We left and headed back to theAvventura, feeling reasonably confident we had the right guy behind bars. I grabbed Buddy's leash and took him out for a run.
When I got back to the boat, I worked out, got cleaned up, then we hit Diver Down for dinner. I was only rolling on a few hours of sleep and wanted to keep the evening pretty low-key. After we ate, we chilled out, had a few drinks, and watched a movie in the theater room.
Brenda called the next morning as I was fixing breakfast. "I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news. What do you want first?"
“Give me the bad news.”
28
"Jesse's DNA is not a match in the Sydney Hollister case," Brenda said. “It was too degraded to get a result.”
"What's the good news?” I asked.
"He did match the DNA found under the fingernails of Polly Madison. You've got your killer.”
I grinned. "Excellent news."
“But there’s something else."
"I'm listening.”
“I’m not sure Jesse is responsible for Sydney's death. The fiber pulled from her body was mohair. I'm looking into the dye lot and manufacturing process. Hopefully, I can narrow down the vendor. This is a high-end fabric. This isn't something a vagrant would wear, unless he came by it secondhand.”
"Always a possibility.”
“I think we’re looking at two distinct killers. The size of the handprints around Sydney’s neck doesn’t match Polly’s. I’m no detective, but I think Sydney’s killer is in her social circle.”
My mind raced with possibilities. "Thanks. Keep me posted."
"You know it,” she said before ending the call.
I left the galley and banged on the hatch to JD’s stateroom. "Hey! Get up. We’ve got a murder to solve."
I went back to the galley and finished grilling up breakfast.
Jack joined me a few moments later. We dished up plates and ate on the sky deck. I filled him in on my call with Brenda, and we plotted out our day.
"I don't think Jesse Doyle has a mohair suit stashed in a closet somewhere," I said. "All of his worldly possessions were on him when we made the arrest.”
"To be fair, he could have ditched any mohair clothing after the first murder.”
"I'll bet Fletcher owns a mohair suit,” I said.
With a grin, Jack said, “Let’s find out.”
After breakfast, we left and headed to Coconut Capital Partners. At the reception desk, I flashed my badge. “We need to have another word with Fletcher.”
She frowned. "He's not in at the moment."
"Do you know where we can find him?”
"He said he was going to the Hollister residence.”
A look of surprise washed over my face. "Why is that?"
She cringed. "I don't think this is public knowledge yet, but Preston Hollister passed away this morning. Fletcher wanted to be there to personally offer his condolences to the family. They were so close for so long.”
"I'm sorry to hear that."
