SrCuervo
patreon
40
🕑 Added 2025-04-01 08:55:54 +0000 UTCAnatomy of a Killer
Chapter 40 - Pond, Part 7
“A regular car, I don’t even remember the make.”
“Why are you asking that?”
Larry smiled modestly and said, “We want to gather details so we don’t chase leads that won’t get us anywhere. For now, we’ll check if there’s any information about Ron’s vehicle movements, which should be this one…”
Ángel, who quickly intervened in the conversation, said, “Now, we’re going to visit Ron’s residence in the southeast, and this requires your authorization, since you are his closest relatives.”
Tara explained in detail, “Yes, Ron has a property in the southeast, and I have a spare key here.”
After saying this, Tara covered her mouth.
She didn’t scream out loud, but her whole body trembled violently.
It took her a long time to control her emotions, and it was Tara’s husband who went out to call and notify the parents of the deceased.
Larry sighed in relief, followed the normal procedures to ask someone to request a search warrant, then returned to the room and sat next to Ángel, who had simply been calming Tara down.
When Larry entered, he sat down and said directly, “Although it may be a bit inappropriate to discuss this now, we all want to solve the case as soon as possible. Do you remember the last time you saw Ron?”
Tara wiped away her tears, thought for a moment, took out her cellphone, and found the call logs and sent messages.
“About two weeks ago, maybe a bit more, Ron called me to say he was sending a gift to wish me a happy birthday. He mentioned that he would take care of some things before coming to see me in person.”
“Anything else in the following days?” Ángel asked while writing some notes.
“We stayed in touch with some messages, and when my birthday came, he congratulated me.” Tara handed over the phone to Ángel for him to review.
At that moment, a police officer entered the room and handed Ángel a folder containing all the records obtained from Ron, the victim.
Ángel opened the folder and pulled out an entry and exit log, which contained all of Ron’s arrivals and departures from 2005 to 2006.
Ron traveled back to the United States from the United Kingdom on January 15, 2005. A little over a month later, on February 17, he left the UK again, only to return to the U.S. on February 25, 2005. Up until this point, a natural travel pattern could be followed, but in January 2006, things changed.
From that date forward, there were no records of new trips or evidence that he had returned to the UK after arriving on January 15. As Tara had said, she hadn’t seen Ron this year, but she had made it clear that he was in the country.
The most unsettling discovery came when comparing the sent messages from Ron’s phone with photos of the airport posted on his social media. Everyone was puzzled to find that, despite there being no evidence that Ron traveled after January, images of him in transit still appeared. This led to the chilling conclusion that the killer knew his habits so well that they had even prepared photos to maintain the illusion that Ron was still traveling.
Amidst the investigation, a key question arose: Ron had been coming back to the United States frequently in recent months. Was there something important he needed to resolve? Or were his constant travels related to the events that led to his death?
Ángel had compared the patterns with previous years, and things had changed at the end of 2005. That change had to lead them to the killer or bring them closer to understanding what had happened to him.
Ángel handed Tara’s cellphone to Larry, who didn’t pay much attention, knowing everything Ángel said was accurate.
“Do you know if Ron had a partner or something?” Larry thought about this possibility when they learned that, after arriving in the country, he hadn’t visited his family.
Tara thought about it and said, “My son Steven was his closest friend, but after he started hanging out with a guy named Elías, they both slowly drifted apart. I got to know that guy a little. He had come to see me to ask about Ron, but after a while, he stopped looking for him.”
“But according to our son, his ice cream business failed.”
“Elías?”
“Who is Elías?” Ángel asked doubtfully, thinking he might have stumbled upon something important in his investigation.
But Larry, who wasn’t in a rush, said, “Excuse me, Tara, would it be okay if I print these pictures?”
Tara nodded, and after a moment, Ángel, the only one who could assist Larry while he studied the victim’s relatives, returned with the printed pictures.
“Here’s your phone.”
Tara took the phone and continued, “My son, in confidence, told me that Ron’s new friend was a bad influence.”
“We understand.” Ángel knew from various unrelated reasons why young people stop talking to each other, and definitely, if Larry didn’t show interest, it was because there was no need to investigate this further, something that could be looked into later.
“By coincidence, my son and Ron have the same birthday, and they were also high school classmates. However, our family’s financial situation isn’t as good as my brother’s.”
Steven wasn’t allowed to study in the UK. He graduated from the Department of Architecture at the University of Miami.
Ron and Steven were classmates in college, and shortly after graduation, they wanted to start a business together. But when Elías appeared, their friendship gradually faded.
“Do you know Elías’s full name?”
Tara’s husband, Isaac, said, “You can find his information in the records of the company he recently closed.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Cielo Dulce, that’s the name they chose.”
“I see. Please leave the contact information for Ron’s parents and Elías’s phone number if you have it.” Ángel had made a list of their priorities.
“It’s better if we contact them…”
Tara agreed and said, “Ron’s parents arrived in the country today. They should be on their way.”
“However, it’s possible Ron’s parents won’t be able to return to Miami at the moment. It’s said that my brother’s overseas department has been busy with bidding lately, and they’re too busy to come back,” Tara said, aware of how her brother worked.
“What about his mother?”
“His mother was paralyzed from the waist down due to a car accident three years ago and isn’t very aware.
She still needs 24-hour care, so she can’t really come here.”
“I understand, we’ll investigate on our own.”
Ángel stood up and said goodbye to the couple.
Upon returning, when Ángel saw that Larry hadn’t moved and was still deep in thought, he knew he must have thought of something, so he didn’t disturb him.
At that moment, his cellphone vibrated twice.
