Page 59 of Trap ’N’ Trace

“A needle in a haystack.”

“Why do you say that?”

“There must be hundreds of employees working in this building. During business hours, there’ll be nearly as many vehicles in the lot. Even if there is a connection between the gray sedan that may have been following us, or the car you saw outside Becca’s office the day you found her, half these cars will fit that description.”

“Do you know why she came here?”

“Not yet. First thing tomorrow, we’ll send an agent to every company in the building to find out if anyone working there knew Becca. We’ll also cross-check her case files with this address, along with the names of all the employees. That is, if these companies cooperate. Not all of them will. Before they fork over the names of their people, it’s a guarantee that, at a minimum, the legal firms will demand a subpoena.”

“How long does that take?”

“Depends.” He guided the Interceptor around the building then exited back onto Route 9W, heading south. “The official compliance date for a subpoena is usually two weeks from the date of issuance, but I’ve seen companies weasel out of responding for months. Especially, law firms that come up with every excuse in the book. Sometimes just to be difficult.”

“Great.” The resignation in Kat’s voice echoed his thoughts exactly.

There’d be no wrapping up these homicides overnight.

More rain hit the windshield. Seconds later, mini-hurricane force wind and rain pounded the SUV. Just as he flipped on the wipers, his cell rang. He clamped it into a dashboard cradle and put the caller—Paulson—on speaker.

“Did you get the photo?” he asked without preamble.

“Got it. I’m drafting subpoenas as we speak. The second the DA’s office opens in the morning, I’ll be standing on their doorstep.”

“Outstanding.” This guy was turning out to be more of a kick-ass detective than he’d first thought. “The FBI can assign more agents to help you canvass the company employees.”

“Thanks, but that’s not why I’m calling.” Dayne tensed. Either good news was coming, or something really bad. He hoped to hell it was the former. They needed a break in the case, and they needed it yesterday. “We got into the trap ’n’ trace app log.”

Hoo-yah. “And?”

“We pulled the last number to call Rebecca before she died. It’s an unlisted cell phone.”

“What’s the number?” Dayne pulled a pad and pen from the console and jotted down the 201 New Jersey number. “Did you call it?”

“Yeah. No answer and no voicemail.”

“What number did you use to call?” Paulson wouldn’t be the first detective to make a rookie mistake by using his own police cell. Worse, a department hard line. If they gave the killer a heads-up they were on to him, he’d disappear in the wind.

“A UC line,” Paulson replied. “Comes back to a fictitious online sporting goods company we set up a few years back. If he calls it, it should pass muster.”

Paulson just jumped a couple more ratings on Dayne’s CC—cop competency—scale.

“And before you ask,” Paulson added, “the carrier is Verizon and we’re getting a subpoena for the phone’s subscriber information, along with a search warrant for Google so we can view all Rebecca’s emails.”

Dayne couldn’t have done it better if he were the lead investigator. Go Paulson. “Did you look at her Facebook page? She doesn’t have a personal account, but she started one for her business about six months ago.”

“I’ll check it out as soon as I get this affidavit and subpoenas done.”

“We’ll check in with you tomorrow.” Dayne ended the call and took the I-95 south ramp toward Newark. The rain had eased somewhat, and he gunned the SUV onto the highway.

“What did all that mean?” Kat asked.

“It means we’re covering all the bases. Case files. Email. Phone. Social media. Forensic and ME reports.”

“Then why do you look so annoyed?”

Do I? He was, though. Not just with the snail’s pace of the investigation. Apparently, he’d been telegraphing his thoughts and mood. Something he never did. In just under a week, Kat could read him as well—if not better—than his closest friends and family.

“Well?” she prodded. “Why do you look so irritated?”