by WL Knightly
“Goodnight, Ethan.” She ended the call hoping that her abruptness didn’t make him think anything was wrong. The last thing she needed was him being suspicious of her.
Chapter 13
Ethan
Just as he planned the night before, first thing in the morning, Ethan met with Sarah Green and drove out to Cassie Ryan’s apartment.
It was an older unit but had decent security that hadn’t proven to be anything but a nuisance for Ethan.
“Are you sure they’re going to let us into her unit?” Sarah asked while they waited on the security gate to open.
“Yeah, we can get in. Management just likes to know what’s going on, especially when the FBI is involved.” He glanced at her to smile but could tell there was something on her mind. He hoped that if he picked enough, she’d tell him. “How was your night? You seemed busy when I called.”
“Busy? Oh, well, I was just tired.”
“Don’t tell me a little detective work tired you out.”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that Alice had company over without asking.”
“Oh, I see. Is it the boy she’s seeing?”
“Yeah. I don’t really know how to handle parenting when it comes to her dating and fooling around with boys. I’m just trying to get her to college before he knocks her up.”
Ethan didn’t think it was as bad as all that. “She seems like she’s a whole lot smarter than to let him take advantage. Just be her big sister, and don’t forget the importance of the role. Maybe that’s all she needs right now more than anything else.”
Sarah sighed. “If I did that, we’d both be in trouble. I miss my mom. She’d know how to handle it. That’s what she really needs. That’s what we both need. I just can’t seem to find a way to put everything back together without my mother. She’s the missing piece that held everything together.”
“You’ll figure it out, and it might seem tough, but it will get better with time.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe that.”
Before she could elaborate, the gate opened, and the owner of the apartments pulled inside and parked outside of the office. “It’s about time.”
They got out of the car and walked around to the sidewalk to greet the manager, who was an older man with short white hair and a graying beard. The manager exited his car with a frown.
“Hello, sir. I’m Agent Ethan Charles, and this is Sarah Green. I called because I needed to get into Cassie Ryan’s unit.” He had already had a fairly lengthy call with the unit manager and didn’t really want to go over everything again if he didn’t have to.
“Of course,” he said, not bothering to extend a hand as he fussed with his heavy keyring. “I’m Howard Lee. I own the place. I have the master keys, so we can get in.”
“That’s perfect,” said Ethan. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, since I got the call about this, I have to admit, I’ve been pretty curious. Is she in some kind of trouble? I noticed she hadn’t been around in about a week or two. I thought she was trying to dodge me, but I guess not.”
“She’s been murdered,” Ethan said with a sympathetic tone. “Which is why there is some urgency around this.” He waited to see the man react, but he only gave a nod, as if he should have known something like that would happen to Cassie.
“Dang. That’s terrible.” He stopped at her unit and put the key in the door. When he had it open, he stepped aside. “So, I guess I can’t expect any rent this month either. Oh well, I guess this way, I won’t have to evict her.”
Ethan glanced at Sarah, who was not impressed in the least. “She was shot in the face,” she said, giving the man a pointed look as she walked inside.
The man stood at the door, shocked. “I didn’t mean to sound insensitive. It’s just not a shock. I heard she was running around with a wild crew. We’ve had a few complaints about loud sex and all kinds of racket in the past.”
“It’s okay,” said Ethan as he entered. “It’s just a messy case.”
“Sure. Well, I’ll just get out of your hair and wait out here. Take your time.” The man went to stand next to a pillar and watched from the door.
As they searched the room, Ethan glanced up and noticed that Sarah looked confused. “What’s on your mind? Is something wrong?”
She shook her head. “I guess I just thought she’d be living a much better lifestyle than this. This place is so basic and messy. And honestly, it doesn’t even look like her style.” She took out her phone and let her fingers dance along the screen as he turned his attention back to the room.
“Maybe she didn’t make so much? We could already tell she didn’t have a huge following, or someone would have recognized her right off the bat.” He stepped over a box in her living room and noticed there was stuff piled all around as if she hadn’t picked up in quite some time.
He went to the kitchen where there was a small calendar hanging up, and he took it down, hoping it would tell him something. “She had a doctor appointment planned but no other meetings or events. Maybe those are kept on her phone.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure she had it on her. So, I guess you’ll have to trace it? It’s probably with the body. Or maybe it will lead you to the killer?” She let her voice fade out as she looked around the apartment.
“I doubt they’d be dumb enough to keep it on them,” he said.
Suddenly, Sarah beelined to the bedroom, where she stopped at the door and shook her head. “I knew it. This isn’t the same room in her photos.”
“What do you mean?” Ethan hurried down the hall and went up behind her where he could look over her shoulder at the phone.
The photo on the screen was pulled up from Cassie Ryan’s profile page. Cassie was giving a mischievous look, pouting her lips as she stuck out her breasts while wearing a tight tee and booty shorts.
“Read the caption.” She scrolled down from the photo where Cassie was celebrating her new room in the caption. It was painted pale pink and white with gold accents. Everything was plush and matching, and there were enough personalized items in the room with the name Cassie that it seemed legitimately hers.
“Someone has done their homework,” he said.
Sarah casually lifted her shoulder. “I got bored last night and thought I’d look over her page a bit. I got all the way down to the bottom where she first started the account.”
“Good catch.”
“Well, it was hard to miss. The room looks like something a younger girl would have. Some of these things, even Alice has outgrown.” There were a number of stuffed animals, and the room did seem to Ethan it was all designed to make her look younger.
“Maybe it’s just a really detailed stage that the company uses for photo shoots.”
“No,” said Sarah. “This is more like what I expected to find here. And now that I think about it, I want to say Starr had a room like this, too, but at the mansion. I remember her telling her mom about it. And from what photos I saw, it was just as nice but with a hot pink and black theme. Those were her trademark colors. Even her brand had them. She was super proud and showed it off on her page too.”
“Hm. That’s interesting for sure. If Cassie had a room at Collier’s mansion, why didn’t Lana Foster tell us that?” He already knew the answer but was curious as to what she might have to say about it.
Sarah’s eyes lit with recognition, and he knew she knew it too. “Unless she wanted to buy some time. Maybe they had something to hide.”
“You just hit the nail on the head. Which means we should get over there as soon as possible. So, let’s hurry up and finish here while we can. I want to find anything that might jump out at us, and I’ll have the rest locked up until I get a team in here.”
Sarah stepped inside the bedroom and looked around. “No offense, but I don’t want anything to jump out and bite me.”
Ethan chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that happening. It would probably have fur and teeth.”
“Or fangs,” she s
aid as she walked over to the bedside table and opened a drawer. She closed it quickly and shook her head. “Nothing to see in there.”
By the redness in her cheeks, he had a feeling she had gotten an eyeful of something, whether it be sex toys, pornography, or condoms and lube. He decided to trust her instincts and check out her closet instead. And something stuck out to him. “There’s not a lot in this closet. A young lady like her would have a lot of clothes, wouldn’t she? This is almost empty.”
Sarah came over and peeked inside. “Oh yeah, she might have kept this place for a bit of privacy, but it’s not where she lives.”
“Well, I guess we have all we can get.” He picked up an old planner off her dresser and checked all of the dates. “This is from a year ago.”
“Take it anyway. You never know what you might find.”
“You’re right about that.” He could use it to get a better idea about Cassie and her relationships with people. A lot could change in a person’s life in a year’s time, especially someone as young as Cassie.
He read down a few pages and his eyes stopped on a familiar name. “How long has she been active on that account?”
Sarah looked back at her phone and poked at the screen to find an answer. “About a year and a half.”
“Around the time Starr went missing?”
“Yeah. It was only a couple of months after.”
“I’d say she hasn’t been living here full time since sometime shortly after that. She definitely knew Starr. Check this out. She talks about going shopping with her.”
Sarah glanced at the page. “Maybe someone from her past didn’t like that she was making new friends.”
“Or that she was getting so much attention and so many perks.” Ethan knew that jealousy could lead people to do some pretty ugly things.
He finished looking through the house and called Commander Clark about getting someone out to look through the place with a fine-tooth comb. When he was sure he had his support, he turned to Mr. Lee, who hadn’t moved from his post.
“I need you to lock it up. And keep it locked. No one goes in or out, including you, unless you want to be a part of this investigation.”
“No, sir, I sure don’t need that kind of trouble.” He gave a short chuckle, and his eyes immediately turned to Sarah, who was standing not two feet away. “And I’m happy to help. I hope you find whoever did this to her. She was a hell-raiser sometimes but overall a nice enough girl.”
“I’m sure she was.” He watched the man lock the door and knew he was just making conversation to appease Sarah. “Now, in a day or two, I’ll have a crew come in and go through everything and do a much more thorough sweep. So, other than that crew, who will make sure and check-in with you, I need you to let me know if you see anyone hanging around.” He passed the man his card.
“I sure will,” said Lee, shaking his hand this time.
They walked out to the car and got inside next to each other. Ethan gave her a sideward look. “I think you scared him.”
“Good,” she said. “It might do him some good. Now, let’s see if I can intimidate Roald Collier.”
Ethan chuckled. “Something tells me you’ve got your work cut out for you where Mr. Collier’s concerned.”
Chapter 14
Sarah
As Sarah and Ethan pulled up at the Collier mansion, she was surprised to see the gate had been opened and there was a lot of traffic at the house.
The first thing she noticed was a catering truck and two men in white chef’s coats standing near the side entrance, while two others carried boxes of food toward them.
Lana was busy with a florist and seemed to be unhappy with something while there were people going in and out of the front entrance with floral arrangements as if they had an open invite.
“Well, at least if we blend in, no one will say anything to us,” said Ethan. “Maybe she’ll stay distracted.”
A moment later, as if she had heard her, Lana looked up and spotted them. She passed the floral box to the woman she’d been lighting up and stormed over. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see Roald Collier.”
“Well, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible,” she said. “He’s very busy, as you can see. We have an event tonight, so I’m afraid today isn’t a good day.”
“Ah, well, I suppose you’ll have to help us. We’re here to take a look at Cassie’s room. I’m sure you can point the way. We’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
“Cassie’s room?” Lana looked like someone had slapped her across the face. “Did you check her apartment like I told you?”
Sarah wasn’t going to let her get away with playing dumb. “Yes, the room in her online photos. It’s obvious it was never at the apartment, but it does appear to be here.”
Lana gave her a hard look, but Ethan stepped in. “You do have the job of looking out for the young ladies, do you not?”
“Yes. I do but—”
“So, you can give us permission, right?” Ethan did his best to press in.
“Not exactly. It’s not really my house or my rules.”
“We can either look now or come back later with a warrant.”
“As you can see, I’m a bit busy, so why don’t you just go and get that warrant, and I’ll see you later?”
Ethan looked amused. “You do realize, by making us get a warrant, it makes it look as if you have something to hide.” He narrowed his gaze at the woman.
“I don’t have anything to hide. But what I do have is a party for about forty-five people in just six short hours. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m sure you can find your way out.” She gestured to the drive where his car was parked and went back over to terrorize the florist some more.
Sarah followed Ethan as he turned and walked out onto the front path. “Well, what are we going to do?”
“It looks like we’re going to get a warrant and come back later.”
“How long do you think that’s going to take?” She had hoped to get answers today.
“About six short hours,” said Ethan.
“Surely you don’t mean we’re coming back tonight?” said Sarah.
“Why not? You have a nice dress, don’t you? If not, you’ve got a little time to go shopping. And you might want to make arrangements with Alice.”
“Are you serious? They’ll throw us out on our asses.”
“Not with a warrant, they won’t. Trust me. We’ll be fine, and we’ll get to see how Cassie really lived. We might even get to see who killed her.”
Sarah couldn’t believe she was going party-crashing, but Ethan was right. They were going to have to search that room and see if they could find any evidence there pertaining to who might have killed Cassie Ryan. “I guess it will be good for my story to have a better picture to paint.”
“Experience is always good for writing,” said Ethan as he opened his door and got in behind the wheel.
Sarah looked back to the house and wondered what kind of warm welcome they’d get and if it would be much worse on them than just coming back later when there wasn’t a party going on.
“You look worried,” he said when she slid into the seat beside him and shut the door.
“I guess I’m a little nervous. The last time I was at one of these parties, things didn’t work out so well for me.”
“Don’t worry about it. They won’t make a scene at their own party. If anything, I have a feeling we’ll get even more cooperation. And at least Lana Foster can’t tell us Roald’s not available.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He had a point, but she still wasn’t sure it was the best method. “Are you sure we’ll be able to get the warrant in time? I’ve heard they can take some time.”
“Not when you know the right people.” He smiled at her, but his expression changed. “Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, I can go without you if you prefer.”
“No, it’s not that. I just can’t stop thinking about what Lana said.”
“What’s that?”
“She said she was with Thomas recently. What if he’s there? I don’t want any trouble.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “If he tries anything, I’ll put him in his place. I’m not intimidated by him, and neither should you be when I’m around.” He turned his eyes back to the road. “Besides, she was probably baiting you. You shouldn’t let people get under your skin.”
That was easy for him to say. “I used to not be so vulnerable. It’s like when my mother and father were both suddenly gone, I just got so much more protective. Of Alice, of my heart, of everything.”
“You’re afraid to lose again, and that’s understandable, but from what I could tell of Thomas Asher, you’re better off losing him. Something like that should only make you stronger.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. “So, I guess if you’re going to be a while, maybe I should go home and find something to wear.” She also wanted to make a few notes about the experience at the apartment, and hopefully, she could find something to give her editor.
“Why don’t we go get something to eat first? I’d like to pay you back for dinner the other night.”
“It’s not necessary,” she said. “I was cooking anyway.”
“Now you’re just making me feel unimportant. I’m afraid it’s going to bruise my ego.”
“You shouldn’t let people get under your skin,” she said, wondering how well he’d take his own advice.
“Ah, using my words against me. I see the way you want to be. So, how about we just go eat because we’re hungry? I can hear your stomach growling from here.”
She had noticed it grumbling but didn’t think he could tell. “Fine. But seriously, when do you think you’ll get the warrant?”
“I’ll make a few calls after lunch and have it by the end of the evening. I’ll drop you off to get ready, run home and change myself, and pick up the warrant on the way to the party.”
“You make it all sound so easy. Are you ever intimidated by anything?”