“We have cause of death,” he blurted out.
“The autopsy already happened?”
“Yes.” He told her everything Adam had given him. “And it was Dale Peterman who rushed it along.”
“He seems to be in a hurry to get the investigation into Adrian’s death over with.” She didn’t need to say what else she was thinking. Sean would have considered the same thing given their experience as cops: oftentimes, the guilty immersed themselves in an investigation to stay one step ahead of getting caught. The fact that Dale was the one to initiate the query into Adrian’s death didn’t solidify his innocence.
“He’s quite involved and, as it turns out, next of kin.”
“And he didn’t bother mentioning that?”
“No, he didn’t. Apparently Adrian was estranged from his family, and his wishes were that they’d have no claim or say if he died before them. Here’s the thing, though, for Dale being so involved he doesn’t really seem to want to talk to us.”
“He did call you back.”
“That’s about all, and when he returned my call the first thing he said was ‘you called.’ It wasn’t what he said but how he said it, like calling him was a strange thing to do on my part.”
“Meanwhile, we’re investigating on his behalf.”
“Precisely. Dale also inherited money, but it wasn’t enough to seem like a motive.”
“We’ve heard of people being killed over a pair of running shoes.”
“He was left fifteen thousand, which is nothing to him because he’s worth millions.”
“So why such urgency while at the same time withholding information?”
“Either he is behind Adrian’s death or his interest has to do with the media. He wants Adrian’s murder solved so he has answers to provide the public.”
Sara didn’t miss the fact Sean had said murder with more conviction than he had before. “You said we know how he was murdered now?”
Sean nodded. “It turns out that Adrian’s insulin levels were significantly elevated.”
“He would have felt as if he were high or drunk.” She pulled off the coat she was still wearing and tossed it onto the bed. “That could explain an accident.”
“Yes, it could. But the thing is, Adrian wasn’t a diabetic.”
“Then our killer is.”
“Possibly. Or they could have access to insulin for other reasons. Maybe they have a pet who has diabetes.” He shrugged. “It is a thing.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“It’s possible our suspect is in the medical field, too, but since none fit that criteria so far, let’s take a harder look at the people who were close to Adrian. We should see if Monique has diabetes.”
“Or has a pet with the disease,” she added with a smirk. “Adrian was, in fact, here alone, though. Howard also said—”
“And who is Howard?”
She smiled at him. “The helpful man from the front desk.”
Sean bobbed his head for her to continue.
“Howard said that a man had called to cancel the rest of Adrian’s stay.”
“Okay, so the likely killer is a diabetic man.”
“What about Dale or Brent? Are either of them diabetics?” Sara asked.
“I have Adam looking into that. Also into Gina, but that was before I knew a man made the call to cancel Adrian’s stay. There is something else I found out. Adrian was in a fight on Twitter with Tony Frasier of Arctic Blast.”
“They were Adrian’s largest sponsor.”
“That’s right.” Sean furrowed his brow. “How do you know?”
“I do know a little bit about Adrian Blackwell.”
“Of course you do, and it probably only took you hearing or reading it once to remember.”
“Don’t hate me because I have a good memory.”
His facial expression softened. “I could never hate you.”
“Cut it out.” She knew where he was headed with this. Even his determination to solve a case could be derailed by his libido sometimes. “What was the fight about between Adrian and Tony?”
“It was hard to determine from the tweets, but it was heated. And if they argued in a public forum—”
“They would have done so in private, as well,” Sara finished his statement. “We need to call Dale and find out what was going on in their relationship.”
“We could, but that man hasn’t been the most forthcoming.”
“Then what are you thinking?”
“I think we leave him in the dark a bit, like he’s done to us. I say we speak to Gina and Brent next. Who knows? Maybe that will get back to Dale and he’ll actually want to talk.”
-
Chapter 14
BABYSITTERS ON THE TAKE
SEAN KNOCKED FOR A SECOND time on the door marked 212. This room belonged to Gina Huff.
No sound came from inside.
Had she been involved with Adrian’s death and taken off? But it was a man who had called to shorten Adrian’s stay. Brent perhaps? Were the two of them working together? The latter sounded like a crazy concept, but he’d run across crazier as a cop. If Gina was involved, why hang around waiting for Adrian’s body to be found?
“Maybe she’s just enjoying the resort.” Sara’s suggestion fell flat as she delivered it without conviction.
“I’m not sure.”
“Mr. and Mrs. McKinley.” A woman approached them from the side. She had brown hair and honey eyes. She wasn’t the woman with the snowflake earrings from the lobby who they had pegged as Gina.
“Gina Huff?” Sara asked.
“That’s me.”
“We have some questions for you,” Sean stated coolly.
“I figured you would.” She moved past them and slipped the keycard into the lock for her room.
He recognized the advantage of having some privacy to discuss Adrian and ask questions, but he was tired of being in a box. “Would you mind if we took this conversation to an outdoor patio?”
Gina looked down at her hand, which was on the door handle, and shrugged. “I suppose not.”
“And maybe you could call Brent and have him join us?”
Her eyes met Sean’s. “I can do that.”
One thing seemed clear, if she did have something to hide he wasn’t going to find it in those eyes—they revealed nothing.
SEAN, SARA, GINA, AND BRENT situated themselves at a table on the patio. Their exhales came out in puffs of white fog, despite the heaters around the area. They each ordered a beverage; Brent was the only one who ordered alcohol.
Sean and Sara sat across from Gina and Brent, making it ideal for reading their body language.
Brent was a solidly built man—thick chest and tall, easily six foot five. Based on the reflection in his eyes, he seemed more brawn than brains. He sat with his back ramrod straight and his jawline taut. He held onto his bottle of beer with a death grip, if the whiteness of his knuckles was any indication.
“We’ve spoken with Mr. Peterman,” Sean began, “and he told us that you were watching over Adrian while he was here.”
“That’s right,” Gina said, sitting back in her chair.
“He also said you lost sight of Adrian after dinner Wednesday night. Is that correct?” Sean was starting with a basic question to establish a line of credibility. Until he knew more about these two, they were suspect. It already seemed they were two of the last people to see Adrian alive.
“That’s correct. He had dinner at the Alpine. Somewhere between then and…” Brent rolled his hand to take the place of the words, obviously not wanting to verbalize Adrian’s fate.
“He gave you the slip straight from the restaurant? Not in town?”
“Correct.” Gina took a sip of her hot chocolate.
Sean picked up on
the fact that Brent was more liberal with his replies than Gina. She tended to stick to simply worded responses. The lack of conversational quality may mean there was something she wasn’t telling them.
Enough beating around the bush. “Did either of you kill Adrian?”
Gina gasped, and Brent said, “Are you serious?” Even Sara turned to Sean, mouth agape. His question had been blunt but necessary.
“Well?” Sean urged, hoping one of them would answer as directly.
Gina picked at the corner of her drink’s coaster and turned to Brent. “Maybe we should tell them?”
Sean clasped his hands on the table and waited patiently.
“If we tell them and it gets back to Dale…” Brent lamented.
Gina faced Sean and Sara again. “Can we trust you not to let this get back to Mr. Peterman?”
Sean noted how Brent’s relationship to their boss seemed less formal than Gina’s.
“What you tell us will be held in confidentiality,” Sara began. “Unless you killed Adrian, of course.”
“I’m going to tell them, Brent,” Gina said.
“Go ahead. We only have our jobs to lose.” Brent lifted his beer and took a long swig. The empty bottle hit the table with a thud.
Gina wrapped her gloved hands around her mug. “We didn’t really lose him.”
“You w-what?” Sean sputtered, not having expected that. Sara put a calming hand on his forearm.
“Did Adrian pay you to look the other way that night?” Sara asked.
“Not just that night,” Gina confessed.
Brent ran a hand over his mouth, his eyes searching for a server. He summoned someone with a wave.
A waitress came to the edge of the table. “Another beer?”
“Yep.” Brent handed her the empty bottle, and she left.
“What did you mean ‘not just that night’?” Sean asked.
“Just that. Adrian liked his privacy, and he spotted Brent and me from day one.”
All of this led to Sean’s next question: why did Dale have Gina and Brent here in the first place? That inquiry would wait for now, though.
“Adrian didn’t want our eyes on him all the time, and I get that,” Gina continued. “He usually spent his nights with different women.”
“What the papers say about him is true?” Sara asked.
Gina nodded, and Brent’s pulse visibly tapped in his jaw.
“Is there something you want to say, Brent?” Sean asked him.
“No, I think Gina’s doing a lovely job of getting us into trouble on her own.”
“Brent, that’s not—”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing, Gina.”
“I know you’re feeling guilty because he’s dead, but it’s not your fault. It’s not mine, either,” Gina defended herself, her face bright red.
“Are you sure about that? If we had done the job Dale paid us to do, then Adrian might still be alive.”
The waitress set a fresh beer in front of Brent, who snatched it and started knocking it back. He set the bottle down. “We accepted blood money.”
“Brent?” Sara’s voice was soft, understanding.
“Yeah?”
“What happened to Adrian wasn’t your fault.”
Sean faced her. Wasn’t it too early to conclude that?
“All I know is that if we didn’t look the other way, he might still be here.”
“You were close, weren’t you?” Sara pried.
Brent nodded, his eyes wet. “Good friends.”
If Brent and Adrian were friends, it really would make it easy for Adrian to spot them, Sean thought.
“Then help us find out who killed him,” she said.
“Uh-huh.” Brent appeared lost in his thoughts, then suddenly jolted back. “Killed? It wasn’t an accident? The rumors…”
Sean shook his head.
“Sorry,” Sara said.
“Who would have done this?” Brent asked.
“That’s what we’re hoping you can help us with,” Sara said.
“I can’t.” Brent pressed his lips and turned to Gina.
“I wish I could,” Gina said.
“What about Tony Frasier?” Sean thought it best to lay it out straight. “We know he and Adrian didn’t get along.”
“Tony worked for Arctic Blast. Why would he kill Adrian?” Gina asked.
“So you’re not denying that they didn’t get along?” Sean said.
“Are you referring to that fight on Twitter?” Brent asked. “If so, that was done for theatrics.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I was with Adrian when he was sending out the tweets to Tony. He was laughing because Tony was getting so upset.”
“So it was a joke to Adrian, but not to Tony?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe Tony found out about Adrian’s prank,” Sean suggested.
“And killed him over it? I doubt that very much,” Brent said.
“Would he have any other reason to dislike Adrian?” Sara asked now.
“Not that I know of. Arctic Blast gave millions to Adrian in endorsements, but they more than made back on their investment.”
“I’m curious about something else,” Sean said.
“Anything,” Gina replied.
“Why are you guys really here? I mean, I know Dale hired you to watch Adrian, but why? The guy’s old enough to not need a babysitter.”
“We were more his protection.” Brent’s eyes glazed over, and Sean sensed it was now a combination of emotion and alcohol.
“So Adrian was in danger or was there a threat on his life?” Sara asked.
“Not that we know of,” Gina said. “Brent’s not being clear. It wasn’t so much protecting Adrian from physical harm as it was from bad publicity.”
Gina’s explanation made more sense, as the background search into both Gina and Brent didn’t show people who were experienced in security or gathering intel.
“That was why you called Dale Peterman when you saw us,” Sean concluded. “You were hoping we’d get answers faster than the official route.”
“That’s right.”
“All right, well, here’s another question: how did you know we were here?”
“I saw you,” Gina said.
“When?” Sean followed up.
“Monday night when they found Adrian’s body, you were both in the lobby talking to a group of people. I overheard someone say, ‘It’s the McKinleys.’ He sounded so excited about it so I eavesdropped and found out what you did. That’s when I called Dale.”
Sean nodded and steered the conversation back to the investigation. “These women that Adrian was, uh, friendly with on this visit, was one of them Monique?”
Gina and Brent stared at each other.
Brent spoke. “She was here.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Sean asked, his eyes narrowing.
“She got in last Monday, but by Wednesday night she was feeling like a third wheel,” Gina added.
“Because Adrian was with other women?” Sara asked.
“Yes.”
Sara nodded. “Was she angry or upset?”
Gina pondered for a moment. “I’d say more disappointed.”
“Do you think—”
“She had nothing to do with his death,” Brent interrupted Sean.
“How do you know?”
Brent cleared his throat. “Because she was with me from Wednesday night until Thursday morning.”
“You slept with your friend’s girl?” Sean clarified.
“Hey, it’s not like his bed ever got cold.”
“You said Adrian was with a few women while he was here,” Sara stated. “We’ll need their information.”
-
Chapter 15
A STROLL THROUGH THE VILLAGE
IT WAS GETTING CLOSE TO the dinner hour, and the number of skiers on the slopes was becoming smaller and smaller. As the sun was setting, Sean wished to feel the burn in his muscles that he had felt the day before, but he’d have to wait until they figured out what happened to Adrian.
Unfortunately, Gina and Brent weren’t too helpful when it came to identifying the women that Adrian spent time with besides Monique. They had one name, Stephanie, and she worked as a waitress at a restaurant in the village. Sean made a call and confirmed she was working, and then he and Sara headed over. According to Gina and Brent, Adrian and Stephanie regularly saw each other when he was in Vail.
They walked leisurely as if they were merely tourists enjoying the sights and sounds, not investigators on a case.
Sean pitied Adrian, and not just because he was dead. The man might have had many lovers, but had he known love? Sean would choose one woman for life over a harem. “Adrian was a busy man,” he said. Seeing as they’d talked about this along their stroll, Sara knew that he was referring to the man’s love life.
“That’s for sure.” Sara stopped walking and turned toward Sean. She seemed hesitant to speak, but it was obvious she had something to say. “I’ve been thinking. It might not be a bad idea for us to go up and see where Adrian was found.”
He gave her suggestion some thought. “The scene should be cleared by now. It’s been over twenty-four hours since he was found.”
Sara nodded. “But maybe if we can see the area, something will click for us.”
“Assuming we even find it.” As much as he wanted to jump at her offer of putting on a pair of skis, they had other leads to follow first. They already had their cause of death, and with the crime scene having been scoured by investigators, it wasn’t likely they’d find much of anything to help them. But then again, maybe they would. They shouldn’t just dismiss the possibility.
“Detective Callahan said the person who found Adrian was cleared.” Sean was just spouting off whatever thoughts came to him now.
Sara nodded and looked ahead toward the restaurant and they resumed walking. Christmas lights accented its exterior even though the holiday was a month ago. The decorations still added charm. Through the front windows, it was plain to see that the place was packed. Hopefully they would be able to get a table, and one in Stephanie’s section, no less.
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