by Sara Gauldin
“For the record, she didn’t know his name, either.”
“You have reached your destination,” the phone announced. I couldn’t help thinking she sounded a bit too satisfied with our arrival.
Genevieve put the car in park. “What else do we know about this guy?”
I flipped through Genevieve’s fresh stack of reports until I found the right interview. “Here we go. It looks like Zachary Vance is the son of Daniel and Marcella Vance. They run a network of ISPs.”
“Well, let’s see what this guy has to say.”
We went to the door. The camera system was obvious on the front porch. There was no element of surprise here. I pushed the doorbell. A moment later, a speaker in the doorbell unit came to life. “Can I help you?” It was a man’s voice.
Genevieve didn’t wait for me to answer. “Yes, I hope you can. I’m Special Agent Genevieve Richards. My associate and I are here to speak with Zachary Vance.” She flashed her badge at the camera, holding it just long enough for whoever was on the intercom to get a good look.
After a long pause, the door opened. Zachary Vance was a good looking man, with dark hair and eyes, but it was hard to focus on those traits as I looked down at him. He was at least an inch or two shorter than my optimistic five-foot-two. It tried to imagine him standing next to my five foot seven friend, Dana.
Zachary scowled. “May I help you?”
“I hope so,” I answered before I realized I would speak.
“As I already said, I’m Special Agent Genevieve Richards. This is my associate, Avery Rich. We need to speak with you about Dana Myer.”
“Look, I don’t know what you heard. Dana and I haven’t been seeing each other for a while now. Like I told the other cops, I’m sorry for her family, but I don’t know anything.” He moved to close the door. Genevieve blocked it with her foot.
“Mr. Vance. Please understand that we came to you here as a courtesy.”
“An uninvited courtesy.”
“Yes, but we thought you would appreciate not being picked up by the local PD. Many people find that situation uncomfortable.”
“Are you threatening me?” Zachary’s eyes narrowed, giving him a weasel-like appearance.
Genevieve smiled. “No, I’m informing you of your options.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Fine, come in.” He let the door swing open and stepped aside so we could enter.
Genevieve and I stepped into an empty foyer with a marble tile floor. We could hear the distinctive sound of a vacuum somewhere in the house.
“It’s loud in the living room. Perhaps my office?” Zachary wasn’t interested in a response. He gestured toward a hallway and led us to a good-sized office with double French doors. Genevieve and I sat in the chairs in front of an oversized desk. Zachary went behind his desk and sat down. He leaned forward, and with his elbows on the desk, he glared at us.
Something about this guy put me on edge. I tried to look casual as I moved my hand closer to my weapon.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.” Genevieve was a constant professional.
Zachary nodded.
“Right, so tell us, how did you know Dana Myer?”
“Biblically,” Zachary said with a sneer.
I took a deep breath as I tried to fight back my shock. “And how long have you know her?” I asked.
“That seems personal.”
“Well, then how and when did you meet Dana?” I spoke with authority; there was no need for this jerk to be so crass.
“We met at a cocktail party. She was there with another guy. He was more interested in the mini bar, so Dana and I ended up spending the evening together.”
“Whose party was it, and what was the date?” Genevieve clicked her pen, waiting to write a definitive answer.
“I couldn’t say when off the top of my head. I’ll get with my PA and get back with you.”
“We would appreciate that. What about the ‘who’ part, surely you remember who put on the party?” Genevieve looked at Zachary like an old librarian, daring him to step out of line with her eyes.
“It was a charity event for Children’s Cancer, put on by Microcircuits Inc.”
Genevieve scribbled down his answer.
I cleared my throat, trying to erase the anger building before I spoke. “And after that, did you and Dana date for a time?”
“Yes, we went out a few times. But it wasn’t going to work out.”
I tried to look surprised. “Really? What was wrong?”
“It was a conflict of interest. I have to think of my company.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’m a little lost. Please explain what that means.”
“My company has to be groundbreaking. That’s what keeps us in business. We are the ones to beat.”
“Are you suggesting that somehow Dana stood in the way of that?” Genevieve asked.
“No. I found out Dana was working for the competition. She met with Justin Jansworth. He is the acting CEO of Vibeworks Technology.
“How do you know she met with him?” I asked. There was something in his story that didn’t add up.
“I’m expecting a call any minute. I’m sorry, but I have to take this one.” Zachary reached behind his desk and pulled open a drawer.
There was no sound of a phone ringing. Both Genevieve and I reacted in one spontaneous motion, drawing our weapons as we stood. “Hands-on your head, now,” Genevieve ordered.
Zachary hesitated for a long moment looking back and forth between Genevieve and me as though he was unconvinced we were real. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, I heard him drop something heavy back into the drawer, and he put his hands up.
Genevieve and I went around the desk on opposite sides, keeping Zacchary covered. Genevieve reached him a moment before I did and began searching and handcuffing him. Once he was secured, I ventured a look into the drawer. There was a small pistol there, just as I suspected.
I picked up the gun and unloaded it. “That was a mistake. Here we weren’t even looking at you as a suspect. We just needed to know more about Dana’s life. But instead of cooperating, you pulled a gun on a federal agent.”
Taking Genevieve’s quoted advice, Zacchary remained silent. We escorted him out the front door for the locals to pick up. We had more questions for him, but we would interview him at the station.
***
The housekeeper was dancing with her headphones on, behind the vacuum in the master bedroom. I tried waving to get her attention, but it was no use. I stepped in the path of her vacuum. The gray-haired woman jumped straight up in the air, clutching her chest. For a moment, I wondered if I had given her a heart attack.
She turned off the vacuum. “Who are you?” she demanded as she pulled her headphones from her ears.
Genevieve pulled out her badge and made our introductions.
The woman kept her hand clutched over her heart, but she visibly relaxed as she realized we weren’t intruders. “I’m Florence Walker. Most people call me Flo.”
“Sorry we startled you. We needed to talk to you.” Genevieve gave her a reassuring smile.
“What are you ladies doing here?” Flo asked.
“We came to talk to Mr. Vance, but he wasn’t cooperative.” I tried not to roll my eyes.
Genevieve nodded. “We will search the house. You need to leave before the team gets started.”
Flo’s eyes widened. “Oh, all right. I’ll just get my things.”
“Wait!” I said.
Flo looked at me like I was losing my mind.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Me?” Her voice raised an octave.
“Yes.”
“Well, all right.”
“How long have you been cleaning for Mr. Vance?”
Flo looked up as though she was hoping the answer would appear. “I would say close to two years.”
I pulled out my phone and found the AP article about Dana’s murder. As
I recalled, there was a recent picture of my childhood friend at the top. I showed the picture to Flo. “Have you ever seen this lady?”
Flo took the phone from my hand and looked at it more carefully. “Mr. Vance has many lady friends here, but yes, that one I remember.”
“What do you remember about her?” I asked. Some deep sense of loss threatened to trigger some well-buried emotions inside me, but I stuffed them back down where I kept my memories of Ryan Kain and tried not to let my expression give me away.
“Dana, yep, she was nicer than most of them. She used her manners.”
“Did you ever talk to Dana?” Genevieve asked.
“I’m not supposed to talk to the guests while I’m on the clock. But one time she was here and Mr. Vance left, right in the middle of their date. Her car wasn’t here and she was stuck. So, I asked her if I could give her a ride.”
“And did you?”
“I took her downtown to an office building. She said she had a friend there.”
“Do you know the address of the building?” I asked.
“No, but I’d know if I saw it. It’s next to that building with the huge mural of a child.”
Genevieve jotted something down in the little notebook she always carried. “That is helpful. Did Dana say much on the drive?”
“She talked about how she planned to take a trip somewhere or another. I can’t remember where. She was nervous about her flight.”
“Thank you so much for your time.” Genevieve smiled.
***
Genevieve drove toward the station with a satisfied look on her face. “We have some leads to follow up on. I will request a full financial work up on Zachary Vance. I don’t know his involvement in all of this, but if he’s willing to pull a gun on an FBI agent, I’d be willing to bet he’s into something up to his armpits.”
We pulled up at the police department. I put the notes I was working on back in my bag. “I agree. I want to see if we can pull the traffic camera footage for Third Street. If Dana was coming and going from that building, we need to know why. We also need to have a look at both of the tech companies that Dana was supposedly trading information between. Not only that, who is this Jansworth guy? We may need to follow up on him as a lead.”
“Make a list of all of it, and we will deal with it this afternoon.” Genevieve pushed the lock button on the car, causing it to blare the horn. “I miss my vehicle.”
“How are the repairs coming?” I asked.
“They may be done this afternoon. I hope so.”
“I hope so, too.” The memory of what happened made me shiver. Something was going on here, and I doubted it had anything to do with the case. I wished I had a way to contact Tori Kain. If anybody was keeping tabs on the George family to make sure they were true to their promise to leave us alone, Tori would be the one to know.
“Avery, you okay?” Genevieve looked at me like I was a lost child.
“Oh, sure.” I realized I had been just standing there with my hand on the car door, stuck in suspended animation.
“You seem a little out of it.”
“I didn’t sleep very well last night. The case is winding up, but not knowing why someone tried to kill us is bothering me.”
“Well, Tony Guilford has had some time in lock-up to consider his situation, so now may be a good time to talk to him.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Let’s see what the jerk has to say.”
***
“I’m confused. Who did you say authorized Mr. Guilford’s transfer?” Genevieve glared at Commander Jennings over top of his desk.
“I got a transfer request yesterday afternoon. It was from the FBI, claiming jurisdiction based on the damage to the FBI issued car.”
“Who delivered the papers?” Genevieve asked.
“Mr. Guilford’s attorney brought in the actual papers, but an agent picked him up for transport.” Jennings’s face was flushed and ruddy as he came to realize that something may be wrong with the whole situation.
“What agent? Did you get a badge number?” I asked.
“Yes, there’s a process. The lady who came here filled out paperwork with booking. We don’t just sign out prisoners to anybody.” The commander was shaking. He grabbed the phone off of his desk and used the intercom to call whoever took the paperwork. “Yes, the prisoner who the FBI transferred out earlier, did you process him?” I could hear the other person speaking, a male voice. “All right, I want that paperwork in my office immediately.” The officer replied. I couldn’t catch what he said. “I don’t know if there’s a problem. That’s what we have to find out!”
Jennings put the phone back on its cradle. “Officer Bradley is on his way in with the paperwork. He says the lady agent checked out Tony Guilford.”
“Well, I want to know who transferred the prisoner and why. This is not the way the bureau handles things, especially when they know there is a special agent onsite and involved in the investigation.”
Officer Bradley knocked on the commander’s door and then entered without waiting for an invitation. “Sir,” he said, handing the forms over to the commander.
Commander Jennings read the papers, examining each one as though it would solve the murders and not just the mystery of the checked-out prisoner.
Genevieve shot me a concerned look. She kept her clenched hands in her lap as she waited for the commander to have his fill of the reading.
“Did they make a copy of the agent’s badge?” I broke the awkward silence before Genevieve lost her ability to wait.
“They did, here.” Jennings pulled off the last page of the stack and handed it to Genevieve instead of me. It bothered me for a second, but he was right. She was the special agent, and I was more of a special helper… I needed to work on my career goals.
Genevieve examined the single sheet of copy paper as though it was a lost copy of the constitution, and I continued to wait, the only person in the room who hadn’t read the documents.
“I can’t tell,” Genevieve declared.
“What?” I almost yelled it. The wait was weighing on me.
“I can’t tell if it’s a legitimate badge. It looks right, but there are watermarks and other tricks on the original badge. I can’t see that or the fine print on a photocopy. The details just aren’t sharp enough.”
“Are you going to call it in?” I asked.
“You better believe it. If somebody is playing a game, I’ll have it shut down within the hour. Nobody just swoops my case without telling me, especially when it’s personal.” She stomped out of the room to make her calls in private. I was glad I wasn’t the one on the receiving end of her anger.
I turned to the commander. “Any news on the Gerald New person who Sunny claimed put her up to the shootings?”
Jennings brightened. “Yes, it turns out that they picked him up in Toledo for possession with intent. They are holding him there. I put in a request for extradition, but I think if you want to talk to him, you would have to take a drive.”
“It makes Sunny’s claims of him pushing her to make the hit seem a little unlikely. What is Sunny’s status?” I asked.
“She’s still in lock-up. You can speak to her again if you like.”
“I would, but for right now, at least one of us needs to stay on this case. We have a killer to stop.”
“That’s the Avery I remember.” Commander Jennings smirked at me like a proud parent.
I brought the commander up to date about the Vance interview. He already had spoken with Vance once he was booked. We compared notes. Jennings hadn’t heard the part where Vance accused Dana of helping the competition. Vance had decided it made him sound guilty by the time he landed in an interview room.
“So, are you going after Justin Jansworth?” Commander Jennings asked.
“I don’t know how far we can go, but we will follow up on the lead. Have you heard from Dr. Sanchez about the third body yet?”
“She is still doing some testing, but she h
as confirmed that the body is Holly Mangrum. As for the cause of death, she bled out like the others. But Dr. Sanchez thinks the killer dumped this body much quicker than the others. It wasn’t completely frozen, and the time she was missing was much shorter.”
“So the freezing option has become a problem, maybe because of the weather like we thought, or…”
“Or the killer is speeding up their kill cycle.” Jennings finished my thought.
Chapter 20
“Where to first?” I asked Genevieve. She looked as put together as usual, but the redness hiding along her collar made me wonder how much she was holding in.
“Well I’d like to track down whoever took Tony Guilford from custody, but for right now, all I’m getting is red tape. So we are back to the murder case, full steam ahead. We need to get this one nailed down.”
I wondered what she meant by red tape, but now wasn’t the time to push her for answers. “I agree, the longer we take to find the killer, the more time there is for things to go badly.” I couldn’t shake a bad feeling. Maybe it was the potential connections the crimes had, or maybe it was the fact that we still didn’t know why the men tried to kill us only a few days earlier. I sighed.
“What’s going on with you?” Genevieve shot me a sideways glance as she drove.
“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to concern Genevieve. “I talked to my dad today. Something about him involving himself in all of this doesn’t seem right. It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“I have to say that worried me a little. I was wondering if you were too close to this case.”
“I would have told you that wasn’t an issue a few days ago,” I said.
“And now?” Genevieve asked.
“Now, I feel guilty asking you if you would drive by the Oakland Cemetery on our way to the airport.”
“The cemetery?”
“I know it seems a little strange, but I visited my mother’s grave a few days ago, and there was a bouquet of daisies on her grave. I thought it had to be from my dad when I realized he was in town, but when I mentioned the flowers this morning at breakfast, he freaked out.”