Chapter 42
Kara rarely slept in, but the sun was already streaming through her blinds and the smell of coffee filled her small house
when she woke up Saturday morning.
Coffee. Someone had made her coffee.
She climbed out of bed and pulled on her pajama bottoms that were tangled in the bedsheets. Her leg itched and there was still
lingering pain, but she walked almost without a limp. She’d have a nasty scar, but Kara honestly didn’t care. It wouldn’t
be the first scar on her body.
She brushed her teeth, then followed her nose all the way to the kitchen, where Matt handed her a steaming cup of rich-smelling
coffee.
“Yum,” she said and sipped. “The first sip is always the best.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “I would have made breakfast, but you have no food.”
“When did I have time to shop?”
“We’ll fix that today.”
They’d returned to Virginia Thursday morning, leaving the team split between South Carolina and Florida to deal with the paperwork and the jurisdictional nightmare that the case had become.
Yesterday they both had follow-ups with their respective doctors and were told light duty for two weeks, then another checkup before they were cleared.
Kara surprisingly wasn’t all that angry about being sidelined. She needed the break.
Then the debrief with Tony Greer yesterday, which went better than she expected. There hadn’t been much they’d done wrong—being
shot with tranquilizer darts took decision-making out of their hands—though he was displeased that they’d joined the team
on the raid in South Carolina when they hadn’t been cleared by medical. And he wasn’t happy that the FBI was getting a bill
from an ambulance company for a three-hour ride.
By the time they returned to Kara’s house in Alexandria, they were exhausted, ordered pizza delivery, and collapsed into bed.
Now, Matt said, “Catherine and Chris are on their way over.”
Surprisingly, that thought didn’t fill Kara with dread. She glanced at the clock and realized it was after nine. She never slept in until nine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past six.
“They have a housewarming present, and Catherine will fill us in on what’s been going on with the case.”
Thirty minutes later, Catherine and Chris arrived with their twelve-year-old daughter, Lizzy.
They chatted for a few minutes, eating donuts that the Jones family brought, while Matt brewed a fresh pot of coffee.
Then Chris took Lizzy for a walk along the river to give the team time to talk in private.
Kara had lucked out. The park across the street was protected, so her front yard had an (almost) unobstructed view of the Potomac.
Her lot was unusually large and odd-shaped for the neighborhood, and one of the few houses that wasn’t a townhouse.
And because of a historical designation on the location (not the house, which had burned down a hundred years ago and been rebuilt), no one could develop it into townhomes.
She’d been very lucky that her condo in Santa Monica had appreciated nicely before she sold it so that she could afford this special place.
The house needed a lot of work, but it had a solid foundation and privacy while also being in the middle of town. It was exactly
what Kara wanted.
They sat at her kitchen table—one of the few pieces of furniture she had other than her bed—drank coffee, and ate a second
donut, this time a bear claw.
“A lot of people want to prosecute Clara,” Catherine said. “We’re taking the first crack, however. Kidnapping and murder across
state lines gives us jurisdiction, and the AUSA is eager. She’s been working closely with DA Anson in Flagler, so I think
it’ll work out between the two jurisdictions.”
“She’s not going to get off on a technicality, is she?” Kara asked.
“Anything can happen,” Catherine said, “but Nathan Graves positively identified her as the woman who kidnapped him and his
mother, and Franklin Graves gave a statement about the blackmail. The kidnapping of a minor child alone is plenty to keep
her locked up, but the fact that she has the resources to disappear and had, in fact, been planning to do so, which we can
prove, will likely keep her behind bars without bail.”
“Lily’s going to be okay, right?” Matt asked.
“Yes. She should be released tomorrow or Monday at the latest. She said you saved her life.”
“We both did,” Matt said, looking at Kara.
“Did Jim find anything to tie Clara or the victims to the factory?” Kara asked Catherine.
“She actually owned it through her LLC, but that alone won’t convict her.
He confirmed other DNA present, but is still awaiting tests to match physical evidence to each of the victims,” Catherine said.
“The biggest find was her phone—she didn’t wipe it.
She had an outside server that linked to her phone, which still had recordings from the factory and the farmhouse on it, including a recording of one of the victims who fell to his death.
There is also blood evidence on two different boats that Clara had access to—the one at the house on Kiawah Island, and the one at the house in Savannah.
The blood is also being tested against the victims. Ryder is working with other jurisdictions from California to Florida putting together other possible victims, but those might be harder to prove.
What won’t be hard to prove is her honey trap scheme.
Zack found evidence that multiple married men have been paying into one of her LLCs going back ten years, the one called SmartGirl Business. ”
“She has more than one?” Kara asked.
“At least three.”
“Ten years—that’s before she left Los Angeles,” Matt said.
“She’s extorted millions from at least nineteen men.”
“Are any of them going to testify?” Matt said.
Kara snorted. “They paid to hide an affair from their wives. Why come forward now?”
“We know their identities based on the wire transfers,” Catherine said, “so they’ll be contacted as they may become part of
the record. I don’t know whether they will be asked to testify or be subpoenaed. That’s way down the road. And they would
be considered victims of extortion, so the court may determine that their identities can remain hidden from the public.”
“Were they drugged?” Kara thought about what Franklin had said. That he didn’t drink alcohol and didn’t succumb to Clara’s
seduction, but he saw her put something in his soda water. She didn’t know if she believed him, but Lily had.
“I don’t know. Clara was a beautiful, manipulative seductress.”
“Do you think Franklin was lying? That he really did sleep with her, and then she blackmailed him to not tell his wife? Because
why would Clara wait years before reaching out to him?”
Catherine thought about it, then shook her head.
“I think he was telling the truth. The reason Clara targeted him was because he rejected her. She is not used to rejection, doesn’t expect it.
When I spoke to him yesterday on the phone, we went over everything again, and he said that he had threatened to report her for drugging his drink.
So it was rejection coupled with a threat that I think made him a target.
She would have gotten her revenge one way or the other. ”
“Still, nearly eight years . . . that’s a long time to hold a grudge.”
“Not for Clara Dolan,” Catherine said.
“Did they find Garrett’s body?” Matt asked.
Catherine shook her head.
“Maybe he planned the whole thing,” Kara said. “And is now on a beach in the Caribbean drinking mai tais.”
“He’s listed as missing and presumed dead, but if they don’t find his remains, they’ll change it to missing and he might make
the Top Ten Wanted list,” Catherine said.
“Was the information he shared helpful in finding Becca’s body?” Kara asked.
“I haven’t heard back from Ventura County yet,” Catherine said. “Ryder would know more, since he’s been coordinating with
law enforcement from other jurisdictions.”
Catherine rose, said, “I like your house. It has a lot of potential.”
“Thank you,” Kara said. “It’s going to be a work in progress, but being chained to the desk for a week or two means I can
spend some time figuring out what to do first. And thanks for the dishes. I really like them.”
“Matt said you were eating on paper plates. You can trade the plates in for any of the colors they have, the gift receipt
is in the box.”
“I like the white. It’ll go with whatever color I decide to paint the kitchen.” The kitchen had god-awful wallpaper and while Kara didn’t cook much, she liked to eat, so wanted her kitchen to be comfortable.
Chris and Lizzy were coming up the walk, so Catherine hugged Matt, then Kara. “This could have been so much worse.”
“We know,” Matt said. “But it wasn’t.” He took Kara’s hand.
An hour later they were showered, dressed, and about to head to the grocery store when Jim, Michael, and Ryder showed up together
in two cars.
“Sloane wished she could be here,” Michael said, “but she flew out early this morning for Montana. Her parents’ fortieth wedding
anniversary party is tonight.”
“I completely forgot,” Matt said.
“It’s not like you had anything else on your mind,” Jim said. He hugged Kara. “It’s so good to see you, kid.”
They hadn’t actually seen each other after the rescue. Jim had stayed in Georgia to help process the factory and only returned
late last night.
“I don’t have a lot of furniture yet,” Kara said.
“You don’t have any furniture,” Michael muttered.
“Hey, I literally moved in one week before we went on assignment in Florida. Cut me some slack. I have a table and a bed.
All I do is eat and sleep here anyway.”
She gave Matt a sly glance. They did a lot more than sleep last night in the bed.
She led them to her large ugly kitchen, where they sat at the country table that had been left with the house. It had been
built for the space, and the previous owner had asked if Kara wanted it. Big yes, since as Michael said she had no furniture.
Michael looked around. “I can help with any DIY projects.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Kara said. “The floors are in great shape, but need refinishing. The walls are yuck, so that’s probably my first thing. The kitchen needs updating, but I saw something on this home and garden show where you can refinish cabinets pretty easily and fairly cheap.”
Matt offered coffee. Jim and Michael accepted. Jim took one of the last donuts from Catherine’s box.
“You actually watched an episode of home and garden?” Michael said with a smirk.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“I have some news,” Ryder said. “Ventura County Sheriff’s Department found female remains in the area Garrett indicated. They’re
exhuming them now and we should have a definitive answer in a few days.”
“At least her family can have closure,” Kara said.
“Los Angeles FBI spoke to the Masters family. We’re having local offices reach out to all the victims’ families to give them
a status report on the investigation.”
“Has any other motive been uncovered?” Matt asked. “She targeted Emily Masters Henderson because she knew her, but what about
the other two couples?”
“None have surfaced. They don’t appear to have ever met,” Ryder said. “But we’re continuing to look. Catherine believes that
the other couples were targeted partly to mask her motive for killing Emily, but also because the women reminded Clara of
Emily and her success, or because the women reminded Clara of Becca. Clara hasn’t talked. Catherine is going to have a sit-down
with her on Monday. I’m sure you can observe,” Ryder added.
Kara shrugged. “I don’t care why. I never want to see that woman again.”
“Catherine also said they both likely enjoyed setting up the abandoned factory and creating elaborate and deadly traps, but
for Garrett with his mechanical background it was a challenge, and for Clara it was more likely to watch her victims’ psychological
torment.”
“Sick,” she muttered.
“Speaking of the factory,” Matt said, turning to Jim. “Catherine said you uncovered forensic evidence.”
Jim nodded. “Quite a bit. Enough to keep her in prison. They had to have spent days—maybe weeks—setting up the traps. Some
were ingenious, some were basic but effective. It’s in line with Garrett’s background. He had been an engineering student
at one point, and everything we’ve learned about him is that he has above average mechanical skills. Most of the traps we
believe he created, but Catherine thinks they were Clara’s ideas. The Jacksonville ERT unit is staying on site to assist the
sheriff’s department, and we brought in a local contractor with heavy equipment. It’s going to take another week, at least.”
“How did she make the house explode?” Kara asked. “Lily and Nathan were there for days before it went boom.”
“Arson investigators are still going over the wreckage, but from what they could determine, she had a chemical time bomb.”
“Which is—?” Kara asked.
“A plastic bottle with a tiny hole that slowly dripped out a lye solution into one of the main support beams in the basement.
The lye eroded the beam, but it takes time—anywhere from three to ten days.”
“And then it explodes?”
“No, that didn’t cause the explosion. When the kitchen floor collapsed and the stove was ripped out of the wall, a spark caused
the gas to ignite. There was a propane tank too close to the house—it was old and not up to code. You have a guardian angel
on your shoulder, Matt.”
Kara shook her head. “She told Lily she would let them go. That lying bitch.”
Matt took her hand and squeezed it. “So there’s enough evidence to keep her behind bars?” he said.
“Oh, yeah. And Zack is still going over her finances—did Catherine tell you about the extortion?”
Matt nodded. “Good work,” he said. “Great work. You all came through during a difficult time. Tony wants a meeting with our legal rep on Wednesday. We’re going to be talking about probable cause and procedures and it’s going to be a slap that we don’t deserve. But everyone needs to be there.”
“Sloane will be back Tuesday morning,” Ryder said.
“I’m heading to Dallas,” Jim said as he got up. “Ryder was kind enough to offer to take me to the airport. I’ll be back Tuesday
night. After a week like this, I need to see my family.”
The three men left, and Matt put his arm around Kara. “This case is going to weigh on all of us for a long time.”
“We’ll bounce back,” Kara said. “The team really went above and beyond.” She kissed him, then made a move to grab her keys.
He pulled her back to him.
“I thought we were going to the grocery store?” Kara said.
He kissed her. “We will.” He kissed her again and backed her down the hall into her bedroom. “In an hour. Or two.”