"What conclusion did you draw from this?" Dan asked.
"We began to discount the possibility that Rachel had run away. No one had seen her alive since that Friday night. Plus, we were doubtful from the beginning that Rachel would have run away and left her car at home. It seemed highly unusual to us that a teenager with a car would leave her sole means of transportation behind her. And as I said, we covered all possible means of public transportation and found no evidence that she had used any of them."
"Did you consider the possibility that she had been abducted by a stranger?"
Stride nodded. "We interviewed all known sex offenders within a hundred-mile radius of the city. We investigated several who could not provide definite alibis for Friday night. There was no evidence that they were anywhere near Duluth. No one recognized their photographs or their vehicles in the area surrounding Rachel's house."
"Are there other elements of the crime that, in your experience, are inconsistent with a stranger abduction?" Dan asked.
"Yes. Virtually all stranger abductions occur in rural or isolated areas. Country roads, for example. It's highly unusual for a girl to be taken off a city street near her home. Most sexual predators don't want to risk identification by waiting in a populated area or abducting someone where their screams and resistance could attract attention from neighbors. Instead, they commit crimes of opportunity. A lonely road. An unfortunate victim. Since we know Rachel made it home that night-her car was parked outside-we know she was in a well-traveled neighborhood."
Dan returned to the prosecutor's table long enough to take a drink of water. He didn't want to rush the jury. Stride was presenting a complex scenario, and it was important that the jury follow the chain of evidence and conclusions.
"Eventually, did you find further evidence of what happened to Rachel?" he asked.
"We did."
Stride described the tip from Heather Hubble that led to the discovery of Rachel's bracelet and the search of the area near the barn where it had been found.
"As a result of that search, did you find other evidence that Rachel had been at this location?"
"Yes. We uncovered a scrap of white cloth with dark stains on it. The stains appeared to be blood."
Again Dan produced the evidence and introduced it. "Why was this discovery significant?" Dan asked.
"We believed that Rachel was wearing a white turtleneck that she had purchased the weekend before on the night she disappeared. The cloth matched the general characteristics of the turtleneck. We forwarded it to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minneapolis for analysis."
Dan didn't pursue any more questions about the turtleneck. Immediately after Stride, Charles Yee-Dr. Unshakable, as he was known in the Minnesota criminal court system-would take the stand to begin putting the forensics pieces in the puzzle. Yee had compared the cloth to another turtleneck from the same manufacturer and concluded that it was consistent with the brand and style of turtleneck Rachel was wearing, and the bloodstains would be linked to her by DNA matching.
"At that point, Lieutenant, did the nature of your search change?" Dan asked.
"Yes. We concluded that Rachel was dead and began searching for a body."
"But you didn't find a body, did you?"
Stride shook his head. "No, we searched miles and miles of forest surrounding the barn. We used both police and volunteers to go yard by yard through a precise grid. Unfortunately, there are simply too many places to hide a body up here."
"Nonetheless, are you firmly convinced that Rachel is dead?" Dan asked.
"Objection," Gale called. "The witness has no direct knowledge of whether this girl is dead or alive."
Dan shook his head. "I'm asking for a conclusion based on the lieutenant's extensive experience in homicide investigation. He's an expert."
Judge Kassel pursed her lips. "I'll allow it. The witness will answer."
"Yes, I believe Rachel is dead," Stride said. "It's the only reasonable explanation for the evidence."
"Let's backtrack for a minute, Lieutenant. In addition to the bloody piece of fabric, did you find any other evidence at the crime scene?"
Gale stood up again. "Your Honor, the prosecution has characterized the location as a crime scene without definitive evidence of a crime."
Judge Kassel nodded. "He's right, Mr. Erickson."
Dan was unperturbed. "Did you find anything else near where you found the piece of cloth?"
"We did," Stride said. "There were many overlapping footprints in the dirt area behind the barn, where cars usually park. We were unable to find anything useful there. But less than a yard from where the piece of fabric was discovered, we found several partial footprints of an athletic shoe, size twelve. We also found prints from a different athletic shoe, size eight."
Dan introduced photographs of the footprints, followed by reconstructions of the tread marks. "Were you able to identify the brand of shoe associated with the size twelve footprints?"
"Yes, the pattern is distinctive. There's a large red oval in the center of the heel. It comes from an Adidas shoe, model 954300. It's sold at three locations in the Duluth area."
Dan retrieved a paper from the prosecutor's table and again introduced it as evidence. He turned to Stride. "Will you tell us what this paper is, Lieutenant?"
"This is a copy of a check written by Graeme Stoner, dated four months prior to Rachel's disappearance. It's made out to a store called Sports Feet for a purchase of eighty-five dollars."
"How many locations of this store are there in Duluth?"
"One, in Miller Hill Mall."
"Does this store sell the model of Adidas shoe that matches the footprints?"
"It does. Their retail price at the time this check was written was eighty-five dollars."
Dan nodded grimly. "Tell me, Lieutenant, did you find a pair of Adidas shoes when you searched Mr. Stoner's residence?"
"No, we didn't."
"No athletic shoes at all?"
"We found a pair of Nikes that had been purchased recently. They had hardly been used."
Dan produced another copy of a check written by Graeme Stoner. "Tell us about this other check, please."
"This check is also made out to Sports Feet, this time for seventy-eight dollars. The check is dated the weekend after Rachel's disappearance. Seventy-eight dollars is the retail price for the model of Nikes we found in Mr. Stoner's bedroom."
"He bought another pair of athletic shoes only four months after he purchased the first pair?"
"That's right," Stride said.
"And what size were the Nikes you found?" Dan asked.
"Size twelve. Same as the footprints near the barn."
"One more question about feet, Lieutenant. Did you determine what size shoe Rachel wore?"
"Size eight. That matches the size of the other prints found near the barn."
Dan took a moment to stare at the jury and watch their eyes, making sure they were following the significance of everything Stride had described. Stride saw the impact of his testimony in their eyes. They didn't like coincidences any more than he did.