Читать книгу Murder In The Heartland - M. William Phelps - Страница 39

At around 12:45 A.M. on Friday, Ben Espey finally got his wish.

Later, reflecting on that crucial time near midnight when word came down that the Amber Alert was going out, he said, “I was overwhelmed with the fact that we were going to be able to get this baby back.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out Sam Graves had pulled out some sort of trump card and used it.

“He could have easily claimed to have called a few people,” Espey explained, “called me back and said, ‘Look, I called some people and I couldn’t get it done.’ But Sam took an interest in it. Sam made it happen.”

Early the next morning, an official Amber Alert went out to all law enforcement agencies in the immediate area: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska. Sent from the main office of the MSHP, the alert, in part, said police were searching for a suspect who may have blond hair and was possibly driving a red vehicle, “a two-door hatchback, possibly a 1980s or 1990s, Honda or Hyundai.” It wasn’t clear, the alert continued, if law enforcement was looking for a man or woman, but officials knew the child was female. If anyone spied a man, woman, or couple traveling with a newborn, he or she needed to call in immediately.

Time, of course, was of the utmost importance.

“I believe there is a live eight-month-old fetus out there and we need to find it,” Espey told reporters early Friday morning.

No one had an idea then of the number of tips about to flood the system, and the work ahead. It was well after midnight, the sun close to coming up. Espey hadn’t sat down or taken a break since finding Bobbie Jo’s body. It would be a long morning, he knew, but with any luck, and some help from the public, Bobbie Jo’s child would be returned to her family soon.

“It’s very hard for me to accept this,” Espey told reporters after issuing the alert. “Nobody here could ever perceive this taking place. To have a fetus taken out of a mother’s womb and then an Amber Alert to try to find that child.” He shook his head in disbelief. It was obvious the horrifying aspects of the crime and the missing child weighed on Espey. He had bags under his eyes: his skin looked gray and pasty; his lips dry and chalky, as though he were dehydrated.

“It’s pretty tragic,” continued Espey. “It’s really tragic for the family to lose a twenty-three-year-old mother. The only light spot in this is the fact that the baby can be found alive.” Espey’s deep-set, Caribbean-blue eyes gave him almost a Hollywood veneer. Yet Espey had the faith and will of any spiritual leader that side of the Missouri River. Here was a grown man who welled up with tears at certain points when he spoke about the case to his colleagues and peers.

Later that morning, Espey indicated he believed “more than one person may be involved in the crime.” Tips were coming in already. “I don’t think one person could do it,” he told reporters. “It took one person to choke Bobbie and one to cut her baby out.”

As the sun dawned on a new day, he realized he hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours. But he sensed that answers were about to come. Patience was the key now to saving Victoria Jo’s life.

Wait it out…. Something will come in.