“Not a problem,” he told them.
Jessie observed that everything Jason Mannix was saying and doing was consistent with an innocent, shell-shocked, and grieving husband.Of course, it could all be an act.They’d have to verify everything he’d told them.But if it bore out, they’d have to look elsewhere for Lauren Mitchell’s killer.
Jessie silently shook her head as she prepared to dig into the woman’s life.Murder cases were sometimes easy to solve.But this one wasn’t shaping up that way.
CHAPTER SIX
Jessie shouldn’t have been surprised by now, and yet she couldn’t help but marvel.
It had only taken her and Karen twenty minutes to get from Lauren Mitchell’s house to downtown Central Station, where HSS was headquartered.But by the time they walked into the research department, which was essentially one small room with a half dozen computers, the two people there already had a plethora of information to share.
“There’s no formal record of any kind of disputes between Jason Mannix and Lauren Mitchell,” Jamil Winslow said the moment they came in.“No calls for officers to come to the house because of domestic disputes.No restraining orders.No neighbors complaining about shouting voices.”
“Good morning, Jamil,” Jessie said, unable to fight off a smile.
“Oh, sorry.Hi.”
Jamil wasn’t known for his personable nature.His relentless, driven demeanor, combined with his introverted disposition, sometimes left a little to be desired on the social front.
What hewasknown for was his brilliance when it came to research.At only 25, he was the head of the two-person department for a reason.He was capable of filtering through massive databases, sorting surveillance video into manageable buckets, or making complex financial records understandable, all seemingly in the blink of an eye, often on little sleep.
“I’m just giving you a hard time,” Jessie told him.“I know it hasn’t been very long, but did you uncover any other avenues worth pursuing?”
“Actually, yes,” Beth replied with a broad smile, “and good morning to both of you.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Jessie said enthusiastically.
She expected nothing less from Beth Ryerson.Also, 25, she more than compensated for her supervisor's reserved demeanor with her outgoing one.Her perpetually chill, friendly vibe was a total contrast to Jamil’s constant, jittery intensity.But she wasn’t just here for her sunny disposition.Her casual demeanor masked an especially sharp mind, which people tended to underestimate.
“What did you find?”Karen asked her.
"We've already plugged Lauren Mitchell's entire social media history into the system.It's doing a deep scrub right now, looking for any language triggers that might suggest a threat.No luck yet, but we just started.Same thing with her phone.If she got any threatening texts, we'll find them."
"Great," Jessie said, before a thought occurred to her."I know it's a long shot, but maybe while you're at it, you can also search to see if there's any special reason that she kept her maiden name.I know that's not unusual these days.Hell, I did it.But sometimes that can be a source of conflict for a couple."
“Will do,” Beth said, furiously typing away.
“I have a straightforward theory on that one, “Karen volunteered.“With all her followers on social media and how established she is as a realtor, I’d bet that Mitchell thought that changing her name might just confuse people and mess with her brand.”
Jessie tended to agree.Unless it was a personal priority for Mitchell, changing her name would have made less sense professionally than keeping it.
"I'm getting a few hits from online comments on her videos," Jamil said."There are some who say that she's a bad role model because of how she speaks and behaves.A few say that her humor is in bad taste.A couple says she's not talented enough to sell homes on their merits without a gimmick.But nothing jumps off the screen as being overtly threatening.And none of the people who made the disparaging comments did so more than once.We still have about 15% of the comments that haven’t been processed, but it’s not looking promising as far as leads.”
Jessie was about to ask if they should expand the filters when there was a knock on the door.She turned around to find her husband standing there, smiling broadly at her.When he spoke, he addressed everyone.
“How’s it going, gang?”he asked as he rubbed his dark, short-cropped hair.
Jessie permitted her herself a moment to ogle him.His kind brown eyes, shy grin, and adorable dimples—the features that had first attracted her to him—were on full display.So too were some of his other attributes, which included a square jaw and a well-muscled, two-hundred pound, six-foot-tall body that strained at his dress shirt.The sight of him still filled her with a double hit of warmth and excitement.
“I thought you were out working a case,” she said, leaning in to give him a semi-professional kiss on the cheek, though she would have preferred to be more aggressive with him.
“I am,” he said.“Nettles and I are about to head out to question a witness, but I heard you two had arrived, so I thought I’d stop by to say ‘hi’ before I left.”
“Hi,” Karen and Beth said in unison.Jamil, his eyes focused on the monitor in front of him, said nothing.
“Hi,” Jessie said coquettishly.
“What has gotten into you?’he asked, blushing slightly.
