Kari watched Diana walk away down the street, her mind turning over everything she'd learned.Diana blamed the cruelty of the industry for what had happened to these women.She pointed toward Pemberton as a possible suspect.But they had cleared him already.
Hadn't they?
As she drove back to her motel through the evening traffic, Kari couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was missing something obvious.Something right in front of her face.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kari had been wrong before.Every detective had.You followed a lead that seemed promising, convinced you were finally onto something, and then it turned into a dead end that cost you days or weeks of work.It was part of the job, part of the frustrating, painstaking process of building a case out of fragments and speculation.
But she couldn't remember being this frustrated in a long time.
She sat across from Detective Carter in a coffee shop near the L.A.P.D.station, surrounded by the debris of two hours of intensive work.Carter had spread printouts across the small table—medical records, appointment logs, financial documents, witness statements, phone records.
All of it pointed toward Dr.Callum Pemberton.And none of it was enough to prove anything.
"His middle name is definitely Michael," Carter said, tapping a highlighted section of one document."So M could be him using that name to keep things discreet.And look at this—Jennifer had seven appointments with Pemberton in the six months before her death.That's more than twice the average for his patients.She was seeing him almost every three weeks."
"But that doesn't prove they were romantically involved.It could just mean she was getting more procedures, or that she had ongoing issues that required follow-up."
Kari stared at the documents spread across the table, willing them to reveal something they hadn't already told her.Jennifer had been seeing someone secretly.That someone had used the initial M in her phone.Pemberton fit the profile almost perfectly—charming, powerful, with access to vulnerable young women and the medical knowledge to stage an overdose convincingly.
But fitting a profile wasn't the same as committing a crime.And without concrete evidence linking Pemberton to Jennifer's death, they had nothing but suspicions and coincidences.
"What about his alibis?"she asked."For the nights of the deaths?"
Carter's expression soured further."Solid.Frustratingly, infuriatingly solid.The night Jennifer died, Pemberton was at a medical conference in San Diego.He gave a presentation at eight PM, attended a reception until midnight, had drinks with colleagues until almost two.Dozens of witnesses, plus hotel records showing he didn't check out until the next morning."
"Could he have driven back to L.A.during the night?San Diego's only a couple hours away."
"I thought of that.But his car never left the hotel parking structure—I pulled the security footage myself.And there's no record of him renting a car, taking a rideshare, or getting on any buses or trains."Carter shook her head."Unless he teleported, he was physically in San Diego when Jennifer died."
"What about the other deaths?Amanda Escalante?Destiny Morales?"
"Similar story.The night Amanda died, Pemberton was at a charity gala in Beverly Hills until past midnight.The night Destiny died, he was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with his wife."Carter's jaw tightened."His wife, Blackhorse.If he was having affairs with these models, his wife either didn't know or didn't care.Either way, she vouched for his presence in Mexico."
Kari sat back, taking it all in.They had a clear pattern—five deaths, all connected to the same agencies, all staged to look like suicides or overdoses.They had a victim's phone showing a possessive relationship with someone using the initial M.They had a suspect who fit the profile almost perfectly, who had access to all the victims, who had the medical knowledge to stage their deaths.
And they had alibis that weren't cracking no matter how hard they pushed.
"Maybe Pemberton isn't M," she said reluctantly."Maybe we've been looking at this wrong from the beginning."
"Then who is?We've been through everyone connected to Jennifer—the photographers, the agency staff, other models, her doctors, her landlord.No one else fits the profile."Carter gathered the scattered papers into a rough stack."Maybe M stands for something else entirely.A nickname, a code word, an inside joke we haven't figured out."
"Or maybe there's someone we haven't considered yet.Someone we've overlooked."
Carter looked at her."Like who?"
Kari didn't have an answer.She'd talked to everyone she could think of—the roommates, the agency heads, the photographers, the doctor.She'd followed every lead, chased every connection.And she kept ending up in the same place: frustrated, confused, certain that the answer was right in front of her but unable to see it.
"What about Tayen?"Carter asked after a moment of silence."Any leads on where she might be?"
"Nothing.No credit card activity since she disappeared, no phone pings, no sightings.She's either hiding very effectively or..."Kari didn't finish the sentence.She didn't need to.
"Blackhorse, I have to be honest with you."Carter's voice was gentle but firm."I've done everything I can do without official standing to investigate these deaths.I've pulled records, made calls, talked to witnesses.But I can't commit all my time to this one case.I have other investigations, other missing persons, other families waiting for answers."
"I understand."
"That doesn't mean I'm giving up.It just means I have to be realistic about what I can do."Carter paused, regarding Kari sympathetically."And you should be realistic too.Tayen ran away from home once before.She changed her name, cut off her family, built a completely new life.Isn't it at least possible that's what she's doing again?That she got scared or overwhelmed and decided to disappear on purpose?"
