“It’s too early to say, but it’s certainly an avenue worth exploring.” Paige realized that Cindy never said or even speculated why Reid had been in the building, and it was time to revisit that. “Do you know why Mr. Reid would have been here?”
“Your guess would be as good as mine, but I have interviewed him here—in my apartment—in the past.”
“Where he made the moves on you?” Paige asked.
That question elicited a relaxed smile. “Yeah, he made moves.”
So Reid wasn’t opposed to spending time alone with women—not his wife—in those women’s homes no less. Was Cindy Beat an exception or the norm for Reid? Paige would guess more likely the latter. And if he was a philanderer and Mrs. Reid found out…well, that could spell trouble—and more to the point, motive for murder. “When was your last interview?”
“Say six months ago, give or take a few days.”
Paige shot to her feet, and both Brandon and Cindy looked at her. She held up a hand. “Just needed to stretch.” And get feeling back in my ass!
Brandon slowly took his gaze from her and put it on Cindy. “What was the interview about?”
“Oh, Mr. Reid was representing a college student who had been raped by the school’s dean. I thought the story was worth covering. It was a male student,” she said, emphasizing the last part with a slight raise of her brows.
Sadly, sexual assaults and rape were perpetrated far too often by people in a position of power or someone the victim had trusted. “Definitely a story worth telling—whether the student was male or female,” Paige said.
“True, but less common for a guy to come forward.”
Paige and Brandon excused themselves and thanked her for her time and insights. While they waited for the elevator, Paige said, “Well, wasn’t she Miss Informative?”
Brandon looked over at her and smirked. “She really was. Gave us an insight into Reid and at least a couple possible motives for his murder.”
“Personal, if he was a cheater and his wife found out, and professional, if his stand got him targeted. The guy had it coming from all directions.”
“What now? The next floor or…”
Paige consulted her watch, and it was close to two in the afternoon. “It’s time to meet with Jack and Kelly at the Arlington PD.”
“So happy to hear you say that.”
Paige nudged him in the arm. “Canvassing really that bad for you?”
He lolled his head side to side. “I’d rather have a root canal.”
Paige laughed. “Nuff said.”
-
Eleven
Kelly couldn’t get poor Brad McCarthy out of her mind. He’d just done his job, as far as he was concerned, by covering for his boss—but he was facing a reprimand. Maybe loyalty was overrated. Or at least in certain cases. She and Jack beat Paige and Brandon to the police station. They’d just asked the clerk at the front desk for Captain Herrera when the two of them walked in, and Herrera entered the lobby from a back hall.
Herrera’s gaze swept over all of them. “Perfect timing. Everyone, follow me.”
He led them through a small maze of corridors and showed them to a conference room. Two officers were putting up some photos on a whiteboard that spanned the length of the room.
“These are Officers Green and Chase. They’re here to help with whatever is needed. Their next task will be to pull backgrounds on all Wilson Place employees to see if anything stands out.”
Chase was in her late twenties, given the maturity in her eyes and the confidence with which she carried herself. She kept what was probably shoulder-length hair in a bun. Green resembled his name: he looked like a newer recruit. Crew-cut blond hair and blue eyes. He smiled at Kelly at his introduction, and she dipped her head in acknowledgment. Why is it always the younger ones?
Kelly took a seat at the table, as did Jack and the rest of the team.
Herrera took position at the head of the table. “I was able to get the sign-in book from Wilson Place, and I took the initiative to start looking at it. I have yet to find a time and date where Mr. Reid had signed in.”
“Really?” Paige said, her voice a little tight. “That doesn’t make sense, in light of what Brandon and I have learned. The doorman on duty this morning said that Mr. Reid entered the building at eleven last night.”
“I don’t know what else to say, but he’s not in the book.”
“Huh,” Paige huffed out.
Herrera held up his hands. “Can’t give you what I don’t have.”
“What makes Reid an exception to the building’s protocol?” Kelly asked, the possibilities swimming in her mind with the foremost being that Reid held sway over the clerk and used his influence because he didn’t want anyone to know he was there—but why? What was he hiding? There was another likelihood, though. “If Reid had an apartment there, he wouldn’t need to sign in,” she said, answering her own question.
“That occurred to me,” Herrera said. “I’ve already requested the tenant list from the building management company, and I suspect it should be here any minute.”
Paige nodded. “You were there when we tried to get some answers from the front desk clerk, Captain.” She turned her attention to Kelly and Jack. “The clerk was afraid to speak to us and betray the privacy of the tenants and their visitors.”
“He feared for his job,” Jack concluded.
“That’s right. Now, the doorman we spoke to only started three days ago, but he recommended that we speak to the former doorman.”
“He’s no longer in the employ of Wilson Place, so he could be more open to talking,” Jack surmised.
Paige gestured to Brandon. “That’s what we thought. Then again, there might be a confidentiality agreement that surpasses term of employment.”
“Only one way to find out,” Jack said. “Let’s talk to him.”
“Can do, Jack. Brandon and I did some canvassing, the entire eleventh floor to be precise, and we spoke with a podcaster who said she interviewed Mr. Reid in her apartment about six months ago.” Paige shot a look a Herrera. “Nothing in the book for Reid then, either?”
Herrera sat back, appearing flustered and sighed deeply. “We can certainly dig into the book more, but I’m telling you, I never saw one instance of Reid signing in.” The room fell silent, and Herrera tapped his chin. “You said she was a podcaster?”
“Yeah. Name’s Cindy Beat. Runs something about…” Brandon seemed to be searching his memory.
“Keeping a Pulse on Law & Politics,” Paige chirped in.
“It’s a huge podcast.” Officer Green lowered a photo he’d been about to stick to the whiteboard as everyone looked at him.
“Go on,” Herrera prompted.
“I listen to it sometimes. She’s sure a loudmouth, but it’s what makes her podcast lively. She says what other people wouldn’t dare to say. Gotta respect that.”
Kelly puffed out her chest and smirked. Herrera frowned, and his reaction probably reflected how most people in positions of authority felt about that statement. They’d rather their underlings not question their directives. Jack, whose opinion mattered to her, looked indifferent to Green’s comment.
“Anyone who can make politics lively…Now there’s a gift,” Brandon muttered.
Paige faced him. “Have you been living under a rock? Something ‘lively’ hits Twitter every day.”
Kelly smiled to herself. If only her grandfather had lived to see Trump in office and how politics had taken the stage of social media; he’d die all over again. She put her focus back on the case and what Paige had said. “Don’t you find it strange this podcaster interviewed Reid in her home?”
“Not really. She works out of her apartment.”
“Oh.” Kelly was having a hard time releasing the aide’s expressed suspicions about Reid’s infidelities.
“Do you think there was more going on between them?”
Paige shook her head. “Definitely not. She made it very clear to Brandon and me that she doesn’t get involved with married men.”
Kelly caught Brandon glimpse briefly at Paige before he put his gaze on the whiteboard, and she was curious if there was an underlying narrative there.
“Okay, so Reid wasn’t with this podcaster for romantic interests,” Kelly began, “but we still need to know why Reid didn’t sign in.”
“That will be something we need to find out,” Jack stated.
“Now, just because Cindy doesn’t get involved with married men doesn’t mean that Reid wasn’t interested.” Paige looked around the table. “Apparently, Reid did make moves on her.”
Kelly found herself breathing easier. “It’s interesting that you say that.” She glanced at Jack, whose face was unreadable and all hard lines. “We just came from the attorney’s office, and Reid’s aide had reason to suspect Reid might have been cheating on his wife.”
“Might have been,” Jack emphasized.
Kelly wasn’t sure why Jack hesitated to consider the aide’s statements as relevant to the case. It felt like he would be more than happy to shuffle them aside as inconsequential. But jealousy was the number one motive for murder. There was one textbook problem with the theory of a woman scorned, however. Murders of passion were usually executed in the moment, up close and personal. But “textbook” would become skewed if someone was paid to kill. “Our sniper very well could be a hired gun.”
Everyone in the room looked at her. Paige and Brandon paled a little.
“It’s possible, Jack.” Brandon was the first to agree with Kelly, and she almost fell off her chair. “When we were with the podcaster, she did an internet search and found an article on Reid’s murder that suggested he was taken out.”
“Wow.” Jack shook his head. “We take our cue from the media now.”
Brandon grimaced.
“Do you think we should get out in front of this? Do a press conference?” Paige asked and received a glare.
“I’d suggest we say nothing until we have something more concrete to say,” Herrera suggested.
Jack looked thoughtfully at the captain. “I’d normally say that something needs to be said—an acknowledgment of what happened at least. Even if it’s just to show that we’re taking this incident very seriously, but until we know more about what we’re dealing with here, we can’t risk saying the wrong thing and enticing the sniper to possibly act again.”
“Do you think there’s a risk of that?” Herrera sought out Kelly’s gaze, and she grasped that he was on board with her theory about a hired hit, and she found some more courage.
“When Jack and I were at the attorney’s office, we found out about a recent case Reid was working on.”
“The one with the drunk driver who killed a family of three?” Brandon asked.
Kelly’s heart raced. “Yes, that’s the one. Reid was planning to use the case to change laws on sentencing for drinking and driving causing death. Maybe William Pratchett took justice into his own hands.”
“Now that’s an assumption,” Jack reprimanded.
“He’d have the money. I’m sure he’d have the contacts to make something like that happen.” The words were out in a torrent, and internally, she winced, though it felt good to stand her ground.
“Hmm,” was all she got out of Jack. Whether that was a good thing or a chord of displeasure, she wasn’t sure.
“I don’t think we should rule Pratchett out.” Paige cut Kelly a look of reassurance that she had her back.
Jack leveled a glare on her. “Then you suggest that we go to the owner of a media conglomerate and start interrogating him?”
Kelly shrank—for herself and Paige. She hadn’t thought that part through.
“I suggest that we do, yes.” Paige stiffened her shoulders. “We can’t just turn our backs on him because of who he is and what he does.”
Jack and Paige locked eyes. Kelly could understand both sides. Jack was concerned about Pratchett making the FBI look like a clown-run circus, and Paige didn’t want to leave the avenue of Pratchett unexplored. No one spoke for about a minute until Herrera broke the silence.
Herrera started with looking at Jack and swept his gaze over the team, one by one. “It seems like you’re somewhat divided, but is it safe to say that we can rule out an act of terrorism? No one’s come forward, and there was only one casualty. But where does that leave us? The hired gun? If our sniper is one, have they killed before, will they again? Is there any established pattern we can follow?” Herrera rubbed the back of his neck.
“Only time will answer those questions, but as Brandon has mentioned before, our sniper is likely someone affiliated with the military or law enforcement,” Jack said. “Either in active duty or formerly.”
“Now, Jack and I got a call on the way here from Reid’s aide,” Kelly said. “None of Reid’s open or closed cases directly involved former military, but what about Pratchett? Does he have any association with the military or law enforcement?” She was feeling more emboldened with Paige by her side.
“I can pull a quick background.” Officer Chase swiped the laptop that was on the table in front of Herrera and began clicking away.
“All it takes is one degree of separation.” Herrera tapped a finger on the table. “Even if Pratchett didn’t serve, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t know someone who could pull this off. A man like him would never bloody his own hands.”
Jack was scowling, and Kelly could tell he really didn’t want to press Pratchett and stir up that hornet’s nest.
“Okay, devil’s advocate,” Brandon started, “if we’re thinking a hired gun, maybe Reid’s wife hired them—or a jilted lover.”
Herrera blew out an exasperated sigh. “The elusive motive.”
“Uh-huh.” Jack pulled out his cigarette pack and knocked it against the table.
Herrera’s phone buzzed, and he looked at the screen. “Just got word from the ME. Autopsy’s in an hour. You and your team joining me, Agent Harper?”
“Ah.” Green lifted his head from the laptop, face pale, and held up a finger as if asking to be called on in class. “William Pratchett did serve time in the military.”
“We can’t ignore that connection,” Paige said, and Kelly looked forward to the time when she could speak her mind as freely with Jack.
“Fine. But tread carefully. Don’t ruffle the man’s feathers.”
“Understood.”
“Kelly and I are going to speak with the former doorman, see if he has anything to offer where Reid is concerned. Captain Herrera, if you would keep us posted on the ME’s findings and anything else your team uncovers,” Jack said.
“Of course. I’ll have them see if any Wilson Place employees have any sort of military background, too.”
Everyone got up at once and rushed for the door.
-
Twelve
I stuck my nose in my phone while Paige drove us to Pratchett Group headquarters. I whistled at the sight of the company’s net worth. “The guy’s worth a mint. There’s no doubt if this guy wanted to hire a hit, he could afford it. Maybe even get one of his former military buddies to carry it out.”
“A man like that would also be able to afford an army of lawyers.”
“So you don’t think he’s behind Reid’s murder now? You sounded like you thought he was back at the police station.”
“Because I felt for Kelly. Jack’s being tough on her. Have you noticed?” She stopped hard for a yellow light and looked over at me. “Is it just me, or is he more brash than usual? He really seems to be putting Kelly through the wringer.”
I laughed.
“What am I missing?”
“He was the same way with me when I came on board. You just
didn’t notice.”
Paige put her attention back on the road, but we weren’t moving anywhere anytime soon. “No, if he had been, I would have noticed.”
“Maybe you’ve just forgotten.”
Nothing was said for a few beats. The light turned, and we started on our way again.
“Okay, maybe Jack applies a lot of pressure to his new agents.” Her admission came a few blocks later.
“You think?” I laughed again. “There were days I wanted to curl up into the fetal position.”
“Come on, really?”
“Not quite, but close.” I held my fingers to within half an inch of each other. “I thought for sure he was going to break me some days. He’s certainly the strong and silent type.”
“So what? He’s not a conversationalist. He only says what he feels is important.”
“No wasted words; I get it.” I paused and took in the city streets. All the people going about their lives with no thought about murders and killers. I continued. “It must be a shock for Kelly, though. Jack was much nicer to her in Florida when she was just helping us out.”
“Ah, maybe that’s why I’m noticing that he’s different.” Paige signaled to turn left into the underground garage of a towering high-rise. “You came on board as an agent from the get-go. I had no previous interactions to base his treatment of you on.”
“Could be, but…”
“What?” She eyed me skeptically.
“It’s going to sound sexist, but maybe you just notice because Kelly’s a woman.”
“Oh, please.”
I hitched a shoulder. “Just saying.”
“Well, unsay it. Besides, it’s not like Jack would ever treat any of us differently for that reason.”
“I never said that. I said that’s why you’re noticing how he’s treating her and never noticed how he treated me.”
“Oh, so I’m the one who’s biased?”
I chuckled at her serious tone, probably shouldn’t have. Her eyes fired lasers. I tried to salvage myself. “I’m just saying that you’re a woman, so is Kelly, so you probably empathize with her more.”
Past Deeds Page 7