“We assumed there were subway delays. I give the interns cab fare all the time, but I’m pretty surethey pocket it and take the subway.”
“Ms. Galvez.” Shaw was clearly not amused.
Martha pursed her lips. “When we realized Nathan might not make it back in time for Park to give the speech, we had to make a Plan B. Park reconstructed the speech from memory on the back of a napkin. The version he gave was not as good as what we’d come up with on the road, but it went fine.”
Park glaredat Martha, a little offended—he’d thought the speech was pretty good considering he’d had to reconstruct the lost one in a matter of minutes.
Shaw nodded. “Did Nathan try to contact you to explain the delay?”
“No,” said Martha. “I went straight home from the fund-raiser. I didn’t know anything was wrong until Park called me from the police station.”
“You weren’t curious when Nathandidn’t return?”
“I tried calling and texting Nathan a few times before the speech to get an ETA, but I got no response. That didn’t surprise me too much. Like I said, I assumed he got stuck in the subway with no cell signal. After the speech, it wasn’t an issue anymore and it slipped my mind.”
“We’re going to want to talk to Nathan to corroborate your stories.”
“I’ll give you his numberon the way out.”
Gavin wrote a note, then looked back up at Martha. “And you spent the entire fund-raiser with Mr. Livingston?”
“Most of it, yeah. I’m sure I had to excuse myself to go to powder my nose a few times. But Park was never out of my sight for more than a few minutes at a time.”
“Why was that?”
Martha shrugged. “He needed moral support. After the weekend in Buffalo,he was especially tired. And as campaign manager, it’s my job to know which people are important for him to talk to, so I frequently steer him around events like this and make introductions.”
Shaw seemed skeptical, but he clearly hadn’t worked much with people in politics before. Still, he didn’t question it further and instead wrote something in his notes. “All right. The main reason I broughtyou here is that, if you indeed had nothing to do with this crime, you’re a potential witness, Mr. Livingston. I’ve got four unidentified people who went into your apartment building the night of the murder, and I wondered if you could identify them.”
“I assume Nathan Roberts was on the identified list?” Jackson asked.
“He was. According to the timestamp on the video, he entered the lobbyabout an hour after the medical examiner’s time of death estimate.” Gavin grunted and adjusted his posture in the chair. “The vast majority of people in the lobby video were identified by the doorman as residents or frequent visitors. There were also a handful of food delivery guys, most of whom the doorman identified or else we’ve since confirmed worked at the restaurants they said they did.We cross-checked the list with the sign-in sheet and came up with four question marks. So.” Shaw reached into a folder and pulled out four printouts. He held up the first one to Park. “This guy look familiar?”
Park peered at it. Dark-haired guy with a mustache. “No, I don’t know him.”
Shaw sighed and put it aside. “This woman?”
Brunette in a navy trench coat. “I’ve seen her aroundthe building, but I don’t know who she is.”
“Can you recall the first time you saw her?”
“A few months ago. I think she’s dating the guy who lives down the hall from me in 9F. I’m surprised the doorman didn’t recognize her. I’ve definitely seen her in the elevator, though.”
Shaw turned the photo around and looked at it for a moment before putting it aside. “I’ll follow up with that.All right. This guy.”
Skinny guy with glasses. Something about him tugged at Park’s memory. “He’s familiar, but I can’t place him.”
Jackson sat up suddenly. “Wait, I just saw that guy.”
Shaw turned to Jackson, his eyes wide. “What?”
“This morning at the hotel. I think it’s the same guy.” Jackson leaned closer and gazed at the photo for a moment. “I couldn’t swear to it, actually.But he looks very similar. Or at least wears the same glasses.”
“Who did you run into at the hotel?” asked Shaw.
“Guy who said he worked for the RNC. Tucker is the name, I think.”
Park slapped his hand on his knee. “That’s where I know him. I took a meeting with him the other night. Kenneth Tucker.”
