Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Chapter 37
Laurel sat at her office conference table with an uneaten bagel next to her. She stared at the murder board, to which she’d also added Rachel Raprenzi’s picture.
“I’ve got them.” Monty hustled into the conference room.
Laurel reached for the photographs. “These are pictures of the crime scene where Rachel had been pushed toward a river?”
“Yeah,” Monty said. “Fish and Wildlife officers were close by because of the search and rescue, so when Rachel called it in, they quickly tracked back to where she thought she’d been taken.”
“Helping me will get you fired, Monty.” But he was all she had. Everyone else was gone.
“Don’t care,” Monty said. “Plus, it’s Sunday. It’s my day off. I can do what I want.”
Not true. Laurel peered more closely at the broken ice, which appeared as if crampons had been used. The edges exhibited a rough but symmetrical quality. “Rachel said Huck kidnapped her?”
Monty nodded. “But Rachel didn’t actually see Huck. She felt a muscled male body hold her and was put into a dog crate in a truck, so she thinks it was Aeneas’s crate. But she didn’t see him.”
“Did she hear a dog?”
“No.”
Laurel quickly considered her options. “I’m still on this case.”
“Probably not for long.”
She nodded. “What do you say we pull Rachel in for an interview? This is a serial murder case, and we do have jurisdiction, especially since this crime occurred on federal land.”
Monty had dressed in his Fish and Wildlife uniform. “I would have to take lead.”
“I agree. I’ll do my best not to interfere.”
He lifted his shoulder. “I need Raprenzi’s number.”
Laurel looked it up on her phone. Rachel had given it to her months ago while asking for information on a case.
Monty lifted the phone to his ear. “Ms. Raprenzi, it’s Captain Monty Buckley from the Fish and Wildlife service. I need to interview you about what happened last night.” He waited a beat. “Yes, I’m aware you’ve accused Captain Rivers, and that’s fine. But I’ve been on this case since the beginning and would like to bring you in for an interview.”
Laurel held her breath.
He shook his head. “No, I’m not consenting to an on-camera interview. You would come to our offices.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m still not consenting to that. Either you come and talk to us, or I will put out word with your competitors that you are unwilling to help in this case and just want to use it to further your career.”
Laurel’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t realized Monty would resort to such a ruthless strategy so quickly.
“That sounds lovely. We appreciate you coming in to see me tomorrow.” He ended the call.
“Monty,” Laurel said.
Monty took a deep gulp of his latte. “That’s the only language she understands. She’ll be here to talk to us tomorrow morning.”
Laurel wanted to groan. She turned to the screen at the far end of the conference room and quickly brought up the streaming channel.
Somebody buzzed in at the front door, and she stood, hurrying to the reception desk to see Pastor John and a woman on the screen. She buzzed them in, and they walked up the stairs.
Laurel straightened. “Pastor John. Don’t you have church services today?”
“I was let go after Zeke firebombed me in front of the entire congregation,” the pastor said. “I heard your phone message this morning and thought I would just cut you off at the pass.” He pointed to the woman next to him. “This is Lativa Jones, and we were together all last night. So if you’re trying to pin the Rachel Raprenzi kidnapping on me, you’re way off base.”
Lativa appeared to be in her early thirties with curly red hair and sparkling green eyes. “I’ve never been an alibi before,” she said, grinning, “but we were together all night.”
Laurel looked at Monty, who’d followed her down the hallway. “All right. Have you been to Santa Fe lately, Pastor John? Before you answer, please remember that I can track your movements and that it’s a crime to lie to a federal agent.”
The pastor frowned. “I’ve never been to Santa Fe.” His voice remained level and he did not fidget.
“Are you certain you’ve never met Delta Rivers?” Laurel asked.
He sighed. “Yes. I promise.”
She would have Nester double-check his whereabouts for the last month, but she couldn’t create a scenario where he’d killed the victims. “Very well. How about Pastor Zeke? Has he been to Santa Fe recently?”
“I have absolutely no idea where that man has been,” Pastor John snarled.
She had leads to pursue and didn’t have time to waste. “Would you return tomorrow morning when Agent Nester Lewis is back in the office?” Nester could track them in real time. If Pastor John had an alibi, he’d be cleared of the other murders, considering the same crampons had been utilized at all scenes except for Teri Bearing’s. That one kept poking at Laurel’s subconscious.