“Can you please unscramble that statement?” Ryan pressed her.
“I can think of one reason why it’s wrong,” Patrick interrupted. “Parking. We’re talking about Federal Plaza and lower Manhattan. It’s a zoo. There are barely enough spaces for the employees and no way to see who parked where. Not to mention, there’s no niche for a tail to hang out in for a full work day in order to follow someone from that building.”
Ryan’s mind kicked back in, and he looked grim. “Claire’s right for another reason. If the bastard was tailing Shane anywhere he’d know his car. In which case, he would have seen him arrive at home and park on the street, and another car—presumably Caitlin’s—parked in the driveway. Meaning he’d realize that Shane wasn’t alone in the house. That punches a hole in the entire theory.”
“Both those explanations make sense, and explain my ambivalence.” Claire was pensive, and she looked totally puzzled. “Still… I can’t dismiss the concept that Shane was being watched. It’s just that something is out of whack—something we’re missing. I’m just not sure what.”
“Shit.” Ryan dragged both hands through his hair. “Nothing fits.”
Claire shook her head. “Something does. It’s just out of reach. Like everything else I’m grasping for.”
That made Casey turn her gaze to Claire. “Does that mean you hit a brick wall when you held Shane’s possessions?”
“So far, I’m just getting flashes and an overriding sense of danger.” Claire filled Casey in on her frustrating sensory awareness. “I’m not even close to being done. I need more tools to get my answers.” She turned her gaze to Marc. “Is the Walshes’ house still sealed off?”
Marc wiggled his hand from side to side. “Not in the way you mean, no. ERT has done its job. So has the coroner. But I don’t know if Hutch already has agents canvassing the area, talking to neighbors to get leads on Caitlin’s whereabouts, not to mention pressing for information on whether anyone spotted or heard anything out of the ordinary at the time Shane was killed. Why? What do you need?”
“Physical items that Shane and Caitlin shared,” Claire replied. “A remote control. Matching coffee mugs—I somehow sense that they shared their first cup of the morning together each day. His and hers towels. Whatever you can readily get your hands on. This crime involved them both. I need their combined energy. It might help fill in the blanks and unblock me.”
“That’s reason enough. I’ll take a ride to New Rochelle right after lunch and borrow whatever I can from the Walshes’ house. I’ll make sure I’m not seen.”
“I guess that’s one of the pluses of being a former Navy SEAL,” Emma muttered. “You learn to be invisible.”
“You bet,” Marc responded.
“Thank you, Marc,” Claire said, visibly relieved.
Casey nodded. “That’s a good idea.” She angled her head toward Emma. “Emma, did you learn anything from the Walshes’ social media accounts? Because I talked to only one of Caitlin’s friends today—a work friend. I need more. I’m hoping you can come up with personal friends, hopefully long-time ones, whose names or faces Ryan’s mom might recognize.”
“No worries there,” Emma assured her. “Caitlin likes posting photos on Instagram. That’s primarily where she goes, other than an occasional tweet on X. Her captions tag social media handles, but don’t use real names. I’m still figuring out which handle belongs to whom. Then, I’m digging into each of their backgrounds and cross-referencing their other friends.”
She sighed, speaking before she could think. “I ran those dating sites, too, Casey. No sign of either Shane or Caitlin participating in…” She clapped a hand over her mouth.
Ryan bristled. “I thought we dropped the whole cheating idea. No way. Not ever. Subject closed.”
Casey quickly jumped in. “This one’s on me, Ryan. I asked Emma to dig into all possible dating sites. No matter how certain you were and how much we agreed with you, I had to cover every base. The Bureau will. And, if you calm down and think objectively, you’ll realize I’m right.”
There was a long taut silence.
“Yeah, okay,” Ryan said at last. “It only served to prove my point.”
“Yes, it did.” Casey turned back to Emma. “Back to social media. What else?”
Emma wet her lips and continued, after shooting an apologetic look at Ryan. “Unfortunately, looking for platforms of Shane’s was a dead end. No social media presence at all, not under his own name or any other.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Ryan said.
“It didn’t surprise me either,” Emma replied. “I just made sure to cover all my bases. That done, I switched entirely over to Caitlin. Other than Instagram photos, she doesn’t post too often, maybe every other week. No LinkedIn account either. Nothing business. Nothing personal. That’s not stopping me. I can shoot you over some names and profiles now, including the backgrounds I’ve put together, or I can keep going and send it all to you at once, after I’m done.”
“Separate what you’ve completed versus what you’re still working on,” Casey instructed. “Forward the completed list on to me now. Finish the incomplete list between now and when the funeral is over. Then, I can review everything, first alone, and then with Ryan’s mom on Tuesday or Wednesday. That’s the most efficient way of handling things without holding up the process.”
“Okay, I’ll get back on it right after this Zoom meeting is over,” Emma replied.
“What about other platforms, like Facebook?” Patrick asked.
Emma wrinkled up her nose. “Only old people still use Facebook. Caitlin has a barebones page there, but that’s not where she posts.” She gave Patrick an apologetic look. “No offense.”
His lips curved. “None taken.”
