Chapter 15 #2
Pausing for effect, I said, "Tonight, I went to the home of Detective Vincent Cabot, the lead investigator on Paige's case. He retired from the police department three years ago, so he is no longer on the force."
I thought about including Detective Barclay, but I decided to be vague about how I got there and who was with me.
"Unfortunately, when I arrived at Detective Cabot's home with a current member of the police department, Detective Cabot was dead.
" I could almost hear the collective gasp and saw the comments lighting up on Morgan's open computer screen.
"That's right. He was deceased, and his death was not an accident.
I believe it's directly tied to Paige's murder.
And, yes, I'm calling it murder. I may not have the proof yet, but I am hopeful that the police department will take a look at these two deaths in connection with each other.
I'm quite sure that when we find out who killed Detective Cabot, we'll also know who killed Paige MacIntyre.
" I glanced at Morgan, needing a little break.
She gave me a subtle nod, then said, "We're hoping that with this new information, more people will come forward, that someone will remember something they had previously forgotten.
Or if they've been afraid to speak because they didn't believe they would have a willing listener in the police department, that they'll feel differently now.
You can direct message us with information if you don't want to speak to the police, or you can contact the Evanston Police Department and ask to speak with Detective Colton Barclay. "
I was happy she'd included that suggestion, because we needed more help.
I jumped back in. "Detective Cabot interviewed me and many of my friends after Paige died, but I always wondered why he didn't ask more questions, why he didn't push anyone on their alibi or their statement.
Because someone knew something. Maybe it wasn't the whole story.
Maybe it was only a piece, and they thought it was smarter to stay silent.
But now is the time to talk. Someone else has died.
And if we don't find out what happened to Paige soon, there might be more casualties.
Paige deserves justice, and her family deserves answers.
We hope you'll help us find those answers. "
"That's it for tonight," Morgan said. "We'll continue to update you as often as possible. See you next time."
As she shut everything down, I got up to get a glass of water. I drank it down in a couple of big gulps.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked.
"Talking about it reminded me how real it all was."
"I can't imagine what you saw, Tessa. I'm very glad the killer wasn't still around when you arrived."
"Me, too. When we got to the front door, it was open, and Detective Barclay sent me back to the car. When I didn't hear anything, I had to find out what was happening."
"Of course, you did," she said dryly.
"When I got into the room, Barclay was giving Cabot CPR.
He knew it was too late, but he was still trying.
He had told me earlier that Cabot was a mentor to him.
It was already bad enough that he was going to have to challenge his investigation into Paige, and then finding him dead… He's going to have a lot to deal with."
"He's probably more convinced now that Paige's death wasn't an accident."
"I think so. I have a feeling he's going to try to keep us out of the investigation, especially after what happened tonight."
"You can't blame him. He could have been taking you into a dangerous situation tonight. He won't want to do that again."
"No, he won't. But we don't need him to. If this was Hale, there has to be another way to get to him. Maybe through his wife."
"Or Carrie?" Morgan suggested.
"Or Carrie," I agreed. "If I could convince her that Hale might be dangerous—"
"You can't accuse Hale of murder with what you've got," Morgan interrupted.
"I wasn't going to accuse him."
"Even implying that he's behind this is a step too far. We don't have any evidence beyond the fact that they were chess buddies."
I frowned, but she was right. "You're right. I need to think of a good angle without actually accusing him."
"Maybe someone will send us a message or contact you directly after they see our post tonight."
She'd no sooner finished speaking when my phone buzzed with a call. "That's spooky," I said as I looked at my phone. "It's Alina."
"Put it on speaker."
I put the phone on the kitchen counter between us. "Hello?"
"Cabot is dead?" Alina asked in lieu of a greeting. "How? What happened? Who did it?"
"I assume you heard our podcast."
"Yes, but you should have called me first. What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know, but the police are investigating."
"I can't believe it, Tessa. What does this mean?"
I repeated what I'd said on the podcast, ending with, "It feels like Cabot knew more about Paige's death than he put in his report."
"As in someone bribed him to call it an accident?"
"Possibly. We need to see how this plays out."
"I was right, wasn't I? Paige was killed. Ray said I was crazy. And my parents were so angry when they found out I went to you. But I knew something was off, and I was right," she repeated.
As Alina mentioned her brother, I thought about Ray and his level of physical anger. I couldn't see why he'd go after Detective Cabot. Although he seemed more likely to attack someone than Hale.
"What's going to happen next?" Alina demanded.
"I'm not sure. The police will definitely look at Paige's death again, especially after what happened to the lead investigator and the increasing public interest in the case."
"You did get people to pay attention; I'll give you that," she grumbled.
"I hope you know I had nothing to do with Paige's death," I said. "I may have been a shitty friend, but I didn't hurt her."
"There was a time when I thought you could have, but I don't think so anymore."
"Good, because focusing on me is a waste of time. We need to find out who wanted your sister dead. Did she ever talk to you about her relationship with Professor Hale?"
"I know there were rumors, but she never said anything to me about him beyond the fact that she respected him and wanted to impress him. Why? Is he a suspect?"
"I'm just asking questions. What about Liam Crawford, my ex-boyfriend? Did she ever talk to you about him?"
"Was she hooking up with him while you were together?" Alina asked, once again not answering my question.
"He says no, but he thought she wanted to."
"Maybe to get back at you. Look, I have no idea, Tessa.
I was sixteen when Paige died, and she was twenty-one and living away from home.
I didn't know anything about her romantic life.
And even though Ray was at school with her, I doubt he knew much, either, because she was private about stuff.
She never talked about her boyfriends to us.
If anyone knew, it was probably Sloane or that other girl she used to hang out with—Carrie.
Will you keep me in the loop going forward?
I hate having to wait until you post to know what's going on.
I texted you earlier, and you didn't respond. "
I hadn't responded because I wasn't completely sure I could trust Alina, but I wasn't going to tell her that.
"When I get some actual facts, I will let you know.
I was going to call you tomorrow about Cabot.
I just got back a little while ago, and we wanted to get the video up as quickly as possible in the hopes that it will generate some leads. "
"Okay. But you need to give me more updates when you have them. I'm the reason you're back in this. I have to know what's happening."
"I understand. Goodnight." As I ended the call, I glanced at Morgan.
"We should look deeper into the MacIntyre family.
See if we can find a link between Ray and Cabot.
Or maybe a connection between the parents and Cabot.
They are the only other people I can think of who might have been able to persuade him to cut the investigation short.
" Pausing, I added, "Detective Barclay is texting me. "
"What does he say?"
"He's going to be tied up until late tonight. He'll text me tomorrow to arrange to get his car. I'm glad he'll have to talk to me again to get his keys. That will give me another chance to question him, find out what he's going to do next."
Morgan nodded, then yawned. "Sorry. It's not that late, but I'm beat."
"Me, too."
"You should get something to eat, Tessa. There's still some Thai food from earlier, or you could make some eggs, toast…"
"I'm not hungry. My stomach is still queasy from what I saw tonight."
"Understandable. I'm going to take a shower and then get into bed and try not to think about the fact that whoever killed Cabot might have now killed two people and has nothing left to lose by killing us."
"You're starting to get as dramatic as me," I said, her words chilling.
"Sorry, but we can't pretend that whoever killed Cabot is done. They could just be getting rid of all the problem people, and that might include us."
"I know. We need to be extra cautious with everything we do. But I'm hoping that killing Cabot will prove to be a mistake, that someone's camera in the neighborhood will have caught the killer. Then this could all be over soon."
Relief flitted through her gaze at my words. "That's true. There's a new case, a new trail to follow, and one that isn't cold and empty. Cabot didn't die on a deserted stretch of lakefront. He was in his home in a suburban neighborhood."
"Exactly. And maybe he got a text, setting up the meeting, or a phone call."