“Eagle’s Talon was able to secure a copy before it could be tampered with. Martin, make sure the detectives get a copy as well as the corroborating evidence of who tampered with it,” Ian said as Martin lowered a screen.
“Can you imagine what we could do with a budget like this?” Javier said to Andy.
“There was one camera that caught the anteroom to the restroom, and it also captured, by reflection, views of the sinks and the wall where Cassie collapsed. Ian, I know you wanted everyone to see this, but it’s quite graphic,” Martin warned.
Ian rolled his hand in the air. “Keep going.”
“There’s no audio, but Ames appears to be talking to her throughout the attack,” Martin warned again. Ian rotated a pencil between his fingers.
In glimpses, the attack came into view. Even when they couldn’t see Cassie, they could see spatters of blood hitting the walls and mirrors. Sebastian stepped into the frame. Just before Cassie’s head struck the mirror, his lips moved. Ian read them aloud. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll take what’s mine, and then you will—” Sebastian’s head turned. The video captured him plunging the knife into her chest.
Julian intervened and continued lip reading, “We used you up. The drugs … a whore. You should have died six years ago. You couldn’t even do that right. I could remind you of how good it felt. No one will save you. Cassiopeia will finally be dead to the world forever.”
Cassie lifted her weapon and fired. Julian’s eyes widened. “My God. She fired by ear. Look at her—she can’t see.”
The video continued, showing how Cassie collapsed. When the pencil in Ian’s fingers snapped in two, flying across the table, Kieran called for a break.
Fifteen minutes later, Martin reconvened the meeting. “I have the transcript from the FBI communications.” He placed a file on the table. “Greg Wilds was harassing Cassie all night. She countered him often. He seems jealous of you, Ian. He berated or taunted her every chance he could get. The recording also confirms Brice Walton informed Wilds early in the evening her com did not function in the restroom. Wilds acknowledged the transmission.
“After taking a guest into custody, she advised Wilds she was going to take action against him. I confirmed she left a message for Sophie Garland stating the same thing. Before the stabbing, Cassie did notify the team she was entering the restroom, and Wilds responded. His story is falling apart.
“Secondary information on house security communication lines picked up a conversation he had with Agent Marcus after the attack. Wilds was angry with Cassie and let her flounder. It is also clear he didn’t realize how much danger she was in, but once she was, he went into cover-his-ass mode. That, as well as the waiting room commentary, are transcribed.”
Andy raised his brows. “You bugged the waiting room?”
Martin shrugged. “They had no expectation of privacy.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, Chase. Let’s share.” Javier placed a file on the table. “Six years ago, Cassie was to meet her fiancé, Garett Whitman, for dinner at the Georgetown restaurant, La Luna. He reported they had a fight in the parking lot—and she stomped off. That’s all we had for the timeline.”
“Were you able to corroborate Whitman’s story?” Julian asked.
Blake’s brows creased. “Yes and no. The whole Whitman family set us on edge. The older Mr. and Mrs. said Cassie left their place at about ten after dropping off a painting. Said she drank quite a bit with them to celebrate her dissertation defense. When she was found, even if that was her only drink, she had no alcohol in her urine.” Andy shuffled papers in his file and pulled out a test result. “See? EtG 0.0. If she were drunk, there should have been something. That always bothered us. According to his statement, the younger Whitman was waiting at the restaurant. No cameras. No valet. The hostess confirmed seeing Whitman and a woman matching Cassie’s description fighting in the parking lot. She confirmed hearing the man call her ‘Cassiopeia’ more than once. Her car was found in the parking lot, which also bothered us. Why did she leave on foot and not in her car?
“There was no indication she was attacked at the restaurant or in her apartment. On the canvas of her neighborhood, no one heard or saw anything unusual until the police and ambulance arrived. The clinic confirmed she had a near-lethal amount of heroin and a very high dose of scopolamine in her system. Our vice squad checked local dealers for the scopolamine—nothing. She was found naked in her bathtub covered in black rose petals. The roses came from a florist off Washington, bought with cash by a young blonde girl. No camera there either. Sketch of her was generic.”
Javier picked up where Andy left off, “The story always seemed too perfect. There was no DNA recovered, and Cassie had no memory after arriving at the Whitman’s. All we had were her physical injuries. One strange thing on the internal physical exam, in addition to the signs of rape trauma, there was an odd type of swelling. The doctor remarked he’d only seen this kind of swelling in a medical procedure. He didn’t offer us an idea of what. We never came up with anything out of that and haven’t seen anything like it since. Ran it through VICAP too. The only hope is if we can match the other set of bite marks.”
Ian forged ahead. “Back to the restaurant, what did the hostess say Cassie was wearing?”
Javier scratched his head. “No clue. Why?”
“Just a thought,” Ian said.
Andy laid out pictures of the crime scene: the tub, the bathroom, bedroom, and living area. There was no sign of any clothing strewn about. On the floor by the front door was a high-heeled navy pump. The mate to the pair was on the floor beside the tub.
“May I?” Ian picked up a picture and handed it to Monique. “Is this a well-known shoe?”
Monique smiled. “Darling, those are Valentino.”
Kieran looked at Martin. “Find that hostess. Pick her brain.” Kieran turned to Andy. “I assume her name is in your file.”
Monique passed Ian a report file. “I went to the Franklin Clinic yesterday and met the charming Dr. Simon Holland. We had a lovely hypothetical discussion about a young female patient from six years ago. She arrived at their facility unresponsive, hypothermic, bruised, showing manual strangulation wounds with genital, anal, and vaginal tearing and bleeding. A toxicology screen showed scopolamine and heroin. A rape kit was conducted and showed no fluids, fibers, or DNA. The exam did show multiple bite marks over her body, which were all cataloged, measured, and photographed. The exam also showed unusual bruising at the cervical opening. Dr. Holland wondered if a foreign object was involved. She awakened three days later in a catatonic state, using her first name, followed by the words ‘is dead’ repeatedly. When her awareness returned, she had no memory of the attack. After discharge, the patient never returned for follow-up.”
Kieran hugged his wife. “Nice work, doll face.”
“You know what we have about the first attack. How does this tie into the attack at the gala? Why wait six years?” Javier tapped his pencil on the table.
Eyes turned to Kieran. “Before we continue to break it down, are you aware a five-million-dollar contribution was made to a sexual violence charity in Cassie’s name from Garett Whitman’s trust three weeks after the attack?” Surprise etched the detectives’ faces. “Well, let’s keep breaking it down. Lincoln, I believe you have it from the dinner.”
