Chapter Twelve #2
Slowly she straightened, staring at her reflection. She looked hollowed out. Haunted.
Sad.
Which was fair. She was all those things.
A figure edged into the reflection and she jumped, spinning around. “Lennox.”
“Kit.”
“What do you need, Detective?”
Lennox fidgeted with a button on her blazer. She was taller than Kit, her dark hair cut in a stylish bob. She’d come from the robbery unit, where she’d built a solid service record. That she’d been paired with West was a shame. “I’m sorry. I…He’s a difficult partner.”
Kit smiled wryly. “I know. Everyone knows that.”
“You deserve better. Your family deserves better.”
“We do. Thank you.” She started to walk around Lennox.
“Wait. Please.”
Kit stopped, cursing inwardly. “What do you need, Detective?” she asked again.
“Help. I need help. West won’t investigate. Says that there’s no way he’s going to let himself get shot with only three months to go till his retirement.”
“I believe that.”
Lennox lifted her chin and, for a moment, Kit was reminded of herself as a rookie homicide detective. “I interviewed Leo Sherman on my own.”
Kit frowned. “Navarro said West left the building.”
“He did, but he wouldn’t leave the car. So I went into Sherman’s hotel next to the hospital and interviewed him.
He repeated that he didn’t know where his wife went.
He admitted that he’d received voicemails from her but refused to hand over his phone.
Said he had patient information stored on it and it would be a breach of confidentiality. ”
Kit leaned against the counter. “But?”
“He was lying. I don’t know what the truth is, but I’m positive Leo Sherman was lying. He knows where his wife went. I’ve requested a subpoena for his phone, but it’ll take a while. We’ll probably have to use a third party to review its contents to protect his patients.”
Kit was reluctantly impressed. “You’re right. He was lying. I just got finished telling Navarro that Leo followed his wife to LA. He knows exactly where she went.”
Lennox’s eyes sharpened. There was an intelligence there that gave Kit a little hope that the detective would be an asset to the department.
“How do you know?”
“Traffic cams, all the way up the 5.”
One side of Lennox’s mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. “West has been reviewing traffic cam footage for days. It’s all he does. Says determining where the victim went in the two weeks before her death will be a key to cracking the case.”
“Well, he’s right about that, but he’s clearly not as good as the person I had checking the traffic cams. They found it in a day.”
“Shocking,” Lennox deadpanned. “Where did she go?”
“To a karate dojo owned by a guy named Riccardo Nicchi.”
“Thank you, Detective. I’m going to interview Leo Sherman again. I’d appreciate any help you can provide.”
“I can’t go with you. I’m suspended.”
Lennox blinked. “Shit.”
“That’s pretty accurate. Look, you seem…nice. I don’t want to get you suspended, too, especially if you’re willing to work around West. That’s why he hates me, by the way. I worked around him years ago. He doesn’t like that.”
“I don’t really care,” Lennox countered.
“And he’s retiring in three months anyway.
But I want to do this right and he’s supposed to be my training partner.
You asked me what I needed and what I need is help.
I know you can’t go with me, but would you be willing to listen in when I interview Leo again? ”
It was Kit’s turn to blink. “You’re offering to wear a wire?”
“Sure. Look, I know Sherman’s lying, and I’m normally good at sussing out the lies from the truth, but I think this guy is really good.”
“He is. I almost believed him the time he came to my house to speak to me.”
Lennox’s eyes widened. “He came to your house? I didn’t know that.”
“He did. That’s when we realized that Akiko had to be related to Mary Sherman. Leo looked like he’d seen a ghost when Akiko walked into the room. I don’t think he faked that reaction. Neither does Sam Reeves.”
Lennox tilted her head. “Is Sam suspended?”
Ah. Kit saw where she was going. “He’s not. Just me.”
“Would he come with me to interview Leo Sherman?”
“Let’s go find out.”
San Diego, California
Tuesday, January 31, 4:55 p.m.
This had not been on his bingo card for the day, Sam thought.
He and Meghan Lennox walked through the building that housed Leo Sherman’s private practice. Both of them wore earpieces, and an app on Sam’s cell phone was their transmitter. Kit and Baz waited in Sam’s RAV4, ready to listen and provide commentary once he and Lennox started interviewing Leo.
Sam wasn’t sure if he could trust Detective Lennox, but he really wanted to. She’d been respectful to Kit—at least on the surface—but Sam could envision half a dozen ways she could hang Kit up and leave her to dry.
Kit was already suspended, however, and for that, Sam wanted to hurt Navarro. Sure, the man had simply been “doing his job,” but there must have been other ways he could have made his point.
“Do you want to take the lead,” Sam asked, “or should I?”
“I’ve already been here once today. Why don’t you give it a go?”
“Okay.” They’d reached Leo’s office door. “Let’s do this.”
Sam and Lennox barreled past Leo’s receptionist, Lennox flashing her badge at the woman when she tried to stop them. The receptionist shouted after them, then ran to her phone, no doubt calling her boss. Lennox didn’t look back, didn’t apologize.
In that way, the detective was very much like Kit—confident and a little brash. But she wasn’t afraid to ask for help. So…not like Kit at all in that respect.
Lennox rapped on Leo’s door. “SDPD, Dr. Sherman. Open up.”
The doctor opened the door, his scowl impressive. “Detective Lennox, what are you doing back—” He stopped when he saw Sam. “Dr. Reeves, isn’t it? I didn’t expect to see you.”
“We have a few more questions for you,” Sam said mildly, even though he felt far from mild. This man had followed his wife to LA, then lied about knowing where she’d gone. Clearly, his priorities were not in bringing Mary’s killer to justice.
What Leo’s priorities were was what they were here to discover.
Lennox had run full financials on the surgeon. He wasn’t in obvious debt. His credit score was phenomenal. He owned the home in which his wife had died as well as the homes in which his sisters lived.
He made a good living as a cardiac surgeon and, even though online reviews described him as an “asshole with a God complex,” he had saved their lives, and those patients were begrudgingly grateful.
Expression blank, Leo invited them in. “I thought I told you to get a court order for my phone.”
“That request is in process,” Lennox said, her smile easy and friendly as she and Sam sat in the guest chairs in front of Leo’s massive desk. “But something else has come to our attention. Thus, more questions. Dr. Reeves, you have the floor.”
Sam studied the surgeon, conscious of Kit listening. “You’re looking a little haggard, Dr. Sherman. Are you sleeping well?”
Now Kit would know what he looked like, too.
“Don’t insult my intelligence by pretending you care, Dr. Reeves. What do you want?”
Sam leaned forward, capturing the man’s stubborn gaze. “Where did your wife go in LA?”
Leo blinked. “I already told you. I don’t know.”
“Yes, that’s what you told us—Detective McKittrick and me. Now, how about the truth?”
Leo bristled. “Please leave.”
Sam didn’t move. “Have you loaned your car to anyone recently?”
“No.” Panic flickered in the surgeon’s eyes. “Why do you ask?”
On his phone, Sam brought up the photo that Kit had requested from Nicchi’s dojo—a photo taken from their own security feed clearly showing Leo’s black Audi parked in front. His license plate was crisp and readable.
Nicchi had, apparently, been taking calls from his coworkers. It was only Kit who he was avoiding. When the dojo’s receptionist had asked his permission to provide the photo, he’d immediately given it.
So Ricky Nicchi wasn’t a complete asshole, Sam thought. “Do you recognize this car, Dr. Sherman?”
Leo paled. “What is this about?”
“Well,” Sam said in his friendliest tone, “it appears that this is about me telling you that you’re a liar. Now, I’ll ask you again. Where did your wife go when she went to LA?”
Leo swallowed. “Why ask me if you already knew?”
“Because I really don’t like liars.”
“So you caught me. I followed her, all right? I wanted to prove that she was cheating.”
“And did you?” Sam asked.
“To myself, yes. Would it have held up in court? Probably not. Did I catch her in bed with the guy? No. But she went to his place of business every day. She stayed in his condo. She was cheating. I’m certain, and that’s enough for me.”
But Mary hadn’t stayed with Nicchi.
She’d stayed in the same building where Ito had lived for fifty years. The building Ito owned.
“I suppose it’s possible that she cheated,” Sam allowed. “But knowing where she went might have helped us find out who killed her—if you’d told us the truth. I assume you do want to find out who killed her?”
Leo looked away. “Of course I do.”
Sam put his phone away. “I really hope you’re better at surgery than you are at lying.”
Leo glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I don’t believe you care enough about your wife to want to catch her killer. You must have been angry when you followed her to LA.”
Leo’s cheeks reddened, the color stark against his pale face. “Fine,” he snarled. “I was angry, all right? Any husband would have been. I didn’t kill her, but discovering that she was cheating makes me look like I had motive.”
“You have an alibi,” Sam said logically.
Leo rolled his eyes. “Right, like you haven’t considered that I paid someone to do it.”
Sam raised his brows. “Did you?”
“No!” Leo dragged shaking hands down his face. “Fucking hell. This is a nightmare.”
“It is,” Sam agreed. “For your daughters. And especially for your deceased wife. Someone broke into your home, sir, and shot her in the head.”