EXONERATED IN 2014
Keller ripped her eyes from the image. She needed to focus. “So who do you think killed Charlotte?”
Lester coughed a laugh. “I’m not going down that rabbit hole anymore. Trust me, it will consume your life.” The case had taken its toll on Lester. Keller remembered a critical scene in the documentary, Lester at the lectern, arguing Danny’s case to a panel of appellate judges, her plea both measured and impassioned.
“Charlotte’s head was crushed like Hayes’s known victims,” Keller said.
“Yeah, precisely. But the Smasher’s MO was reported in Kansas newspapers before Charlotte was murdered,” Lester said. “And the Kansas police had put out a notice to law enforcement in Nebraska and other neighboring states hoping that they might identify more victims, which is ultimately how they caught Hayes. The prosecutor in Danny’s case should’ve turned over the notes about the anonymous tip identifying the similarities to Charlotte’s murder, but the fact that there was a killer crushing young women’s skulls was in the public domain.”
“So why didn’t Danny’s trial lawyer look into it?”
Lester shrugged. “The guy had never handled a murder case and was in over his head. But the lawyer says he did look into it. Says he got an anonymous tip, too. And that’s what the state relied on in our post-conviction fight. I think he was just covering his ass, but the lawyer said he didn’t pursue the lead because the forensics didn’t match. Hayes sexually assaulted the girls. Then killed them by crushing their skulls, probably during the act. But Charlotte wasn’t sexually assaulted. And the medical examiner concluded she suffered a separate skull fracture, likely sometime before her head was caved in.”
Keller felt a combination of sickness and anger in her gut.
“So, what, you think someone was trying to make it look like Hayes was the killer?” That suggested some planning, which was inconsistent with a drunk teenager killing his girlfriend in a rage.
Lester said, “Hayes confessed to the other murders to get the death penalty off the table, but still denied killing Charlotte. Why bother?”
“What about Detective Sampson? The Adlers say that before he died he had some explosive information. About the blood work.”
“Pfft. How convenient. Even if it’s true that he’d go to the Adlers—and I find that questionable, since they basically ruined the man’s life—he was hardly credible. If he approached them, it was probably just trying to clear his own name. And before you say it, I’ve seen the Reddit threads that speculate that he was murdered.”
Keller wasn’t sure whether Lester was a breath of fresh air or whether her years working the case had hardened her, closed her off to any theory that might explain Charlotte’s murder. It was for that reason that Keller didn’t want to ask the next question.
“Speaking of conspiracy theories, there’s one that is building steam, at least with the Adlers—”
“That Charlotte’s alive,” Lester said before Keller could get the words out. Lester sighed, as if to add, Tell me you’re not taking that seriously?
“Right. Look, I know how it sounds, but I’ve gotta ask.”
Lester shook her head. “I’d love it if she were alive, but Charlotte’s dead. The Adlers don’t know this, and it wasn’t discussed at the trial, but Charlotte had a distinguishing mark. A tiny tattoo of a heart on her bottom. It was her.”
Keller exhaled. She knew it was crazy, knew it would end this way, but she was still crestfallen.
“A piece of advice, Agent Keller?” Lester said, her phone buzzing on her desk.
Keller nodded.
“Don’t make Charlotte’s killer your one-armed man. I’ve been down that road, and it nearly destroyed me.”
“But what if knowing what really happened to Charlotte is the only way to know what happened to the Pines?” Keller asked.
Lester put her elbows on the desk, laced her fingers. “Then you’re fucked, Agent Keller. You’re absolutely fucked.”
CHAPTER 47
EVAN PINE
BEFORE
“Come on, get in on this, Magpie,” Evan said. He held the phone in front of him for an airport selfie. Evan didn’t know if it was the bright sunshine, the smell of salt in the air, or being on their first family vacation in years, but he felt great. Revitalized.
“Daaad,” Maggie said, shaking her head.
Liv joined in, pressing her face against Evan’s. She waved Maggie over.