The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (20 page)

Ruby set her PSC back in its holder
.“
Seriously, Ari. I have to go.
I’
m hoping to catch Kottke
.
”

“
The teal suit leaps into action
.
”

“
Thanks, I needed a boost
.
“

“
What are snaggle-toothed friends for
?”
Her grin revealed straight, gleaming white teeth. She laughed as she signed off.

As she drove through Susa
n’
s neighborhood, Ruby noted the sprawling homes. She saw no lights in any windows, no action on the street. Not a night-owl community, she assessed. After parking behind Susa
n’
s car, she noted at the red sports car. Between the standard and the flashy sat Kottk
e’
s motorcycle. She had
n’
t missed him.

Ruby left her headlights on and approached Susa
n’
s car. Knowing Kottke would have collected prints and scanned for fibers and fluids, she skipped sealing up, and opened the drive
r’
s side door. Ruby swiped a finger over the dashboar
d—
dust-free, polished. Susan took care of what was hers.

Picking up a car remote from the cupholder, Ruby pushed autostart. The car came to life. She turned on the interior light, and noticed the drive
r’
s floor mat was soiled compared to the spotless passenge
r’
s. Unable to make out a shoeprint, she moved on. She engaged her flashlight application and examined the seats. A dark, oblong stain marked the passenge
r’
s. Consistent with a bloody knife, she noted. She signaled the garage door with the remote clipped to the visor on the drive
r’
s side, and moved on.

After turning off both cars, she grabbed her briefcase and used the garage entrance. Kottke was
n’
t kidding, she mused. Sh
e’
d never seen a kitchen with such sparkle. Feeling transported to Alfre
d’
s shop, she walked to the stove and touched the dials in wonder.

Justin walked in
.“
I would
n’
t mess with that. Yo
u’
ve been known to get a coffeemaker sparking.
I’
d hate to think what yo
u’
re capable of with that thing
.
”

“
Have we entered a time warp
?
”

“
Bizarre, is
n’
t it? She did a great job cleaning this place, considering what she had to work with
.”
Justin opened a closet and motioned Ruby over.

“
Whoa. Alfred would love to get his hands on these for his shop
.”
Ruby clicked photos
.“
I wonder how much time she spent in here, making the king of the castle his meals
.
”

Justin cocked his head
.“
Should we feel sorry h
e’
s on a slab
?
”

“
Sorry h
e’
s not around to finish the job he started
?”
Ruby walked into the dining area
.“
See the dents in this wall? This is where he threw her. He had his hand against her windpipe, strangling her. Yo
u’
ve read the femicide report. All the risk factors for fatality were there. Her life was in danger
.
”

“
Yet h
e’
s the one who ends up murdered
.
”

“
And she ends up in jail on her birthday facing a life sentence on Mardova
.
”

“
She wo
n’
t be there for long. We hit the jackpot
.”
Justin pulled out a phone from his leather bag
.“
Susa
n’
s. I ran it for spyware, and found WifeSpy. These programs have obvious names. The difficulty lies in finding them. I managed to find it. My e-skills end there
.
”

“I’
ve heard of it. People travel everywhere with their phone. It taps into the GPS. It also forwards communications to the linked unit, and allows for call-tapping. He could see every message, every e-mail, and listen to every call. She could
n’
t make a move without him knowing about it
.
”

“
And that still was
n’
t enough
.”
He reached back in, and removed electronic devices
.“
Surveillance equipment. Flick would be nice to have right about now
.
”

“
I know, I know.
I’
ll find a replacement. In case you had
n’
t noticed,
I’
ve had a busy night
.
”

“
Well, we do
n’
t need e-skills for this
.”
Justin pulled out a stack of papers and waved them
.“
I found it in the office. One guess what it is
.
”

“
His will
.
”

“
How do you do that
?
”

“
Simple deduction. And few documents would put that satisfied smirk on your face
.
”

He swiped a hand over his face and set down the will.

“
Everything in order
?”
Ruby asked as she flipped through the pages.

“
Somewhat
.
”

“
I see what you mean. Susan stands to inherit Jeral
d’
s estate. If sh
e’
s legally unable to do so, it all goes to none other than Mr. Justice-for-Jerry. Wher
e’
s Susa
n’
s will
?
”

“
I assume tha
t’
s rhetorical
.
”

“
Obviously
.”
She started to pace, agitated
.“
Jerry would
n’
t have spent good lawyer money on a legal document pertaining to his wif
e’
s property. As far as h
e’
s concerned, she has no property. She herself is propert
y—
his
.”
She whirled to face Justin
.“
Find the dress and shoes
?
”

He patted his bag
.“
Yeah, and yo
u’
d be hard-pressed to find a speck of dirt
.
”

“
She took care of what was hers
.
”

“
Not the type to leave a mess behind
.
”

“
What about her bedroom? Anything strewn about in haste to flee
?
”

“
She was
n’
t running
.
”

“
Her account is she was sleeping. I believe her
.”
Ruby patted the surveillance equipment
.“
W
e’
ll know soon enough
.
”

“
We know Susan did
n’
t do it. Any ideas on the real killer or killers
?
”

“
Yes, but I want to run probabilities and review discovery first
.
”

Kottke raised a brow
.“
Yo
u’
ve been holding out on me, Ruby
.
”

“
Do
n’
t look at me like that. W
e’
ve been too busy investigating to review discovery
.
”

“
Fair enough. How is Hollins
?
”

“
He does
n’
t understand the new assignments any more than we do
.
”

“
Not surprising
.
”

“
No, but I was surprised at how fast Johnston drafted the PC statement. And his behavior is off. He asked for no frills for his best friend. He made it clear to the cops, but would
n’
t admit it to me
.
”

“
I have an idea how you phrased it. Boxed him in, did you
?
”

“
I did. H
e’
d been at the scene for a long time by that point. And suddenly he had to run
.
”

“
I know where yo
u’
re going with this, Ruby. Why would he kill his buddy
?
”

“
What are the classic motives? Gree
d—
the inheritance
.”
She ticked off a finger
.“
Ther
e’
s jealousy. But if h
e’
s after his budd
y’
s wife, why would he send her to Mardova? Maybe Jerry had a mistress. Abusers have double standards. She looks at another guy; he breaks her belongings, her bones. Meanwhile, h
e’
s cheating.
I’
ll head down that path in the morning. He may not have strayed far from home. The neighbor, Deanna Connelly, refused to render assistance to Susan
.
”

“I’
ll track down his work history and contacts, and follow that trail in the morning
.
”

“
Good. Do you still have that contact at the bureau
?
”

“
Sure do. Agent Mitzu
.
”

“
Reach out to him. KSCO is
n’
t helping us on this. Throw a potential killer county attorney into the mix and we could need federal backup
.
”

“
Why ca
n’
t you make an easy request
?
”

“
Because you always make it happen. I would
n’
t want to underutilize your talents
.
”

He rolled his eyes
.“
You drop Jasmine off to get some shut-eye
?”
             

“
Yes, and not without protest. She insisted I get some rest, too
.
”

He laughed
.“
Good for her. She needs a strong spine for this work. You feed her your usual line
?‘I’
ll head home right after
I’
m done with my reports
.
’”

“
Maybe. Why is everyone so concerned about whether I sleep
?
”

“
We care about you, ace
.”
He tugged her hair
.“
And w
e’
d hate for our bold leader to drop from exhaustion
.
”

“
Yeah, yeah.
I’
ll catch a couple hours
.
”

“
Slumped over your case files does
n’
t count
.
”

“
Agree to disagree. You finished here
?
”

“
Yeah, I have some forensics to drop at the la
b—
prints and fibers from Susa
n’
s vehicle. When are you going to invest in a portable lab? Jimmy got his last week. You gotta see it in action. It uses lab-on-a-chip technology. DNA results in under a minute
.
”