Zeller took a deep breath first. “Nicola’s name came up when I was questioning a group of college students about the sex-trafficking case. A lot of names came up,” he quickly added, “and I talked to a lot of people. Nicola, included.”
“Her name wasn’t in any of your reports,” Jack reminded him.
“No, because I didn’t get anything from her. I swear I didn’t,” Zeller snapped when Jack gave him a hard glare. “My conversation with her lasted less than ten minutes, and I realized her friend didn’t have anything to do with my investigation. She was just someone who got lured into turning tricks by her sleazy boyfriend.”
Jack mentally went through every word of that, and he was sure that Caroline was doing the same. In the squad room, he saw Kellan finish his call and give Jack a thumbs-up. He hoped that meant his brother had gotten the process started for the warrant for the other computer files at New Beginnings.
Jack turned his attention back to Zeller, who was clearly waiting for him to continue. “So, if your meeting with Nicola was all innocent, as you say, why not mention you’d met her once her body had been discovered?”
“At first I didn’t remember talking to her. Not until I saw photos of her body.” His breath turned into a long sigh. “And then I started feeling guilty, thinking that maybe something I said spurred her to do something dangerous. Like trying to save other girls like her friend.”
Jack latched right onto that. “Was that what Nicola was trying to do?”
“I don’t know. That’s the truth,” Zeller added in a hoarse whisper. “Like I said, I had a short conversation with her, one I barely remember, but I guess it’s possible she picked up on something that made her put herself in a situation that turned dangerous.”
Yes, it was. But then it was just as likely that Nicola had struck out on her own to try to investigate something she should have left to the badges. Of course, in this case, maybe thebadgewas what had gotten her into trouble if she’d inadvertently mentioned something to Zeller that made him believe she wassome kind of threat. Perhaps Nicola had even known something about his involvement in the sex trafficking.
But if so, Jack had no proof of that.
“Look, I feel like dirt over what happened to her,” Zeller went on. “She seemed like a good kid, and she was killed. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t have anything to do with that. She’s still dead.”
Either Zeller was telling it the way it was, or else he was darn good at putting on an act. If Zeller was feeling guilty, maybe that was the bad vibe Jack was picking up on and it had nothing to do with being dirty.
This time, it was Jack who took a deep breath. “Just cool your heels for a while. I’ll need an official statement from you about Nicola, but for now I have to observe another interview.”
“Lily,” Zeller quickly supplied. “I heard about the warrant to get the file of the missing woman.”
Of course, he had. There wasn’t much of a chance of keeping a warrant a secret, and Zeller likely had his ear to the ground to hear anything going on with the investigation. Jack couldn’t fault him for that. If their positions had been reversed, he would be doing the same thing.
“I want to be in on Lily’s interview,” Zeller insisted.
“I’m sure you do, but it’s not going to happen.” Jack considered telling Zeller that he could watch from the observation room, but Caroline would be in there, and Jack didn’t want the marshal near her. “I’ll ask Kellan to copy you on the report he writes up after he talks to Lily.”
Zeller huffed. “We’re on the same side here, Jack. I know you don’t believe that.” He shot Caroline a nasty glance, no doubt to remind her that she was the reason for the mistrust. But Jack had had his doubts about Zeller before Caroline had voiced any.
“You’ll get the report if Kellan agrees,” Jack emphasized. “That’s the best I can do right now.”
Obviously, that wasn’t enough in Zeller’s opinion. He turned on his heels and stormed out. Jack didn’t mind the fit of temper. It was better than the alternative of having Zeller linger around and upset Caroline even more. Jack could practically see the jangled nerves all over her face, but he would need to speak to Zeller again. Would need to make it official that Zeller had neglected to mention the conversation he’d had with a woman who had ended up murdered.
When Kellan tipped his head toward the interview room, Jack and Caroline followed him there. Jack intended to leave Caroline in observation while he conducted the interview with Kellan. But before they could even start, Lily came out, with her lawyer trailing right behind her.
“Are you really trying to get a warrant to get into my computer files?” Lily demanded, and she aimed that at Jack. There was fire in her eyes and raw anger in her voice.
“Yes, Kellan and I are,” Jack confirmed. He didn’t want Lily including Caroline in on the venom.
Lily made a sound of outrage and batted away her lawyer, who tried to whisper something in her ear. “You have no right!” And this time, she directed her anger solely at Jack. “I’m trying to help women who’ve been violated.”
“If that’s all you’re doing, then having us look at your files shouldn’t be a problem.” In contrast, Jack kept his voice calm.
Clearly, it was a problem for Lily, because every muscle in her face tightened in rage. “I’ll stop you. So help me, I’ll stop you.”
“Under the circumstances, my client and I need to reschedule this interview,” the lawyer said.
Jack considered nixing any rescheduling, but he rethought that. Maybe it would be best to speak to Lily after the warrant had come through and they’d done a computer search. That way, they might have some ammunition they could use to get her to confess to any wrongdoings going on at New Beginnings. Ofcourse, it was possible for Lily to successfully fight the warrant. That had been known to happen, but if she managed it, that would make her look as if she were hiding something.
“Tomorrow morning,” Jack finally said. “Be back here at nine.”
That should give them plenty of time to press for the warrant and start searching through the files. He had no idea how many women were actually in the facility or had been there, but the search might take a while.
