He nodded and hung his head.
I pushed away from the table and stepped to the door. The guard buzzed me out, and the sheriff met me in the hallway.
“That kid’s messed up,” Daniels said. “Let’s see if we can get him fixed before he kills someone for real.” A frustrated exhale escaped his mouth.
“We’ll keep working the case.“
He patted my shoulder before ambling down the hall.
I walked to the main office, caught up with Denise for a bit, then headed back to theAvventura.
My phone buzzed with a call from Isabella as I stepped into the main salon.
19
"I’ve been over the records with a fine-tooth comb," Isabella said. "I can't find anything that connects Cody or Dustin to Evelyn Ellington. As far as I can tell, she was an executive assistant for Rory Sinclair. He’s the billionaire CEO of Astaris. It’s a cybersecurity firm. They just won a no-bid contract with the Pentagon.”
"What does an Easter Bunny at the mall have to do with the Pentagon?"
"Maybe that's what you need to figure out.”
“Evelyn dumped something at the mall,” I said. “We need to find out what it was.”
"Send me all the footage you have. I'll see what I can find out."
"Thank you. I know how busy you are.”
Isabella sighed. "Nothing brings joy to my day like sifting through hours of surveillance footage.”
I thanked her again, ended the call, then texted her a download link of the security footage.
In the meantime, I figured we needed to have a word with Evelyn's sister Natalie. She lived in the Nautilus. It was a luxury high-rise with all the amenities and a private marina.
JD had finally sorted himself out and made himself presentable. We drove across the island, pulled into the lot, and Jack rolled to the valet. We hopped out, and the kid hustled around to greet Jack. He slipped him a few bills and told him to keep the car up front. We wouldn't be long.
At the glass double doors, the concierge buzzed us in, and we walked across the opulent lobby, past the waterfall and the baby grand piano, past the lounge, and took the elevators up to Unit #1312.
I rang the video doorbell.
By this time, Natalie had already been notified of her sister's death. Her voice crackled through the speaker a moment later. "Can I help you?"
I flashed my badge to the lens and made introductions. "We just need to have a few words with you about Evelyn.”
"I'll be right there," she said before disconnecting.
Moments later, footsteps padded down the foyer. She unlatched the deadbolt and pulled open the door. Natalie was a good-looking woman in her mid-20s with wavy chocolate hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a wholesome appearance. "I know this is a difficult time.”
She nodded and swallowed.
"We haven’t been able to connect your sister to the other victim. Do you know if she had any social connection to Cody Griggs or Dustin Tate?"
Natalie considered it for a moment. "Neither of those names sounds familiar. Then again, we weren’t exactly close.”
I gave her a curious look. "Why is that?”
Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. We've always been at odds. She wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, but I just didn't care to be around her all that often."
"Was she seeing anyone?”
