“Not a problem,” Kat said, before sighing heavily. “But I can’t make him eat it.”
“I’m hoping that if it’s right in front of him, he’ll at least nibble at it.”
Kat finished her set and put the dumbbell down. When she looked up at Jessie, there was concern in her eyes. "Do you really think it's a good idea for him to go back to work next week when he's obviously so distracted?"
Now it was Jessie’s turn to sigh.
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted. “But that’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to it. For now, I’ve got to get back to the station. If this case hasn’t blown up all over the news yet, it will soon. And I need to be ready when it does.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jessie was impressed with their progress.
By the time she got to Central Station, the team had made some serious inroads. Sam had joined the dedicated HSS research staff in their office, where he was hunched over a desktop. Equally focused on the screens in front of them were Jamil Winslow and Beth Ryerson, both just 25 years old.
Jamil was the brilliant but socially maladroit head of the department. Beth, his sole employee, might not be a full-on genius like him. No one was. But her mix of smarts and affability was a pleasant contrast to his sometimes prickly style. Together, they were incredibly effective when it came to everything from navigating huge databases, efficiently reviewing reams of surveillance video, or untangling complex financial records.
“Any updates?” she asked.
“A few,” Sam said, looking up. “You guys want to fill him in?’
“Sure,” Beth said. An attractive, six-foot-plus former college volleyball star, she exuded a perpetually chill, friendly vibe, even when sharing serious information. “I reached out to the authorities in Colombia, just to see if Maria had faced any threats back there. There was nothing of note. As an aside, she had no criminal record either. Clean as a whistle.”
“Same for once she got here,” Jamil added, his relentless, driven demeanor overcoming his normally introverted disposition as he continued. “Not even a parking ticket. As to complaints, she never filed anything. No restraining orders. No 911 calls about suspicious characters. Nothing.”
“Along those lines,” Beth said, “as you requested, we did background checks on everyone who was invited to the dinner. Nothing significant popped. One of the husbands was arrested on suspicion of DUI nine years ago. The charge was laterreduced to misdemeanor reckless driving. His record is clean since. That was the worst we could find.”
“Okay,” Jessie said, setting aside her disappointment at losing so many potential suspects all at once. “Any financial concerns for the Cains?”
“No,” Sam said, taking that one. “In fact, she was doing quite well before she even met Edward Cain. Her job in Colombia paid pretty well for the country. And once she moved here, her salary while working on the Getty Center project was well into six figures. Obviously it’s not multi-millionaire money like her new husband, but she was doing just fine.”
Jessie leaned against the door with a sense of resignation. Increasingly, it seemed like this case wasn’t going to be open and shut.
“Any chance to review her e-mails, texts, or social media yet?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” Jamil said. “Since Edward Cain gave authorization to access her communications, I was able to get to all of it quickly. I’ve been running searches for all the traditional keywords we use to find threatening language. The system is still processing, but so far, nothing has jumped out. She definitely got some nasty messages both when their engagement was announced and around the time of the wedding. But to this point, none of it has moved past insulting into active menacing.”
“Speaking of the authorizations that Edward Cain gave,” Beth added, “we’ve done a basic review of the data provided from his CPAP machine and the GPS in his phone and car. We can do a deeper dive, but so far it all reinforces what he told you guys. The CPAP info shows that he was asleep by 10:24 last night. And the GPS data matches his story too.”
“That’s not all,” someone said from behind Jessie, making her jump slightly. She turned around to find Officer Harper Devery in the hallway just outside the door.
“What the hell, Devery!” she hissed.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, his cheeks turning pink. “I thought you knew I was here.”
“I did not. Save the sneaking up stuff for criminals, not co-workers.”
“My bad,” he said. As usual, with hisboyish demeanor and brown hair parted neatly to the right, he reminded her of an overeager puppy. His cheeks were flushed with excitement about whatever he was about to say. "I just came by to tell you what I found."
Jessie must have looked confused because Sam launched into an explanation.
“Because we’re a little short-handed today and Devery was just loitering about in the snack room during his lunch break, I commandeered him. He’s been calling neighbors of the Cains, trying to get a bead on their marriage and on Maria more generally.”
Jessie wondered if Devery was really commandeered or if he’d volunteered. On more than one occasion, the rookie officer had expressed his desire to join the HSS team in any capacity they would allow. She knew he was hoping to eventually be made a permanent member of the team.
“That’s great,” she told Sam, before turning to Devery, who was still blushing. “What did you find?”
“Unfortunately, more of what everyone else seems to be learning,” Devery said. “I’ve spoken to four neighbors so far. They all said the Cains seemed very happy together. One used the word ‘blissful’ to describe the two of them. And everyone agreed that Maria was lovely. A couple of folks said she would always stop to talk while on her morning walks. She apparently really seemed to care about their lives, even remembered the names of their kids and pets. One older lady who obviously meant well said that Maria was ‘surprisingly eloquent.’ Shedidn’t seem to realize that her compliment was kind of back-handed.”
