She paused, smiling at the memory. "I erased the record, of course, but I jokingly threatened recouping company losses by selling copies online if he was foolish enough to use the filing room for that again. After that, I thought it would save embarrassment if I let people know the camera was there."
"How long do you keep the recordings?"
"Haven't got rid of any yet, except that one. They get burned onto a card every month and thrown in a box."
"Can I have a copy of the card from the time of the risk assessment?"
"That month is incomplete because of the fire."
"That's okay," Jake said. "Also, I'd like to get the physical remains of your old system from your security company."
"Sure." Sabrina started to make a note. "I'll call them Monday."
"How about calling them now?"
31
Kate went straight to Forensics. There, she spent the next hour logging all the items she had taken from Eldridge's condo. The technicians cast her dirty looks until she assured them she would help process the stuff. In any case, she didn't think everything would have to be investigated. Most of what she gathered was taken for show.
In her father's day, detectives performed basic crime scene investigation in the field and weren't welcome in the lab. Now detectives were expected to be forensic technicians, behavioural analysts, crime scene analysts and logistics managers with a liberal sprinkling of community diplomacy. So, Kate scrubbed up, put on a white coat and chose the most likely suspects out of her collection of evidence to prepare for analysis. The lab supervisor kept a close watch on her until he was comfortable with her technique. Then, he let her work. And work.
Because this was a murder case, and she was right there waiting, her materials were given priority with the civilian technologists and their machines. Forensic evidence from non-violent crimes got bumped, and her samples jumped the line ahead of other detectives who weren't giving up their day off to work in the lab. While she waited for results, she did a little 'bottle washing' to pass the time and grease the wheels. Among other things, her father always taught her to reciprocate favours. It made it easier to ask for another one later.
Once the reports were available, Kate called the supervisor over. She wanted someone to see she had interpreted the results correctly. He not only checked her conclusion, he rechecked.
"We have a like item in evidence," he announced.
"I know."
"I will personally process it as soon as we have this one secured."
"Can I help?"
He shook his head.
"Better the second test is made independent of you. I'll let you know what I find as soon as possible."
Looking at the wall clock, she realized she had somewhere else to be, in any case. Visitation hours at the funeral home started in an hour. Kate wanted to be there early. First she had to shower and get appropriately dressed. Valerio would have her hide if she showed up in the clothes she had worn all day.
32
Jake walked into Forensics. He carried a sealed box and a hopeful expression. The technicians were locking down for the night. They studiously avoided his gaze.
Unlike cops and private eyes, the civilian technologists tended to keep regular hours. This wasn't Toronto or Montreal where there were full shifts 24/7. The Regional Centre for Forensic Sciences was only fully staffed Monday to Friday, eight to eight. Otherwise, there were a couple of technicians on duty, primarily for cleaning and maintaining the equipment, and a technologist to handle urgent cases and supervise detectives coming in to do their own work. Jake Carmedy had no such privilege, so when he insisted on coming into the lab, someone politely stopped him from going further.
"Can I help you, sir?"
Jake gave the young woman one of his more charming smiles. She wasn't buying it.
"I need to get this processed," he said. "It's related to the Gage and Proctor murders."
He shifted the box to one arm so he could flash his ID.
The technician swiped the card out of his hand and put it on the scanner without giving it much attention until the scanner triggered a page on her monitor showing Jake Carmedy's information on record matched his card. Then she eye-balled the ID before handing it back.
"Hand," she said.
Jake put his free hand on the scanner. Once again, the scanner confirmed he was who he said he was.
"Mr. Carmedy, I will log your evidence and give you a receipt, but we are backed up with items related to eight murders, not to mention almost a hundred other on-going cases." She sighed. "It's been a busy week."
"Can I talk to your supervisor?"
"I am the supervisor on duty."
Jake winced. My bad.
"Well, ma'am," he said, "the evidence in this box may just tie three of your murders to one person."
She narrowed her eyes and peered at him as if she could scan him for veracity as easily as she could scan his ID.
"Let's log it and then you can leave it with me. I'll get to it as soon as I can."
Though her words were not very encouraging, there was something in her expression making Jake know she was interested. He lay a personal bet that he would have results by the end of her shift.
33
Kate met Delano Gage a couple of times, always in busy social settings, and always when she was with her father. He offered automatic gallantries. She knew he didn't remember her from one meeting to the next. Although a reputed ladies' man, he didn't have his son-in-law's talent for remembering the names and faces of every female he met over the age of sixteen.
Had she not been involved in the case, she probably would have skipped the visitation. Her father would have gone. He never missed an opportunity to network with people. She wasn't that social. She'd have to try to be, for the sake of the business. Judging by what she knew of Jake Carmedy, she couldn't rely on him to hold up that end.
Magnus had picked up her dry cleaning. Kate was able to wear her stylish, but conservative blue suit, the one she had been wearing when Fania Michaels was found. The suit gave her the added confidence and gravitas she needed to walk into a room full of business leaders, politicians and socialites.
She looked around for familiar faces, and found none. Neither Carmedy nor Valerio had arrived yet, and she didn't know whether the chief was going to be there or not. The Touchstone people present were all higher up in the food-chain than the ones Kate knew. Suddenly feeling awkward, she almost felt a ghostly kick in the derriere from her father.
"You are Kathleen Margaret Garrett," he had told her when, in her early teens, she had accompanied him to her first grown-up party. "No one in this room is intrinsically better than you."
Once he explained what intrinsic meant, she felt better and was able to respond to introductions without stuttering or blushing…much. She reddened a little when Felix Proctor paid her a fulsome compliment as he brushed his lips against her hand.
She reminded herself of that first foray into the social world. It stiffened her backbone and at the same time made her a little sad. There would be no cheeky comments from Felix to leaven this gathering.
"Detective Garrett, it is very kind of you to have come."
Kate made a quarter turn and greeted Glynis Gage-Proctor. She had been so wrapped up in her memories she hadn't heard the woman approach.
"I'm very sorry for your loss," she said automatically. She sighed. "I know, not much comfort at a time like this, or even a particularly original thing to say."
Mrs. Gage-Proctor shrugged eloquently. "At least you haven't said, 'I know how you must be feeling.' Although you might be one of the few here who could make that claim."
"No way! I mean," she said, toning down her response, "I wouldn't presume. Everyone's grief is their own."
Glynis took Kate's arm. "Come sit with me. If I'm seen talking to you, perhaps fewer people will bother me with inane questions."
Kate smiled. "Like, 'How are you holding up?' Or, 'Wasn't it a shock?'"
"Exactly."
With the help of one of the funeral directors, Kate and Mrs. Gage-Proctor were soon comfortably ensconced in a pair of wing chairs. A soberly dressed waiter brought fresh cups and a pot of tea.
"I wonder how many of these very important people will come out for Felix's funeral." Glynis smiled and added, "The question was rhetorical."
Kate answered regardless. "I bet most will repeat their performances. They'll know you are paying attention."
"Cannily reasoned, Detective."
"I also bet your husband will gather more real friends, no offence to your father. Delano Gage was an important man. Felix was very popular."
"There will be a lot of weeping women. Will you be one of them?" Then, blushing slightly, she immediately retracted her comment. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
Kate had stiffened, and now she forced herself to relax. Heaven knows, the woman had reason being bitter.
"I will shed a tear," she said sincerely, "for the gentleman who made an awkward girl feel like a princess at her first real party."
Mrs. Gage-Proctor poured the tea. When she spoke, her voice had a slight edge to it. Kate wasn't sure if it was anger or grief. "He was a prince and I was his princess." She tilted her head to one side, like a questioning bird. "Have you ever seen the movie Sabrina, Detective Garrett? I used to love it as a girl. Now I hate it. Do you know why? Because I'm not Sabrina. I'm the fine match everyone wants for the younger son. Jane Osgoode, of all people, is Sabrina. Except there's no Humphrey Bogart or Harrison Ford for her to fall in love with. Felix married me, but his Sabrina remained, living over the metaphorical garage."
"Not just Jane," Kate said gently, hating herself for playing detective at a time like this.
"No, not just Jane," Mrs. Gage-Proctor agreed. "Jane was the only real threat. I hoped Leon Eldridge would be her 'Linus.' I think he would have liked that, too, but I'll give Jane this, she was always loyal. In his way, Felix was always loyal too—to both of us."
The two women sipped their tea thoughtfully. Kate was reluctant to prompt, yet she felt as though there was something important left to be said. Perhaps it wasn't important to the case. It was important to Glynis Gage-Proctor. After her ill-considered remark, Kate felt she owed the woman her patient attention.
"I don't know if you consider me a suspect in my husband's death," the widow said eventually. "At this very moment, I don't care. I do know you are a friend to Jane, and Felix thought highly of you."
Kate shot Mrs. Gage-Proctor a surprised look and received a stately smile and nod in return.
"I want you to understand while I harbour some natural resentment toward Jane Osgoode, I also realize that, from her point of view, I am the other woman. This has been a long-standing state of affairs, with no recent change in the dynamic, whatever you might have heard about my husband's flings. Neither of us had any reason to kill Felix that we didn't have before, nor wouldn't have again in another decade if he was alive."
Kate sipped her tea and said nothing. She didn't consider Glynis Gage-Proctor a serious suspect, though not for the reason offered. On the contrary, sometimes old wounds take time surfacing.
34
Jake dropped by the office for a quick change of clothes. Although he wasn't aware of expecting Kate to be there, he was disappointed when she wasn't waiting for him. He wanted to share his news. He had a strong feeling whatever they found on the security cameras from Moonlight Games would make or break their case.
He wasn't the only one who thought it was significant. Although sceptical about finding anyone who could help them, Sabrina Yao called her security provider when he asked and let him sit in on the video conference. Far from having difficulty persuading them to release the damaged system, they learned the company had everything packed up, ready to go.
"Protocol requires we keep all damaged materiel for a period, in keeping with the nature of the damage," said the agent . "Most of the time, it isn't necessary. This time … let's just say, we had a feeling."
If nothing else, he would have loved sharing that part of the story with Kate, including the look on Sabrina's face. Instead, he picked out a black shirt from amongst the spare clothes he kept at the office, and decided everything else was fine for a visitation.
Naturally, Vince found fault. Jake met him by chance outside the funeral home. Vince was all in black, most of which was silk, and the effect was unusually formal after six.
"Very Important Rich Person," he said. "A room full of other VIRPs. This should speak to your inner fashionista."
"I don't have an inner fashionista," Jake said.
"That I can believe. Obviously, I will have to take you under my wing, just as I did Kate and Joe."
"Joe?"
"Joe taught me how to be a good detective. He didn't need to teach me anything about appropriate costuming. He did need me to remind him a private investigator shouldn't always dress like Magnum PI, especially in southern Ontario."
Jake laughed, which called attention to him as he entered the parlour. Self-consciously, he turned the chuckle into a cough. Vince patted him on the back and remarked, to no one in particular, grief hits each of us in different ways.
Recovering quickly, Jake scanned the crowd until he found Kate. Ruefully, he noticed she was just as elegantly attired as the stately Mrs. Proctor-Gage, who she sat with. Amongst all the wool and silk suits, Jake felt like the poor relation.
"Lighten up, Jake," Vince said, poking his arm. "Fashion lesson number one, always act like you are wearing the exact right thing, even if you are not. If one of those VIRPs had come straight from the golf course, she or he would have carried off a polo shirt and knickers as if it were the latest fashion in formal wear."
Jake smiled and let Vince lead him around the room to meet and greet. Eventually, he struck off on his own, seeing an opening in the crowd around Felicity Gage. She was holding court from a wing chair set near the flower-covered, closed coffin. Standing to one side was Daniel Zeigler, acting as watchdog. Jake wondered whether his primary task was to protect his mistress from the crowd, or from herself. Although she had a coffee cup in hand, it didn't take a detective to notice her java was spiked with a generous amount of brandy, or to see her carefully modulated voice was one of an intoxicated person taking great pains not to seem so. There wasn't much point in talking to her, here and now, so he moved on.
Then he spotted someone he wanted to talk to almost as much as he wanted to speak with Kate Garrett. Nissa Ilko was striking an elegant pose while exchanging pleasantries with the Mayor. When His Honour moved on, Jake moved in.
This evening, Nissa was a blonde bombshell in a sculpted forties-style suit. It wasn't quite as dashing as one of Jane's suits, but she was very striking in black and white, with one touch of colour being a red rose on her lapel.
"One of Delano Gage's favourite outfits?" he asked.
She smiled and shook her head.
"Well, you look lovely as always, Ms. Ilko."
"Thank you, Mr. Carmedy."
"I know you can't return the complement. Detective Valerio has made it clear that I am far from well-dressed this evening."
"I would never be so rude as to point that out," she said, her smile broadening. "I will say this, you are like a breath of fresh air in this mausoleum. If I thought you could afford me, I'd ask you for a job."
"Are you looking for a new position?"
"No one has asked for my resignation yet, if that's what you mean. With Mr. Gage and Mr. Proctor gone, I think it might be time to move on."
"You were close to both of them?"
His tone was so falsely innocent it immediately raised Nissa Ilko's defences. She gave Jake a stern look. He'd received worse.
"On the night of the wake, you slapped Felix Proctor pretty hard," he reminded her.
"As I told Police Detective Singh, it was not for the obvious reason."
"Then, there was nothing between you and Felix?"
She sighed. "Murder is such a public affair, i
sn't it? Mr. Proctor and I shared a very brief liaison, which I broke off in deference to the Gage family, including Glynis Gage-Proctor. Felix understood my feelings and I thought he shared them. When I saw him so openly intimate with Jane Osgoode, I was angry. He once told me Jane was the woman he should have married. My response was to point out he hadn't married her, he married Glynis. He made his decision and it was time he stood by it. When I reminded him of that, he made an unfortunate comment about jealousy. That's when I slapped him."
She gave a tight-lipped smile. "To be honest, I think Glynis will be better off without him. She certainly deserves better."
"I tend to agree," said Kate.
Jake started slightly. He hadn't sensed her arrival. He must be really tired to let anyone blind-side him like that.
Kate stepped in closer to Jake and addressed Nissa. "A few days ago you let slip Mr. Gage went to Leon Eldridge for help. What kind of help?"
"Touchstone periodically performs risk assessments on key executives. Mr. Gage knew the board was going to approach Mr. Eldridge to do one on him. A thorough risk assessment would have revealed Mr. Gage's health problems."
"He bribed Eldridge to fudge the report?" Jake asked.
Both women shook their heads.
"He wouldn't have done it," Kate said. "Eldridge wouldn't risk his reputation and Gage would have known better than to ask."
Nissa gave Kate a slight bow, "Detective Garrett is correct. Mr. Gage simply asked Mr. Eldridge to be unavailable for the job. Then, to make it worth his while, he assigned him the task of performing a Level-A risk assessment on Moonlight Games."
Kate smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Ilko, you have been very helpful."
"My pleasure, Detective Garrett. Perhaps when this is all over, we can meet on a first-name basis. Your father and I were friends. In fact, he warned me about Felix Proctor. I should have taken his advice sooner. For that matter, Jane Osgoode should have listened to him, as well. Speaking of whom..."
Deadly Legacy (A Carmedy & Garrett Mystery) Page 19