The Nobody Girls (Kendra Dillon Cold Case Thriller Book 3), Rebecca Rane [best book club books of all time txt] 📗

“Kasinski was also found near I-75, 11 months later,” Agent Price continued. “She was discovered in a culvert that had filled with water, so physical evidence was significantly degraded. But at that point, investigators from that era of time suspected a killer was using the upper half of I-75, rest stops and restaurants in particular, as a hunting and dumping ground.”

Kendra let that statement hang in the air. She opened the file and discovered Sincere’s file, Linda Kay’s, and Margo’s. Along with five more.

“How many women do you believe were victims of this killer?”

“Eight victims fit the profile in at least three aspects.”

Kendra gasped. It was a shocking number.

“Why wasn’t this in the papers?” Kendra asked. “Why didn’t authorities or the FBI warn the public that there was a serial killer stalking women on I-75?”

“I cannot answer for the protocols in place at the time. After you examine the files we’ve provided under the Freedom of Information Act, you will see that the victims were discovered years apart, over a wide time span, and in vastly disparate jurisdictions. This could be why no one branded a single perpetrator or connected the deaths in the media.”

“And also, the women, they were disposable, weren’t they?”

It wasn’t an accusation, Agent Price wasn’t responsible for that, but it was a truth.

“You are correct in the sense that in every case, the women weren’t reported missing. No one had called authorities prior to the discovery of their bodies.”

“Have you ever heard of the term ‘The Nobody Girls’?”

“I had not heard that term until you mentioned it on your broadcast.”

Agent Sylvia Price wasn’t trying to connect with listeners or become friends. She was all business. But Kendra saw her stiffen at the mention of the term.

“What do you think of that term?”

It wasn’t specifically a question about the investigation. Kendra was after the agent’s personal opinion.

“It is terrible. And never used at The Bureau. The FBI has no connection or responsibility to what water cooler phases were used before most of the agents in the Port Lawrence office had even been born.”

This was as much of an admission as Kendra was going to get. Plus, she didn’t want to make an enemy of Agent Price. She wanted her help. Kendra moved on. There were more questions, twice as many, now that the file was in her hands.

“Is the person who did this still out there?”

“The FBI believes with a high degree of certainty that the man responsible for these murders, eight in all, is in prison and will remain there for the rest of his life.”

Kendra made a conscious effort not to let her jaw drop open. They had the guy?

“Was he charged with the murders?”

“No, we do not have a confession, but the evidence gathered points strongly to the conclusion that Ned Wayne Ewald committed the crimes.”

As much as Kendra had prepared for the interview, had listed questions to ask the agent, and follow-ups to pursue, this bombshell was not on her list.

“What is, uh, Ned Wayne Ewald in prison for?”

“He is incarcerated at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility serving a life sentence for aggravated murder and sexual battery.”

“Why is the FBI certain that Ewald is the killer?”

“Ned Wayne Ewald was a long haul trucker in the time frame we’ve discussed. He had several encounters, violent in nature, with women who he’d picked up with the intent of hiring them for sex. In addition, and most significantly, his route matched the locations of where the bodies were found. His schedule matches, as closely as agents were able to corroborate, on the dates and locations of the victims.”

“Were there any calling cards discovered?”

Kendra knew some serial killers enjoyed taunting the authorities or the media. And that sometimes, this aspect of an investigation might not be shared with the public. Kendra hoped after all this time, whatever was known, would be available. Notes, poems, symbols, and even macabre collections could tie victims to the monster who killed them.

“No, we never held anything back. Ewald was incredibly careful, and attention did not seem to be his motive. He did not leave calling cards, nor did he collect tokens from his alleged victims.”

“What, in the FBI’s estimation, was his motive for killing these women?”

“He hated women. His mother died under suspicious circumstances, according to our profilers. She is not the victim in the case for which he’s incarcerated, but a search of his history indicates he might also be implicated in her passing.”

“But he’s not in prison for that crime either?”

Kendra was confused.

“While he is not in prison for the crime,” Agent Price explained, “nor has he ever confessed to those murders, he has been incarcerated on the sexual battery charge and murder charge since 1982, one month after the last victim that fits this pattern. The murders stopped immediately after he was incarcerated.”

The podcast season that had been at a standstill was now overflowing with stories to tell and angles to pursue.

Kendra asked as many questions as she could think of, and by the time they were done recording the interview, there was enough material for several episodes of The Cold Trail.

Kendra walked Agent Price out to the lobby of WPLE.

“So, this is the guy? You’re sure?” Kendra asked, brandishing the mug shot of Ned Wayne Ewald that Agent Price had provided.

“As sure as we can be. As you know, from doing these types of stories, there’s no DNA evidence in these old cases. We can only go by the non-scientific, for the most part. Even fingerprints are too degraded on these victims to tie them inconclusively to Ewald. But take a look, you’ll see. The timing matches, his violent history matches, and well, that last piece.”

“That the murders of this kind stopped?”

“Right.”

“You know I’m going to want to interview him.”

“Be my guest. Maybe he’ll finally confess, do it for the fame of being a serial killer or something.”

“But the cases are closed?”

“All yours. You can use the files how you