“Please,” Martinez scoffed. “Those three were totally oblivious. I guess you could call them victims since it was their husbands’ money being stolen, but I think they’ll survive the shame of getting taken. Why are you only asking about them?”
Jessie decided to lay it all out. On the off chance that this was all an impressive ruse, maybe Martinez would give something away when Jessie shared the news, either by overreacting or the opposite. And if her story was credible, perhaps she’d have some idea why they were killed.
“All three of them were murdered in the last 60 hours,” she said simply.
Martinez’s jaw dropped open. She looked over at Sam to see if he would dispute what she’d just heard. He only nodded to confirm Jessie’s words.
“How? Why?” she asked, before another question popped into her head. “Wait, is that why you came to see me? You think thatIkilled them?”
“Did you?” Jessie asked.
“No way,” she insisted. “I mean, yeah I thought they were bitches. I can’t deny that. But they were also my bread and butter. I have that apartment because they were so gullible. I’m sorry to say that about dead women, but it’s true. You want total honesty? I didn’t like them. But I’d never kill them.”
Jessie leaned back and closed her eyes. They’d have to follow up on Martinez’s alibi. But if what she was saying held up, then it appeared that their best lead just blew up in their faces. Worse, they’d spent valuable time running around in circles while the whole time, the real killer was still out there, maybe hunting for their next victim.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Jessie didn’t have time to sulk.
There was still a killer to catch and moping over this most recent setback wouldn’t get her any closer to finding them.
They were keeping Martinez in a holding cell until her alibi could be verified, but mentally, Jessie had already moved on. She reminded herself that this line of inquiry wasn’t necessarily a total waste of time. The only firm connection among the three victims remained their association with IILA. That was still worth pursuing.
Just because the non-profit was a scam, that didn’t mean it wasn’t how the killer was choosing their victims. They knew it had something to do with immigration, and perhaps—as hinted at by the green cards on plates—some theme of family rituals disrupted. Unfortunately, those disparate pieces weren’t clicking into place. They had no clue as to the murderer’s true motive.
And then it hit her. Maybe they shouldn’t be focusing on the killer’s worldview so much as the victims’. She and Sam just needed to find whatelseconnected them. And if that connection was shared by anyone else. Maybe determining the likely next victim would lead them to their killer.
“I have an idea,” she said to the group assembled in the research department. Sam, Jamil, and Beth all looked up. “We’re going through all these databases and personal histories, looking for what the victims have in common. But without the proper context, we might be missing something obvious that could send us in the right direction.”
“What do you mean?” Sam asked.
“I mean, what if we took our updated list of victims, along with the names of the other members of IILA to an expert,someone who might see a similarity among them that we wouldn’t even know to look for?”
She could tell from his flushed cheeks that Sam already knew who she was talking about.
“Fine,” he said with a sheepish look, “let’s go.”
“Where are you going?” Beth asked.
Sam didn’t answer, so Jessie did.
“To see Detective Goodwin’s secret crush.”
*
Jessie wanted to mock him, but Sam was doing a halfway decent job of avoiding embarrassing himself.
He was the one who called ahead to see if Claire Vallejo was at her office and available. She was. And in the few minutes that they’d been seated across from her, he’d maintained a professional, mostly goofiness-free persona. Maybe it was because of the seriousness of the situation, the gravity of which Claire obviously appreciated.
“I get that there’s a ticking clock based on the timing of the prior murders,” she said after reviewing the list of names they’d given her, “But I have to say that no obvious connection is jumping out at me.”
“Are you sure?” Sam said almost pleadingly.
Claire rubbed her temples as she looked over the list again. Like yesterday, she was dressed in slacks and a blouse, this time black and white respectively. Jessie noted that at some point after they’d arrived but before they got into the purpose of their visit, she had unbuttoned the top button of the blouse. Whether that was because she was overheated or wanted to pique Sam’s interest was up for debate. She looked up at them with disappointment in her eyes.
“The truth is that I spend much of my time focused on the people and groups who vilify and attack immigrant women,” sheexplained. “Obviously I’m an advocate for these women, but my energy is usually spent on more vulnerable populations, rather than those who married well. Not that they don’t deserve respect too, but they have so many other resources available to them. I’m more worried about those who fall through the cracks. Or at least I was until now. It’s starting to look like even wealth isn’t a protection against people with ill intent.”
“Right,” Jessie agreed. “In fact, these women seem to be targeted, in part,becauseof their wealth, not in spite of it. But I don’t want to assume that’s the only reason. Each of these women was part of IILA. Even though that organization wasn’t genuine, it doesn’t mean their good intentions weren’t. Maybe they were targeted because they belonged to an immigrant advocacy group rather than because they were rich. That’s why we’re hoping you can help. To your knowledge, have any of the other women on this list been vocal in support of immigration rights, perhaps beyond just providing money?”
