“Yeah.He was pretty high and said he didn’t even realize it was that loud.”
“What time was that?”Karen asked.
“It’s hard to remember exactly, but I’d say around 9 maybe.Does that help?”
Jessie considered the question darkly.If it helped him, then it hurt them and their chances of finding the killer.
“Mr.Lamb, grab one of your notepads on that desk in your office and write it all down,” she said.“We need the timing of everything you did from 5 P.M.onward.Who you were showing the houses to and his contact information.The name of the Netflix show you watched.The name and contact info for your neighbor.And we’ll want you to sign a release letting us access your communications and GPS data.If you do all that, and everything you said bears out, then yes, it might help you.”
“I’ll do it right now,” he said hurrying back into his office.
As he did, Jessie exchanged a look with Karen and knew they were on the same page.There was still a lot of confirmation to be done, but if David Lamb’s alibi held up, they were back to square one.
And a killer was still out there.
CHAPTER NINE
Kat Gentry tried not to pry.
She and Hannah were on the way back to her office after the meeting with Finn.Kat had stayed in the car for what ended up being an hour.At some point she drifted off, only to startle herself awake from an Afghanistan nightmare.
They still came from time to time, even though it had been years since the IED explosion that left her with injuries both internal and external.She glanced in the rear-view mirror long enough to take note of the physical remnants of that day, including multiple facial burn marks and a long scar that ran vertically down her left cheek from just below her eye.
When Hannah returned, she didn’t seem especially chatty, so Kat let it lie.They were almost back to the office when her passenger finally spoke.
“He says he doesn’t hate me.”
“Well, that’s good,” Kat said, not sure where this was headed.“Do you believe him?”
“He said it’s not my fault,” Hannah replied, eyes forward.“That I never asked him to confront Dallas.That he should have taken more precautions if he thought the guy was a threat.That there were more productive ways to try to convince me of that.That he had been jealous and let that guide his decisions instead of good sense.”
“That makes it sound like he thinks this washisfault,” Kat said as she pulled into her building’s garage.“It wasn’t.The only person to blame here is Dallas Henry.”
“That’s what I told him.He acknowledged that I was right, but that it didn’t stop him from feeling responsible.He seemed really torn up about it.”
“You both need to cut yourselves a little slack,” Kat told her.“If the two of you are consumed by guilt, that’s a win for Dallas Henry.Don’t give him any victories.”
Hannah nodded as they got out of the car and headed to the elevator.That seemed to resonate for her.
“Do you think he’ll be able to return to school next month?”
Hannah sighed at the question.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted as they got in the elevator.“He came out of the coma five weeks ago and after some trouble early on, he’s speaking normally again.And he was generally getting around the house on his own.But he was moving pretty slowly.I’m not sure how well he’ll be able to navigate a large campus.There still seem to be a lot of questions.Is he going to need transportation assistance?Will someone have to carry his backpack?We didn’t get into any of that but I’m sure he’s been thinking about it.”
The elevator dinged and they stepped out onto Kat’s floor.Her new office, the one that Ash Pierce didn’t know about, was at the end of the hall with just a number, 606, to identify it for potential clients.No reference to her name or it being a detective agency.Just a nondescript door leading to an ordinary office in a building that was largely unremarkable, other than its top-notch security.
As a former army ranger, Kat felt comfortable defending herself, but it was nice to have the extra measures in place, especially considering what they knew Pierce was capable of.
She was just opening the door when her phone rang.At the sight of the name on the caller ID, she got a rush of adrenaline.It was Jamil Winslow, the head researcher for HSS, who she knew through Jessie.
Even though Kat didn’t officially have access to law enforcement information about the authorities’ search for Pierce, Jamil had agreed to keep her in the loop whenever something new popped up in their system.And because it was his nature, Jamil kept on top ofeverythingnew.If he was calling, it was almost certainly about Pierce.
She didn’t bother with pleasantries when she picked up.She’d learned early on that he didn’t care for them.
“Hi Jamil,” she said breathlessly, putting him on speaker.“What did you find?”
“A body was discovered earlier this afternoon on the outskirts of Lake Tahoe,” he replied without any preamble.“It matches the criteria you told me to keep watch for.”
