Emerson redirected her attention to the photo. “What’s he handing you?”
“His business card. He wanted to take some test shots of me, then possibly hire me for a photo shoot.”
“What kind of photo shoot? Did he mention any details?” Emerson asked.
“Like what?”
“The location or the type of clothing you’d be wearing for the shoot.”
“I didn’t give him a chance. I took the card and left.”
“Did you meet with him?”
Karen furrowed her brow. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Something was off about him. He was fine all night, but when he asked for my number and I wouldn’t give it to him, he got…kinda pushy. Like, annoyed because I told him no.”
“Did he give you his number?”
“No. He said he was between phones, whatever that means.”
“Have you been back to the club since then?”
“Once.”
“Did you see him?”
“No, but I wasn’t looking for him and I wouldn’t have spent any time with him if I had.”
“Why not?”
Karen shrugged. “Not interested in him or his photo shoot.”
“Do you have his card?”
“I think so.” Karen started digging through her bag. She pulled out the card and set it on the table.
Casey Quinn
Freelance Photographer
Using a tissue, Emerson folded a napkin around the card and tucked it into her bag.
“You’ve got my number. If you see him at the club, text me. Do not leave with him or meet him anywhere.”
“I wasn’t planning on it. Why are you interested in talking to him?”
“He’s a person of interest in two homicide cases I’m working.”
Karen’s eyes grew large. “Yikes, well, I’ll definitely stay away from him.”
Back at the office, she and Nikki read through the ME’s report on April Peters.
The killer’s most recent victim had died from asphyxiation as a result of strangulation. The ME estimated April’s time of death between nine on Wednesday evening and three in the morning on Thursday. A single fingerprint found on April matched a partial on Gloria. A single blond hair was found on the wedding gown, but there was no root, so DNA was inconclusive. April had no skin under her nails. She had not been sexually assaulted.
Emerson was relieved April had not been raped, but since her body offered no clues, they had hit another dead end.
