Chapter 19 #2
"I talk to people on my own. I can share what I've learned.
But that doesn't matter. The podcast is secondary to getting Paige's killer.
And it's better if we work together." I could see he wasn't convinced.
"I have skin in the game," I reminded him.
"I was almost killed last night. And I just spoke to Morgan, and someone found the hotel we were at.
They followed her. They were watching her. "
"What are you talking about?"
I opened my purse and pulled out my notes. "She got the license plate. But she couldn't see the driver. Can you run this plate?"
"Yes. But I think we need to get someone over there to check in with Morgan."
"She's not there anymore. She snuck out the back door, got a ride to a different hotel in a different location. She paid cash for the room and got a prepaid phone so no one could track her phone. I also got one, so we could communicate."
He gave me a long look. "That's good, but you're way out of your depth, Tessa."
"I know. I need your help. I can only do so much on my own. So, let me help."
"All right, but we talk before you put anything out there."
"Deal. In addition to getting this license plate number from Morgan, I also spoke to Liam, and he had a lead I think you might be interested in."
"Hold on one second," he said, sending a text on his phone. "I want to get this plate run."
"How long will that take?"
"Not long. Tell me about Liam."
"I will, but first, I want to know what you've learned about Cabot's death. I already gave you a license plate. Your turn to share. What was in his notes?"
"First, I want to say that he had notes on many of his cases, and he had a long career, so the fact that we found a page of comments on Paige's death was lucky, because he never threw anything away."
"Did he talk about Hale?"
"He said that even if Hale had had an affair with Paige, he didn't believe Hale was a suspect and that exposing the affair would only damage a good man's reputation and not lead to a killer."
"Wow," I murmured. "I'm surprised he wrote that down. He was friends with Hale, so clearly he didn't want to believe that Hale was guilty of more than adultery, but that might not have been correct."
"He should have followed up," Colton agreed. "He also noted that he'd heard about the affair from the roommate, but she wavered between whether they'd actually slept together or not."
"That confirms what Sloane told me."
"But her statement was unclear."
"Did he ever ask Hale directly about the affair?"
"It wasn't clear in the notes whether that conversation took place. These were more his thoughts about what he was learning as it was happening."
"Anything else?"
"He found your boyfriend's story to be a little thin. He thought Liam was evasive and unhelpful and wondered if you two might have conspired to get Paige out of your life."
"What?" I asked in shock. "That's ridiculous."
"He said he'd heard from several people that Paige was in your way and then suddenly she wasn't. And the fact that Liam got texts he didn't answer and you got a call you didn't answer seemed suspicious."
"If he was suspicious, why didn't he bring us in? Why didn't he ask us more questions?" I challenged. "And Liam and I certainly didn't conspire to kill Paige. We were barely speaking to each other."
"I'm just telling you what was in the notes, Tessa."
"Was there anyone else he found suspicious?"
"He also made a note questioning whether Paige's boyfriend, Nate Gardiner, was really in Lake Geneva that weekend, or if he had arrived later than he'd indicated."
"That's something I haven't heard before. Did he check Nate's alibi?"
"No idea. It was just left as an unanswered question. As you know, none of this went into the official report. These were his personal thoughts."
"Why do you think he didn't follow up on any of his questions?" I asked, wondering how he would now rationalize his mentor's lack of investigative pursuit.
Colton gave me an unhappy look. "I don't know, Tessa. I never saw him do an investigation as sloppy as this one. Actually, I don't think it was sloppy. I think it was…surgical."
I raised a brow. "Interesting choice of words."
"Homicides in the northern suburbs are usually turned over to the major crimes investigative unit.
In order to avoid them getting involved, Vincent had to make sure Paige's death was quickly labeled an accident and that there was no evidence that would suggest otherwise.
He didn't ask questions that he didn't want the answer to. "
"To protect Hale?"
"Right now, that's my best guess. It looks like he thought his friend made the best suspect, and even if he was innocent of her death, his career and marriage would have been destroyed by the investigation.
" Colton paused. "I also believe, and maybe this is wishful thinking, that he really thought what happened was an accident.
He didn't believe he was protecting a murderer. "
"But he had so many unanswered questions, Colton. He found me and Liam to be suspicious. And he had questions about Nate. I'm afraid that is wishful thinking."
"You might be right," he conceded. "At some point, we'll know the truth."
"Are you going to bring Hale in for questioning?"
"Not yet. I don't want to tip my hand, which means you can't say anything about any of this on your podcast."
"I already told you I wouldn't."
"Now, your turn. What did Liam tell you?"
"Ray MacIntyre came into his bar last night, rambling about Paige's death.
" I took another swig of beer, then told him everything Liam had told me.
I also added in what Morgan had learned about the family.
"You need to talk to Ray, Colton. He's very volatile right now.
Frankly, when I think about how Detective Cabot was killed, I remember the rage I saw in Ray's eyes when he first learned Alina had asked me to help get the case reopened.
He looked crazed with anger. And even last night, Liam said he had to throw him out of his bar when Ray tried to start a fight with another patron.
" I paused. "Maybe Ray killed his sister because she wouldn't lend him money.
If the money was for drugs, he could have been high when he confronted her.
It might have been an accident, or a spur-of-the-moment crime of passion that resulted in her going into the lake. "
"That's definitely a lead I wasn't expecting you to give me," he said. "Based on the file, I never considered the family to be suspicious in any way."
"But their interviews were very short," I reminded him. "Cabot never got into anything meaty with Ray or his parents."
Colton thought for a moment. "Let's say that Ray killed his sister, possibly by accident. Why would Ray go after Vincent now? When there was nothing in the police file about Ray being a person of interest?"
I considered his question. "Is it possible that Hale and his family weren't the only ones Cabot was worried about ruining? Could Cabot have had some connection to the MacIntyres?"
"Certainly not an obvious one, or he would have had to take himself off the case."
"It might be worth taking another look at his personal connections."
"I agree." Colton paused to read a text on his phone, his expression growing more annoyed.
"What is it?" I asked.
"The license plate you gave me comes back to a Ford sedan registered to Margaret Lawrence, a seventy-two-year-old woman living in Lincoln Park."
"That doesn't sound like someone who would have been tracking me and Morgan. Was it stolen?"
"No report of that, but we're going to have a patrol officer in the area stop by her residence to talk to her about it."
My hopes of a good lead from the license plate vanished with his words. "I have a feeling it's going to be another dead end, which makes me feel like whoever we're dealing with is pretty damn smart, and also has help. Right? It doesn't feel like one person, does it?"
"It's difficult to say at this point."
"You really don't like to speculate, do you?"
"I've already done too much of that with you. I don't like to risk my imagination taking me down the wrong road."
"I love to speculate. It's part of being interested in criminal mysteries. There are so many things to wonder about. I think we should go over everyone who had any connection to Paige. I'll share what I know. You share what you know. We'll see where we end up."
"That could be a long conversation."
"I've got time. What about you?"
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
I was surprised by the question. "Uh, actually, yes."
"You want to share a pizza while we're doing all that sharing?" he asked with a teasing smile.
"I'd love to."
"What do you like?"
"Pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions," I returned.
He laughed. "Well, that's refreshing."
"What is?"
"A woman who knows what she wants and says it. Most women say they don't care, then pick off the things I ordered and take two bites."
"That sounds like a date pizza, and this isn't a date."
"Would your answer have been different if it were a date?" he challenged.
"Well, I might have been more open to what you want to order. I do like other things, so if you want to throw on veggies or peppers, go for it. I'm just not a big fan of olives."
"Got it. I'll go half and half—your choice, my choice."
"What's your choice?"
"You'll have to wait to find out," he said with another smile that warmed me far more than it should have.
He got up, grabbed a notepad from his counter, and tossed it to me along with a pen. "While I order the pizza, start making a list of suspects and witnesses, and we'll go from there."