As much as George hated it, Shireen was right. If Holway hadn’t escaped, he was sure Chief Norris would have done everything in her power to make him the prime suspect regardless of what Andi and George said, effectively erasing the traces of the real killers. If it weren’t for Andi, they wouldn’t have found the DNA of the female on the chains and would have never known who did the actual killing. It was beautiful, if nauseating.
“Did you find any recent connections between Gartner and Tabitha and Josephine?” George saw the answer in Shireen’s defeated look even before she shook her head.
“No, they were either super careful, or the thing with the foundation really is just a coincidence.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No. There are too many of those connecting back to Gartner. But as I said, nothing solid. No money to be traced, no contracts or documents, nothing. If he really is behind all this, he did a marvelous job of hiding all the evidence. Or not creating any at all.”
“Nothing that would get us a warrant.” Andi sounded resigned.
“No. Sorry.”
“It’s fine, Shireen. You did your best. Gartner is just very good at this. He had his entire life to plan his revenge. Perhaps you could try and find that second contract on the darknet? That would be helpful.” George patted her arm, ignoring her furrowed brows, which told him not to get his hopes up. As it seemed, hope was all they had left in this case. He turned to Andi. “Back to the whiteboard?”
“Back to the whiteboard.”
“WHAT DOyou think, should we pay Gartner’s home a visit?” George was playing with the cap of one of his markers. Andi was sitting on his desk, staring at the names and lines.
“Of course we will, but I don’t think anything will come of it. He definitely wasn’t there when the three victims were killed, so there’s nothing with which we can tie him to the murder. And the silk protein on his wheelchair is circumstantial at best. It could have come from anybody using a lotion with silk protein in it. That’s how miniscule the traces are. I just know it’s the same because….” Andi trailed off, clearly trying to find words George would understand. “The ratio of silk and DNA and other things is the same. That’s how I know it wasn’t some random person. Anyway, it’s nothing a test could show. It’s definitely not enough to get us a warrant, especially since I don’t see how we can explain that we just happened to get a sample from the wheelchair.”
“Yeah, I can see how that wouldn’t go over well. Hell and damnation!” George wasn’t one to swear, but this situation warranted it. He stared at the whiteboard some more, hoping it would offer some divine insight, but as was typical for whiteboards, it just stood there in a Zen-like state. George put his marker back down. “Let’s go now. Perhaps we’ll be lucky. I mean, Castain was stupid enough to have evidence at his house.”
“Yes, but Castain was a self-entitled, arrogant, foolish prick, whereas Gideon Gartner is a cunning old fox who haddecadesto plan this whole thing.”
“Everybody makes mistakes?” George tried.
Andi just shook his head. “I’m afraid not.” He grabbed his jacket from his office chair. “Let’s go anyway.”
They had just reached the door leading out of the bullpen when it opened and Bill Waters, the DA for Charleston, stepped inside. His graying hair was standing up in odd angles, he was wearing khakis and a polo shirt that did nothing to hide his trim physique despite his nearly sixty-two years.Must be all that golfing, George thought when Waters’s sharp gaze landed on them.
“Detectives Hayes and Donovan, the men I wanted to talk to.”
And there went their trip to Gideon Gartner’s home. “DA Waters, how can we help?” He gestured for the man to follow Andi, who had already turned and was striding toward one of the conference rooms at the back of the bullpen. Waters waited till they were inside the smallest and George had closed the door.
“The murder with the three victims. Big thing.” Waters started pacing around the five tables forming a U.
George looked at Andi. They had finished their reports the day before, including the ties Gideon Gartner had to Tabitha and Josephine. He was surprised Waters had already read them. Then again, the case was huge, with great impact for the city, losing three rich and influential men. Of course it took precedence.
“Yes?” George talked while Andi just stood there, watching Waters.
“You exonerated the prime suspect, this Holway guy, who would have been a very convenient culprit because he’s dead. Would have spared me a lot of trouble.” Apparently Waters had taken a page from Chief Norris’s book, or so George thought until the DA kept on talking. “I know you wouldn’t have done that without good reason, and the DNA from those other murder cases proves you were right.” Waters was looking directly at Andi, which George would have taken as an offense if he hadn’t known that Waters knew it was Andi who provided the things he needed. These two had known each other for almost as long as Andi was a detective. “Tell me something good, Hayes. Tell me there’s a chance we can nail the bastard who gave the kill order.”
Andi slowly shook his head. “Not this time, Waters. I’m sorry. All we have is circumstantial at best.”
“Fuck.” Waters slumped on one of the chairs. “This is not looking good.” He rubbed his face with his right hand.
“Will this fall back on you?” George knew it would ultimately fall back on him and Andi, but the DA always had a part, especially in high-profile cases that made the news.
“Don’t worry about me. Or yourself. I’m going to spin this to show the Charleston PD is so good, they even find connections to international crimes. Strictly speaking, the case is federal anyway because the killers are obviously operating internationally, no matter how high the odds are for the contractor being from here. Or would it fall to the CIA? I’m not sure. Jurisdiction could be complicated here. As far as I heard, the only reason the FBI hasn’t knocked on your door yet is because they are so woefully understaffed, they can hardly man the hot cases. Something that’s been brewing for what, ten years, I think it said in the report about the first murder with the female DNA, is at the very end of their list of priorities. It would be wonderful if you could find anything that’s not circumstantial.” Waters tapped his chin with his right forefinger.
“I’m sorry, Waters.” Andi looked the man directly in the eye, his voice conveying how serious he was.
“I’d say it’s fine, Hayes, but we both know I’d be lying. I’m afraid I’ve gotten too used to winning, thanks to you.” Waters shook his head. “You make it easy for my office most of the time. Perhaps it’s a good thing we have to take a defeat sometimes.” A weak smile graced Waters’s face. “I’ve got to go. If you find anything helpful, inform me immediately, okay?”
“We will.” Andi nodded in both confirmation and goodbye. Waters left the conference room with his head held high and the confident stride people expected of him.
“There goes the old warhorse.” The hint of affection in Andi’s voice made George turn toward him. His partner had never indicated he felt anything but his usual indifference for Waters.
