Page 40 of Done Dirty

I couldn’t hear Jack’s sigh, but I could feel it.

“Margot, let’s make another section on the whiteboard for those we’ve interviewed and those whose alibis have cleared. Right now Holt Ferriday’s alibi doesn’t hold for the evening of the murder. His wife said she took an Ambien and couldn’t confirm whether or not he was in bed all night.”

Holt Ferriday went up first. The studio confrontation in March, the threat in front of witnesses, and an alibi that only held through dinner.

“We’ve also got Jessica Contreras who doesn’t have anyone to corroborate her story of being in her condo alone all night. She’s one of the last people to see Wade alive, and by the looks of that elevator scene she would have happily accepted more.”

“But she doesn’t fit the profile,” I said. “She’s a pretty woman. But she doesn’t have the same look as the other women. And she’s trim, but she’s not in shape. Paige and Sloane both had great physiques.”

“Noted,” Jack said. “There’s only one whose story fully matches and that’s Brett Callum. We’ve got him leaving the premises on time.”

“What about Paige Marsh?” I asked. “She’s staying with Becca, but if they’d been drinking like they said, or at least Becca had, maybe Paige could’ve snuck out. She did have a fob and the key to the condo. And she had motive. Nothing like a lover scorned.”

“Not to mention she had the ability to get him prescriptions,” Jack added. “We’ll be talking to her again too. I want to see if Tom happened to notice anything unusual. Maybe he’s got cameras.”

Jack turned to Plank. “You’ve been quiet.”

“Just observing,” he said.

“Want to do some legwork on this?”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Good. Tell Wachowski I’d like her on it too. I want you both to start going through our list of women on the board. Start with the ones who have initials in the calendar and in the black book. And then work your way through the rest. I want to know every single person who had sexual history with our victim. And I want someone to tell us why he was keeping score in that book and what the symbols mean.”

“I’ll tell her,” he said. There was a small smile on his face. He and Wachowski never got to work together.

“You can pick two others to help you. I want a solid prelim report by end of day tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Margot—I want you running backgrounds on every woman on that board. I’m looking for anyone with technology or security experience. Anyone who could have known how to kill those cameras.”

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll just add it to my never-ending list of things to do.”

“You’re a peach,” Jack told her.

“And soft and sweet,” she purred.

On that note, Derby, Daniels, and Plank said their goodbyes and headed out. Doug and Oscar stayed behind, though Oscar had been snoring on the couch for the last two hours.

“Doug,” Jack said. “Don’t stop going through the camera feed. Look for any anomalies. Let’s try to get a log of women going up to the fourth floor, see if we can match them with any of the DMV photos.”

“Should be easy enough. I’ve got a facial recognition program I’ve been wanting to test out.”

“Margot,” Jack said, “Can you start digging into Wade Rivers’s financials. I’ve got the warrant already signed, so you don’t have to worry about being careful. Full workup. Where the money was coming from, where it was going, anything that doesn’t look like it belongs. And pull his travel history for the last couple of years.”

“Your wish is my command,” she said.

Doug was already pushing back from the island. “I’ve got a Final Fantasy date with Kayla.” He looked at the laptop. “Margot will keep digging and I’ll get the facial recognition going before I meet Kayla and the team for our raid.”

“I’m so tired of hearing about Kayla,” Margot said. I could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

Doug closed the laptop and headed for the stairs. Oscar lifted his head from the couch, considered the situation, and padded after him.

“Make good choices,” Jack called after him.

Doug paused and turned, a grin on his face. “You know that’s terrifying coming from a man Uncle Ben said once went⁠—”