds might want in. Especially if we find her in New York and not New Jersey," Elliot said.
"Yes and I'm sure my ADA will want the case just as bad as yours will. You guys have quite the list of crimes that Gus has committed in your jurisdiction. I'd be inclined to say that you'd win that pissing match, unless the Feds get ahold of him, that is," Bill told him. It was almost lunch time and Fin had started digging around for menus in his desk drawer.
"What's everybody in the mood for? And don't say catching a pedophile. Everybody has got to eat," he asked the group.
"I'm not fussy. Bill, how do you think that Gus got Julie to get close enough to his car? I mean she'd be old enough to know not to get into a stranger's car but Gus's records don't put him living near her neighborhood," Olivia asked the New Jersey Detective.
"I couldn't figure that out. Neither could Lou. Of course we didn't have a suspect but no one thought the car was odd, so we figured it wouldn't be a flashy car. Something that was fairly common. It's possible she thought it was one of her neighbors and when she got to the window realized it wasn't," Manning suggested.
"Gus does know how to hide in plain sight. The school bus was probably why he was down in that neighborhood. We know his type and we know that where he was living was not far from the church that Julie and her parents attended. So he picks his victim out and then just has to find a time when she wasn't with anyone. We also know that Gus is meticulous when it comes to details. So when the heat got turned up, he wouldn't have to worry," Munch said.
"I'm ordering something with anchovies if people don't focus," Fin spoke up. Olivia gagged and the group quickly agreed to sandwiches from the deli down the street. Fin called in their order and the delivery would be made within the hour.
"Run down what Julie's schedule was. Maybe there was a time that Gus could have figured out where she lived without chasing all the school busses around," Fin said when he got off the phone.
"Ok so the bus picks her up for school at six-forty-five, it then drops her off at school by seven-fifteen. She spends all day in school and gets back on the bus at two-ten. She should have been at her house by two-forty-five, two-fifty. She never makes it," Manning played it out.
"What time did she actually get off the bus?" Kenny asked.
"According to the bus driver, usual time, about two-forty. The ten minute window depended on if she hung out with her friend a few extra minutes. That's why Mrs. Carter started to panic when Julie wasn't home by three," Bill explained.
"And by five when they called the police, everyone was out of their minds," Munch nodded.
"Exactly. They had thoroughly searched the neighborhood and involved their neighbor and no one saw or heard anything. It was like the earth had swallowed her up," Bill said.
"You didn't have a suspect before and Gus had never committed a murder that we know of. All of his victims were left alive, which is actually more risky than killing them. Hell, the only reason we caught him is because he got sloppy after being in prison for ten years," Elliot frowned.
"So maybe what happened to Julie was an accident. Maybe he intended to drop her somewhere dazed and confused and instead she dies," Kenny suggested.
"And with Gus's penchant for operating under the radar, he did the only thing he could do, he cleaned up and made the body disappear," Olivia said.
"Well I think that the first thing we need to do is investigate where he used to live. It's been a long time but it might help us narrow down our thoughts," Elliot said.
"I wish we could. The apartment building burned down six months after Julie disappeared. It didn't have any sprinklers; they weren't required at the time, so by the time the fire fighters responded a good portion of the building was already engulfed. They fought hard but it was a lost cause and it was demolished. Two years later, a new building had been put in its place. If they had found a body, they would have reported it," Bill explained.
"Well apartments have to have garbage pickup," Fin said as he stood from his desk. The delivery man had just arrived and the detective went for his wallet and pulled out some money. The others quickly chipped in their portion and then the food was handed out.
"They didn't have a dumpster and no way that any of his neighbors didn't notice a body in those seventy gallon totes," Manning shook his head. Then something occurred to him and he asked,
"Kenny, can you punch up the neighborhood where Gus used to live?" The younger man nodded and quickly pulled up the map of the place online.
"What is it?" Olivia wanted to know.
"I was afraid of that," Manning frowned.
"Half a mile away from Gus's place is a Home Depot," Kenny's eyes were wide.
"It was a big deal when I was growing up. They were a relatively new company back then and they opened that store a few months before Julie disappeared," Bill frowned again.
"We know what happened to Julie's body then. He dumped her in the dumpsters at the hardware store and she ended up in some landfill somewhere," Elliot heaved a sigh.
"There is no way to prove Gus did any of this. Hell, the Easter Bunny could have done it," Fin said.
"Well I'm not giving up. After lunch, I'll head home and see if we can't track down Gus's path before the building burned to the ground. Maybe we'll get lucky," Manning seemed to be glad to just have a lead.
"We all hope you find something. In the meantime, I think it's time to have a chat with Casey. If we can start the ball rolling with the new charges against Gus then at least we'll buy you some more time to find Julie," Olivia told him.
To Be Continued…