“This Brendan guy is about as vanilla as they come,” Cam said.“No priors. No aliases. Not so much as a ding on his credit report. He’s squeaky clean.”
Which was precisely the problem with Brendan’s condo. “Any idea where he is?”
“Just his car. He’s got an app on his phone. His Volvo’s parked way out in the economy lot at Dulles.”
“Great,” Vero muttered.
Brendan’s choice to park in the economy lot of an international airport didn’t bode well. “He could be halfway around the world by now.”
“Doubt it,” Cam said. “His ticket was for West Palm.”
Vero and I both turned to stare at Cam. “West Palm? As in Florida?” I asked.
Cam nodded, helping himself to a Coke from my fridge. “The guy cleaned out his savings account at the bank a few days ago, then charged the flight to his AmEx—one checked bag, no upgrades. What’s your beef with this guy, anyway?”
Vero slapped her laptop closed. “He’s a no good, lying, mur—”
“He abandoned his elderly grandmother,” I cut in quietly. The last thing I needed was to involve Cam in a murder investigation. I’d already asked him to do more than I should have.
Cam looked horrified. “What kind of an asshole would abandon his grandmother? That’s elder neglect!” I gestured frantically for him to keep his voice down. His blue eyes widened as he registered my quick sideways glance into the living room. “Holy shit, his grandmother is Mrs. H?” he whispered. “I should call Uncle Joey right now and report that fucker to the cops.”
I paused as I considered that. Maybe reporting Brendan to the police wasn’t such a bad idea after all. It was beginning to look likehe and Penny could be in on this whole thing together. I couldn’t just waltz into Mike Tran’s office and accuse the two of them without any proof, but maybe I could plant a seed.
“I’ll handle it,” I said to Cam. “You go keep Mrs. Haggerty company until dinner’s ready. But don’t say anything to her about this. It might upset her.”
He made a zipping motion over his lips and carried Arnold Schwarzenegger with him to the living room while I called his uncle.
Joey sounded frazzled when he answered the phone. “Hey, I was just getting ready to call you. I’m trying to get in touch with Nick, but he’s not picking up. Is he with you?”
“No, why?”
“He asked me to let him know about any developments in the Dupree case. I just got a call from a buddy of mine in Loudoun. Steven’s being charged. They’re booking him tonight.”
CHAPTER 14
I left Vero at home to keep a close eye on Cam and Mrs. Haggerty while I hightailed it to the Loudoun County Police Department. I entered the building with the confidence of a woman who’d walked in and out of countless police stations before, but it didn’t change the fact that I didn’t know a single cop in this one.
“I’m here to see Detective Mike Tran,” I informed the officer behind the desk.
She gave my sweatshirt and jeans a quick once-over through the glass. “Is he expecting you?”
“No, but it’s very important that I speak with him—”
“I’d be happy to give you his extension and you can leave a him a message.”
“I don’t want to leave a message.”
“I’m sorry, but Detective Tran isn’t here.”
“Iknowhe’s here because he just filed charges against my ex-husband! Just… please,” I said, lowering my voice when two other officers behind the partition paused their conversation to look atme. “My name is Finlay Donovan. My ex-husband’s name is Steven Donovan. I need to know if he’s still here and if I can speak with—”
The door beside the partition opened. I turned, hoping to see Mike Tran, but it was Steven’s divorce lawyer who came barreling through it. I almost didn’t recognize him. The last time I’d seen Guy Folsom had been at our wedding. He’d been Steven’s best man and had gotten drunk enough on cheap champagne to tell me exactly how long he predicted our marriage would last. He’d been right, and it wasn’t until Guy had sent a courier to deliver our separation and custody papers that it occurred to me that he’d known Steven much better than I ever had. He looked more or less the same as I remembered him, with a few extra wrinkles, a little less hair, and several more inches around his middle.
He stormed out of the back offices into the waiting area, his knuckles white around the handle of his briefcase. His fancy suit jacket hung open, revealing sweat rings under his arms. A button had been torn from the collar of his dress suit and his tie was askew.
“Guy?” I called out as he blew past me.
He paused, frowning as if it had taken him a minute to register who I was and what the hell I was doing there. I held up a finger to the officer at the desk to let her know I’d be back to finish our conversation, then I pulled Guy aside, into a corner of the small reception room. His hair was mussed and his lower lip was puffy.
