Peter said, “Geoffrey Reed worked around here, didn’t he?”
“Just up the road,” June said. “At the Speed Mart.” Then her phone rang. It was Durant. She put it on speaker and set it on the center console.
“Thank you for sending that recording, Ms. Cassidy. How did you come to have it?”
“Peter Ash gave it to me. He and Eleanor Thorsen found a cassette tape at her house when they returned to get her things. A man was in the house, searching the office. When Peter and Ellie walked in the front, the man went out the back. The lock had been forced.”
“Is Mr. Ash with you right now?”
Peter and June had already decided that they wouldn’t let Durant know Peter was on the call. With a felony warrant on his head, Peter’s presence at her side would make her an accessory after the fact.
She put a hand on his thigh and squeezed. “We’re in touch,” she said. “He thought it would be good for you to know what happened. That it would convince you to reopen the case.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not up to me, but I’ll share this with the relevant parties. Tell Mr. Ash not to get his hopes up.”
June’s voice rose. “Captain, someone broke into Katelyn’s house after her killer was dead. The recording provides an entirely new angle of investigation. What more do you need? Another dead body?”
Durant sighed. “Ms. Cassidy, I appreciate what you and Mr. Ash are trying to do. And I will pass this information on. But the truth is, my hands are tied. We’re short on manpower and the Conference for the Future begins in two days. Ten thousand attendees are already arriving, filling our hotels and restaurants and souvenir shops. The city doesn’t need any bad press, especially about motel killings and attempted murders on a public street in broad daylight.”
“So if Peter keeps looking into this, he’s on his own. That’s what you’re saying?”
“Quite the opposite. Mr. Ash is already facing an arrest warrant for felony child endangerment and kidnapping of a minor. If he doesn’t step away and allow our investigators to do their jobs, he’ll also be charged with obstruction. So I would say he’d do better to worry about himself.”
“May I ask,” June said, “if your techs have found anything pertinent on KT’s phone or laptop?”
“Their last report was not optimistic,” Durant said. “But I can share something Detective Kitzinger discovered today. One of the victim’s neighbors had a doorbell camera. A recording showed Enderby’s Toyota parked on Ms. Thorsen’s street when we arrived to gether a change of clothes. It left right after we did. Our working assumption is that Enderby followed us to the motel. He was not tipped off by anyone from the SPD.”
June looked at Peter. “I’ll pass that on. It’s good to know your detectives are still chasing down loose ends.”
“We are. But as I already told Mr. Ash, don’t get any ideas about reaching out to my people. Detectives Kitzinger and O’Donnell are quite busy and are not authorized to speak with journalists. We’re badly understaffed as it is and I don’t want you interfering with their work.” Durant cleared his throat. “One more thing. I’m sure you’re aware that Eleanor Thorsen has gone missing. She was last seen with Mr. Ash. Do you know her whereabouts?”
“I’m sorry, Captain. I can’t help you on that.”
“Because of her mother’s death, she’s officially a ward of the state. We’re concerned about her emotional well-being. Mr. Ash told me he would bring her to Child Protective Services by lunchtime, but we haven’t seen her yet. If you know where she is, you should tell me now.”
June looked at Peter. He shook his head. She said, “If I learn something new, I’ll definitely be in touch. And I might reach out with more questions, if you don’t mind. I’m working on a piece about KT’s death. You understand that it’s in your department’s interest that you talk to me.”
“That’s what every journalist says, Ms. Cassidy. Right before they hang the cops out to dry.”
And with that, Durant ended the call.
June leaned forward between the front seats. “I don’t think the captain is happy with you, Peter.”
“I’m not that happy with him, either. Why the hell aren’t they diving deeper into this thing?”
“Policing is always political,” June said. “Especially at thecommand level. It sounds like he’s getting a lot of pressure to stick with a certain result.”
“Why don’t we just bypass Durant and release the tape to one of the local TV stations?”
“All we have is that tape,” June said. “Everything else is speculation. We can’t prove anything. And if you think Durant is pissed at you now, if you release that recording, the department bosses will have the whole day shift out looking for you.”
Peter knew she was right. Actually, he didn’t mind the official lack of interest at all. It meant he was free to chase this thing on his own.
June said, “The detectives probably won’t talk to me because I’m a journalist, but they may still talk to you, no matter what Durant told them. They also might be more interested in new information than Durant will admit.”
Peter thought about it for a moment. Calling Kitzinger would piss off Captain Durant, but with a warrant out for Peter’s arrest, that ship had already sailed. Making contact was also a risk because if Kitzinger wanted to roll him up, she could trace his burner. But that would likely take a while, and it was better than using June’s phone and putting her in legal jeopardy. He pulled out Kitzinger’s business card and made the call.
It went to voicemail immediately. He said, “Detective Kitzinger, this is Peter Ash. Call me back when you have a minute, I have some new information about Katelyn Thorsen’s death.”
