“Good observation.” Bree pulled away from the curb. “We need to verify her alibi anyway. Can you plug the address of that film studio into the GPS? I want to drive by.”
When they reached the studio, Matt went inside and spoke with a cameraman, but it wasn’t the same crew who had worked the previous day. He stopped at the receptionist’s desk, where the young woman checked the studio schedule and confirmed the hours of the shoot. She also obtained the surveillance videos for the previous day and emailed them to Matt.
When he returned to the car, Bree was writing in a spiral notepad. “Both of Monica’s model friends confirm her alibi.”
“But they’re her friends, so that doesn’t mean all that much,” Matt said. “I have the surveillance video from the studio.”
“Forward it to Todd. He can have a deputy review it.”
The evidence was mounting. Hopefully, they would accumulate enough to separate the truth from the lies.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Todd hovered over a stack of paperwork. His stomach grumbled. He’d missed lunch. He considered running through a drive-through but resisted. He was in training for an IRONMAN competition and tried to avoid fast food. Instead of giving in to temptation, he texted Cady.
HAVE TIME FOR A LATE LUNCH?
YES, she responded. YOUR PLACE?
He typed, PERFECT.
He’d been dating Matt’s sister for a few months. After the trauma of being kidnapped, Todd had learned that taking a small chunk of time for a normal activity, even in the middle of an important investigation, could help him maintain balance, manage his stress, and curtail burnout.
He used to roll his eyes at the term self-care, but no more. He would actively try to not work 24/7 in the future. Everyone needed to breathe.
He drove home. Cady had a key and was already inside when he arrived. His yellow lab, Goldie, met him at the door. At seven months, she was a long-legged, good-natured chewing machine. Todd had adopted her after a friend had died on the last major case—the one when Todd had been kidnapped.
Goldie jumped on his leg but sat when asked, though her butt bounced on the floor. Todd toed off his boots and set them in the closet next to Cady’s. Seeing their shoes lined up together made his house feel more like a home.
“I already walked her.” Cady stood at the stove, wielding a spatula. She wore jeans, a sweatshirt, and thick socks. Her face was bare, and her long strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “I know you’re short on time, so I thought I’d start lunch.”
Todd swept aside her ponytail and kissed the back of her neck. “What are we having?”
She leaned back against him. “Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.” She flipped the sandwiches, then gave the saucepan of soup a stir.
They brought the food to the table and sat for a quiet lunch. Goldie slept with her head on Todd’s foot. Cady talked about the progress she was making with her current crop of rescue dogs. Todd, needing a mental break, just listened.
As if she knew he needed the time, she talked for ten minutes before asking, “How is your case?”
“It’s OK.”
She gave him the assessing look he’d grown accustomed to, the one that double-checked that he wasn’t answering on reflex.
“Really,” he said. “I’m paying attention, which is why I’m taking this break.”
“Good.” She picked up the crust of her sandwich and dunked it in her soup.
When lunch was over, Cady waved him toward the door. “I’ll take the dog out again before I leave. Let me know if you need me to pick her up later. I can always take her to my place for the night. It’s good for her to socialize with my crew.” Cady had four dogs of her own.
“Thanks.” Todd kissed her on the mouth.
“I promised I would help with her when I talked you into adopting her.”
“You did.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. An early marriage and divorce had left him lackluster on dating. Then Cady had come along, for which he was ever grateful. “I’ll call you later.”
The comfort food and her company cleared his head better than if he’d taken a long nap. With his belly and heart full, he drove to Electronics Depot. The freezing wind cut into his face as he crossed the parking lot. His nerves jangled as much as his duty belt. Interviewing a store manager should be routine for him, but this was the first time since he’d been kidnapped that the sheriff had assigned him an investigative task out of the office. He hoped she hadn’t lost faith in him. Bree said it wasn’t his fault, but he still felt stupid about letting himself get ambushed.
He wasn’t nervous about his safety. It was the interview itself that worried him. Talking to the manager of an electronics store was a low-risk endeavor. But he was out of practice, and he did not want to fuck up the case.
He stepped through the sliding doors into the big-box store. After the cold wind in the parking lot, the warmth burned his cheeks. He made his way to the register and asked to see the manager.
The clerk spoke into a phone at the register, then waved toward the back corner of the store. “She’s in the office. Go on back.”
Todd weaved his way through the aisles to a doorway that led to a narrow corridor. He passed a set of restrooms and an EMPLOYEES ONLY sign.
The manager leaned out of her office. “Officer?” She motioned with her hand for him to join her. “Please, come in. Have a seat.”
Todd walked in. The restroom might be larger than the small, cramped office. The manager sat on a tiny wheeled chair behind the desk. To her right, a row of monitors showed live black-and-white images of the store’s interior.
A single plastic chair faced the desk. The metal feet scraped obnoxiously on the commercial tile as he dragged the chair backward and sat. Even with the chair pushed all the way to the wall, his knees touched the desk.
“Sorry for the tight space.” The manager was a fiftysomething woman with short blonde hair. “I’m Brandy Malone. How can I help you?”
“Chief Deputy Harvey.” Todd touched his own chest. “I have some questions about Spencer LaForge. He worked here, correct?”
“Yes.” Brandy looked troubled. “What do you mean, worked?” She emphasized the past tense.
“I’m sorry to inform you that Spencer died last evening.”
“No.” She shifted back in her chair as if the news were a physical blow. “He didn’t show up for work this morning . . .” Her voice trailed off, and regret dragged the corners of her mouth down. “I called him, but he didn’t answer. I assumed he’d had a personal emergency. I never imagined . . .” Her eyes lost focus, as if she were thinking instead of seeing him. She digested the news for about thirty seconds, then shook off her shock and made solid eye contact. “How did he die?”
“He was murdered,” Todd said simply. The family had been notified, and the sheriff was going to give a press conference in a couple of hours anyway.
Brandy just stared, speechless for a few seconds. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never known anyone who was murdered before.”
“It’s distressing.”
She leaned forward again, resting her forearms on the desk and reengaging with him. “What can I do?”