Warren Chance
Kim shook her head. ‘So far we’ve found nothing that Ashley did wrong except for fall in love with the wrong person. Most of these folks dislike her for the things she did right. But one of them might have hated her enough, all the same.’
‘Harriet was convinced the meeting between Ashley and her brother was hostile,’ Penn offered.
‘Knowing they had a heated exchange in the exact spot she died has placed him on the list,’ she said, having added his name already.
‘She doesn’t see him though, does she?’ Stacey asked. ‘I mean, just one short phone conversation on Christmas Day.’
Stacey was right, but the location was troubling to her, as was the fact he could have been the person on Messenger. If they weren’t close, he wouldn’t know her comings and goings, but it would be suspicious for him to ask her outright.
‘Just coincidental that a couple of weeks after he’s seen harassing her for money she turns up dead,’ Penn pushed.
Stacey frowned. ‘But if the brother is getting money from her, isn’t she worth more to him alive?’
‘For all we know, he turns up there often,’ Bryant said. ‘Harriet has only seen him once, but it might not be an isolated incident that he taps her up on her way back from practice.’
‘All valid points,’ Kim acknowledged. Ultimately, it was a lead they couldn’t ignore. ‘Penn, report back as soon as you’ve met the family. That’s your priority.’
‘Got it, boss.’
‘Stace, find out what you can about Joe Butler. He feels he’s lost his kids because of Ashley, which seems like a powerful motive to me.’
‘Will do, boss. Anything more on Martha?’ Stacey asked.
‘Shut down,’ she answered. ‘George Hubbard died, and she’s being charged with murder this morning.’
‘But the results of the?—’
‘Confession trumps physical evidence apparently,’ she said, silencing Penn’s concerns.
Stacey frowned. ‘But?—’
‘I know, Stace,’ Kim said, holding up her hand.
There was no love in this room for Martha Stout, but there was a great deal of passion for justice and making sure the right person answered for the crime.
Woody had been clear that they were to have no more involvement with the case.
She turned to Bryant. ‘Come on – we need to go tell Daniel Reynolds he was going to be a dad again,’ she said, determined they were going to make headway with getting justice for Ashley.
Bryant followed her out the door.
‘Ooh, hang on one sec,’ she said.
He continued walking as she ducked back into the squad room and placed a scrap of paper on Stacey’s desk.
‘Only to me, Stace, when you get it. Text it directly to me.’
Twenty-Five
‘So, you’re okay with Woody’s instructions?’ Bryant asked once they were in the car.
‘Contrary to public opinion, I can take direction from my superior officer even when it’s against my better judgement.’
‘And I could fly to the moon if only I had a pair of wings,’ Bryant answered.
She said nothing as he began the short drive to Daniel Reynolds’s house.
