Chapter 19
"I’ve been over the records with a fine-tooth comb," Isabella said. "I can't find anything that connects Cody or Dustin to Evelyn Ellington. As far as I can tell, she was an executive assistant for Rory Sinclair. He’s the billionaire CEO of Astaris. It’s a cybersecurity firm. They just won a no-bid contract with the Pentagon.”
"What does an Easter Bunny at the mall have to do with the Pentagon?"
"Maybe that's what you need to figure out.”
“Evelyn dumped something at the mall,” I said. “We need to find out what it was.”
"Send me all the footage you have. I'll see what I can find out."
"Thank you. I know how busy you are.”
Isabella sighed. "Nothing brings joy to my day like sifting through hours of surveillance footage.”
I thanked her again, ended the call, then texted her a download link of the security footage.
In the meantime, I figured we needed to have a word with Evelyn's sister Natalie. She lived in the Nautilus. It was a luxury high-rise with all the amenities and a private marina.
JD had finally sorted himself out and made himself presentable. We drove across the island, pulled into the lot, and Jack rolled to the valet. We hopped out, and the kid hustled around to greet Jack. He slipped him a few bills and told him to keep the car up front. We wouldn't be long.
At the glass double doors, the concierge buzzed us in, and we walked across the opulent lobby, past the waterfall and the baby grand piano, past the lounge, and took the elevators up to Unit #1312.
I rang the video doorbell.
By this time, Natalie had already been notified of her sister's death. Her voice crackled through the speaker a moment later. "Can I help you?"
I flashed my badge to the lens and made introductions. "We just need to have a few words with you about Evelyn.”
"I'll be right there," she said before disconnecting.
Moments later, footsteps padded down the foyer. She unlatched the deadbolt and pulled open the door. Natalie was a good-looking woman in her mid-20s with wavy chocolate hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and a wholesome appearance. "I know this is a difficult time.”
She nodded and swallowed.
"We haven’t been able to connect your sister to the other victim. Do you know if she had any social connection to Cody Griggs or Dustin Tate?"
Natalie considered it for a moment. "Neither of those names sounds familiar. Then again, we weren’t exactly close.”
I gave her a curious look. "Why is that?”
Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. We've always been at odds. She wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, but I just didn't care to be around her all that often."
"Was she seeing anyone?”
"If she was, she didn't tell me. But like I said, we rarely talked about such things.”
“She worked for Rory Sinclair.”
"Yes.”
"What can you tell me about her job?”
"I think she really loved it. She made a lot of money. She was on call 24/7, but she got to meet a lot of important people. Everybody who’s anybody in the tech world.” Then she added, “I think Rory is kind of an asshole, and maybe that's why they got along.”
I chuckled. "How so?”
"Well, he's pompous, arrogant, self-absorbed. Should I go on? I mean, I guess if I built a billion-dollar company, I'd have a chip on my shoulder too. But he's one of those people who thinks everybody's dumber than he is. And who knows, maybe he's right.”
"It seems like you've done well for yourself.”
She smiled with pride. "Yes, I have. I may not be a billionaire, but I've got an online shop, I work from home, and I'm my own boss.”
"What more can you ask for?"
I didn't think she had any involvement, but I had to do my due diligence. "Where were you the day of the murders?"
"I was here. Ironically, we were supposed to have dinner that evening." She frowned.
"Any particular reason?"
"I don't know. There was something she wanted to talk about.
She didn't say in advance. She was always kinda cagey that way. Kept her cards close to her chest. She always tried to create intrigue. Evelyn liked drama. I think she was so afraid people would get bored with her. She never wanted to dole out information too soon. Everything had a cloak-and-dagger type feel to it.”
"She did work in cybersecurity. Did she ever mention to you anything about her company’s products or contracts with the government?”
Natalie shook her head. "No. All that stuff is classified, from what I understand.”
"Did she have any enemies?”
Natalie took a deep breath and thought for a moment.
"Not that I can think of. Evelyn wasn’t a terribly sociable person.
I can’t understand why. She was gorgeous.
Men drooled all over her, but she had an off-putting quality.
" Natalie frowned. "She came across as a bitch most of the time.
" Natalie cringed. "I don't mean to talk badly about my sister.
I'm just being honest." Then she added, "Now, Rory, on the other hand.
I'm sure that guy made a lot of enemies. Maybe this was some kind of retaliation against him.”
"I think she was meeting somebody at the mall to exchange something," I said. "But we're not sure what.”
Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't mention anything about it to me.” Her eyes narrowed, and the light bulb went off. "You don't think she was selling secrets or technology, do you?"
"The thought had crossed my mind.”
Natalie dismissed the notion. "My sister was a lot of things, but she was loyal to a fault.
She never turned on anybody. Even if she didn't like them.
She never once ratted me out as a kid, even though we didn't really get along.
Even when it would have been to her advantage. I have to give her that."
"What about friends? Somebody she might've talked to? Confided in?"
Without hesitation, Natalie said, "Cassandra. They were thick as thieves. Two peas in a pod.”
"Do you have contact information for her?”
Natalie smiled. "I sure do."