Death Notice by Lolli Powell

Author:Lolli Powell [Powell, Lolli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 33

Jen wasn’t surprised to see the number of officers standing in the halls and loitering in the offices. It appeared almost every off-duty officer had come to the building after hearing the news. Their faces were grim, and more than one—male and female—appeared to have been crying. She recognized several who had been working the midnight relief shift the night before. It would be a good idea to talk to them. Maybe they had noticed something while patrolling. Police officers were notoriously nosy about what their fellow officers were doing; maybe that curiosity would pay off with a lead.

Jamie stopped her in the detective section. Her face was pale, and her eyes red.

“Oh, Jen.” Her voice broke. “I feel so responsible. If I had gone with you last night, none of this would have happened.”

“You don’t know that.” Jen hugged her friend. “It’s likely that Trish was marked by him long before last night. Otherwise, how would he know she lived alone?”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do,” Jen said, meaning it. “There was evidence that he was hiding in the bushes when she got home, and he attacked her in the foyer. He may have followed us last night, but if he did, I think it was because he was already following Trish. If she hadn’t been with me, he would probably have broken in on her during the night like he did the others.”

Behind them, Jamie’s phone began to ring. She wiped her eyes and smiled halfheartedly at Jen.

“Maybe we can talk later?”

Jen nodded and turned away. Will led her to the detectives’ conference room. He poured them each a cup of coffee and flopped into a chair.

“Any ideas?” he said.

“Maybe. Can you get the Bureau to do extensive background checks on some of the guys we’ve come across? I don’t mean just the usual paper trail. I mean the kind of face-to-face that they did at Arthur Kelty’s last known address.”

“You mean send agents out to talk to people who knew them?”

“Exactly. With pictures.”

“I think I can arrange that, although it won’t give us any quick answers. That kind of investigation takes time since so many different offices are involved. Do you have somebody in particular in mind?”

“There are a couple men involved in these cases that fit Kelty’s general description, and the only thing we know about their pasts is what they’ve told us or others. How do we know they’re who they say they are? Kelty could have created the identity or even taken over one belonging to someone else.”

“If it’s Kelty.”

“True. But maybe doing background checks will help us eliminate that possibility.”

“Who’d you have in mind?” Will pulled his pocket secretary and pen from his suit jacket.

“My number one favorite, of course—Steve Cochran. I can probably get a picture of him from his personnel folder. The wife of one of our officers works in Personnel and can be trusted to be discreet.” She thought for a moment. “Although Larry Adams is a county employee, she might be able to get a picture of him.

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