Harlequin Intrigue, Box Set 2 of 2 (7 page)

“As you all know, Lieutenant Rafferty-Taylor has had me copying and downloading all of our old print files of unsolved cases into a database and cross-referencing them. There are still more boxes in the archives, but those are cases that are thirty years or older. I'm focusing on more recent crimes where the perpetrator and potential witnesses are likely to still be alive.”

Max whistled. “You've already been through thirty years of open and unsolved cases? Hell, you're making the rest of us look like a bunch of goldbricks.”

“Not a chance, Max.” She laughed at the gruff man's teasing compliment. “I've been doing this pretty steadily since spring. And I didn't get shot up and have to go on sick leave, either.”

Trent nudged his partner. “Or run off to Vegas to get married before reporting back for active duty.” Katie's dedication explained a lot of her late nights and the pale shadows under her blue eyes. But was all this unpaid overtime she'd put in the reason she had no time for a relationship? Or was it the thing she chose to do to fill up the empty hours in her life so she wouldn't miss those relationships? “What did you find out?”

Katie curled a leg beneath her to sit up higher in her chair. “When Olivia was investigating Danielle Reese's murder last spring, she came up with her
Strangers on a Train
theory, and it got me to thinking.”

Olivia nodded. “
Strangers on a Train
, as in the Alfred Hitchcock movie where two people meet and agree to commit murder for the other person.”

Her partner, Jim, continued, “But since they've never met before and don't run in the same social circles, the one with the motive can arrange for an alibi, while the one who actually commits the crime won't pop as a suspect on the police's radar because he or she has no motive to kill the victim.”

“That's why we arrested Stephen March for Dani Reese's murder.” Olivia braced her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “The evidence says he's good for it. But he had no motive. I still believe he was blackmailed into doing it, or—”

“He murdered her in exchange for somebody else killing Richard Bratcher,” Max finished. Trent reached over and rested a hand on his partner's shoulder. March and Bratcher were sensitive subjects for the stocky detective because Stephen March was his wife's younger brother, and Bratcher had been the bullying fiancé who'd abused Rosie Krolikowski. Max nodded his appreciation at the show of support. “We got Hillary Wells for Bratcher's murder, even though she barely knew the guy.” He turned his attention back to Katie. “Are you saying that you did your brainy thing and finally found where March and Dr. Wells could have met and set up their murder bargain?”

“Not exactly.”

“What exactly are we talking about, then?” he asked.

“I designed a program to search for commonalities between cases by looking for key words or names or places. What I discovered is a pattern between several crimes that occurred over the last ten years.”

“A pattern?” the lieutenant asked.

Katie nodded. “I haven't been able to prove that they're all linked to one particular case, or even to just one person, but I've made some interesting connections between these six suspects and—” she swiped her finger across her laptop, changing the images “—these six victims.”

Trent recognized the pictures of both Dani Reese and Richard Bratcher, the victims Stephen March and Hillary Wells had killed. He also recognized the stout cheeks and receding hairline of Leland Asher. “It's not an exact swap where Suspect A kills Victim B while Suspect B kills Victim A. It's more as though they're links in a chain.”

The lieutenant urged her to continue. “Do you have specific examples of those links?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Katie adjusted the display to bring the twelve images up side by side before she twirled her chair to the side and got up to touch the television screen. Her ease in front of an audience reinforced Trent's suspicion that whatever had had her so flustered earlier had to do with the details about last night, maybe something that she still hadn't shared with him—not a presentation to her boss and coworkers involving multiple murders. “It's a painstaking process, but as I put in more information from the reports, I've come up with links from unsolved cases to people or events from murders you all have closed earlier this year. Some of these seem pretty random, but in a place the size of Kansas City, the fact that these people may have come into contact with each other at all seems compelling to me.”

Olivia tried to follow Katie's line of reasoning. “Some of the connections are obvious. Stephen March killed Danielle Reese. Dani was investigating Leland Asher. Hillary Wells murdered Richard Bratcher, and he was the man who was abusing Stephen's sister, Rosie March.”

Max swore under his breath. “Don't remind me.”

She pointed to the photo of a distinguished white-haired gentleman. “This is Dr. Lloyd Endicott, Hillary Wells's former boss and mentor. He died in a suspicious car crash that has yet to be solved. We suspect he's the man Dr. Wells wanted to have killed, since she took over his company and the millions of dollars that went with it.”

Although Trent sometimes worried that Katie's knowledge of all these dusty old cases bordered on the obsessive, he couldn't deny how useful it was to have a walking, talking encyclopedia working on their team. He pointed to the image of a professional woman with short dark hair. “Does Hillary Wells or any of those other suspects or victims connect to Leland Asher?”

Katie nodded. “You might be surprised to know that before she died, she worked out at the same gym Matt Asher does.”

“Leland's nephew?” Trent shifted his gaze to the image of a young man in a suit and tie who wore glasses and bore a striking resemblance to Leland Asher. “You think the two of them knew each other?”

She shrugged. “I can't say for certain unless I dig into the gym's schedule, class and personal trainer files, but the opportunity to meet was certainly there.”

“It would be easy enough to go to the gym and ask some general questions to see if anyone ever saw the two of them together,” Trent offered.

The lieutenant nodded. “Make a note to do that.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“I don't have any evidence that Hillary Wells and Leland Asher ever met.” Katie pointed to the nephew and then to Leland Asher. “But Max discovered that Matt regularly visits his uncle in prison.”

Olivia nodded. “I'm guessing he's in the family business, although we haven't been able to prove that he's guilty of anything illegal. But he's down in Jefferson City nearly every week, so you know he must be passing messages to and from his uncle. Leland could have ordered Hillary to kill Richard Bratcher.”

Jim Parker agreed. “It'd make sense for Matt Asher to keep the family business running while Uncle Leland is incarcerated. Where are his parents? Is his father involved in any of Leland's criminal activities?”

“There's no father in the picture. I did a little research through Social Services and found what I could on his mother. She's Leland's sister—never married. It's in your folders. Isabel Asher overdosed when Matt was eleven—ten years ago.” Katie pointed to the image of a blonde woman who had probably once been a knockout before the blank, sunken eyes and sallow skin in the photograph marred her beauty. “That's why she was in the system—she was fighting an ongoing addiction to crack cocaine, was in and out of rehab. There were several calls from teachers about neglect. After Isabel's death, Matt Asher went to live with his uncle.”

Max tipped his chair back and said what they all suspected. “The dope was probably supplied by her brother's import business. If not, he'd certainly have the money to buy her whatever she wanted.”

Jim concurred. “Access to her brother's wealth would make her a prime target. Let me guess, there's a boyfriend she used to shoot up with. Asher blamed him for his sister's death and that guy's in one of your dead files?”

“Well, Francisco Dona did have a couple of arrests in his packet, but he can't be involved in any of our more recent crimes.” She highlighted the mug shot of a dark-haired lothario with long, stringy hair and a goatee. “He died in a motorcycle accident shortly after Isabel's death.”

“Are we sure it was an accident?” Trent asked.

Katie drew a line from Francisco Dona to Lloyd Endicott. “Well, even though one rode a motorcycle and the other drove a luxury car, the sabotage to the engines was similar.”

“As if both crimes had been committed by the same person?” Max sat up straight, his gruff voice incredulous. “Wow, kiddo. You're thorough.”

“It's a thing I do. I like to poke around. Solve puzzles. It's just a matter of getting access to the right database.”

Lieutenant Rafferty-Taylor threw a note of caution into the mix. “And having the legal clearance to access that database?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Katie's lips softened with a sheepish smile. “Either I've got departmental clearance or it's public access. I haven't needed a warrant to put together any of this information, although there are places I could dig deeper if I did have one. I've sent out feelers to businesses, doctors, private citizens and so on to update our records. Some are eager to answer questions and help. Others don't even respond. Of course, I could find out more if...” She twiddled her fingers in the air, indicating her hacking skills. Trent had no doubt that Katie could access almost any information they needed—but the way she'd obtain it wouldn't stand up in court and no conviction would stick.

The lieutenant smiled. “We'll work within legal means for now. Continue with your report. This is already good stuff we can follow up on.”

Trent read through the slim report on the dead socialite. “Says here the detectives assigned to the case suspected foul play in Isabel Asher's death. They thought it might be a hit by a rival organization to send a message to Asher. So you think Francisco Dona made a deal with someone to kill her?”

Katie nodded. “There was no conclusive evidence in her KCPD case file, although that's an angle the detectives in the organized crime division investigated before it was closed out as an accidental death.”

Olivia thumbed through the information in her folder. “You
have
been busy. These deaths all happened within a general time frame, six to ten years ago. It makes our
Strangers on a Train
theory plausible.”

Jim dropped his folder on the table, shaking his head. “But there are six murder victims here. And we've only solved two of them. And we haven't linked either of those conclusively to Leland Asher ordering those murders. You said this guy is getting out this week. If we can't pin something solid on him, we'll never get him back in prison.” The blond detective looked from the lieutenant back to Katie. “Is there any place else where all of their killers could have met with Asher? Even randomly?”

“You mean like sitting together at a ball game? I haven't found anything like that yet, but...” Katie sat back in her chair and drew lines from one picture to another on her computer screen, giving them all a visual of her extensive research. “Leland Asher was diagnosed with lung cancer two months ago. The doctors suspect he's been suffering longer than that.”

Their team leader nodded. “That probably helped prompt his early release as well—so the state doesn't have to pay for his medical treatments. What else?”

“Either Matt Asher or Leland's girlfriend, Dr. Beverly Eisenbach, have been to see him every week while he's getting radiation treatments and chemo shots.” Katie drew another line. “Matt and Stephen March both saw Dr. Eisenbach as teens for counseling. Hillary Wells ran Endicott Global after Dr. Lloyd Endicott's death, and Dr. Endicott belonged to the same country club as Leland.” The grumbles and astonished gasps around the table grew louder as the links of this twisted chain of murder fell into place. “Isabel Asher was Leland's sister and Matt's mother, of course. Roberta Hays was the DFS social worker assigned to Matt's case. And...”

Trent looked up from the notes in his folder when she hesitated. “What is it?”

She circled the image of a haggard-looking man with graying hair. “I found a connection to me in here.”

“What is it, kiddo?” Max asked, voicing the others' surprise and concern.

“Roberta Hays's brother is Craig Fairfax.”

Ah, hell. Trent recognized the name from Katie's past.
That
was what had truly scared her. He sat forward, extending his long arm to the end of the table. He reached for Katie, his fingertips brushing the edge of the laptop where her hands rested on the keyboard. But she curled her fingers into a fist, refusing his touch. That didn't stop him from asking the question, “You discovered Fairfax in your research last night?”

Her gaze landed on his, and she nodded before explaining the significance of that name to the others. “He's the man who kidnapped me when I was seventeen. He tried to take Tyler from me as part of an illegal adoption ring. He and his sister Roberta—who used her position with Family Services to scout out potential candidates like me—are both serving time now.”

No wonder she'd gotten obsessed with her work and lost track of both Tyler and the late hour last night. Trent was already sending a text of his own, verifying that Craig Fairfax was still locked up in a cell in Jefferson City and not running loose on the Williams College campus.

“What's his connection to cold case?” the lieutenant asked, gently reminding Katie of the focus of the team's investigation. “Does he fit in with our
Strangers on a Train
theory? Can we tie him to Asher's criminal organization?”

Katie nodded. “Mr. Fairfax was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year.” She drew one last line on the computer screen from one sicko to another. “He's in the same prison infirmary with Leland Asher.”