Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
They were back to square one. Kellerman had been found in his vehicle the previous evening after leaving the precinct, dead from a single gunshot wound to the temple.
“Foul play?”
“Looks that way. There was only a small amount of gunshot residue on his hands—not enough to indicate that he pulled the trigger.”
Son of a bitch. Someone had killed him at point-blank range—probably someone he’d trusted, if he’d allowed the person to get in the car with him. “Have they questioned Raines yet?”
“They brought him in this morning. Apparently, he owns a Smith & Wesson 9mm—the same caliber bullet they found in Kellerman. It was also,” Mason continued, “the same slug they dug out of the brick after Audrey was shot at.”
Finally. “So they brought him in?”
“Yep. Apparently, he has no alibi for the time of the murder.” Mason leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the desk. “According to my guy at the PD, he’s denying everything except his arguments with Kellerman. Police got a warrant to search the house but haven’t found the gun yet.”
Mason scowled. “Has to be there somewhere. And, seriously? Nobody heard a gunshot in the middle of the evening?”
Seriously? In a world where everyone had a cell phone, no one had seen a thing, hadn’t captured anything on camera or on video?
Mason spread his hands wide. “What do you expect?”
Not a single thing, honestly. As much as Carter wanted to make it easy and blame Raines for Audrey’s incident, he had to look at it objectively.
Raines didn’t have an alibi, but they also hadn’t found the gun to positively match ballistics.
“We can’t go off half-cocked and accuse Raines of anything.
It won’t fly in court. If Edward’s responsible for shooting at Audrey, I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t get off on a technicality. ”
Knox smirked at Carter from where he rested one hip against the desk. “Sure you don’t want to come work for me?”
“I’m seriously considering it,” Carter murmured. If Edward was found guilty of murder—attempted or otherwise—or God knew what else, the firm would likely collapse. They’d lose all credibility. “Is that offer open-ended?”
“Always.”
Carter nodded. “I appreciate it. So, where do we stand with Raines?”
Mason shrugged one shoulder. “They can hold him for twenty-four hours. After that…”
Yeah, Carter knew the drill. And, if what Mason said was true, that there was no evidence of Raines’s involvement, they’d release him just like they had with Kellerman.
“This guy might not be involved at all,” Mason offered, echoing Carter’s thoughts.
“I know,” Carter responded. “It just seems like too much of a coincidence to ignore.” Something just didn’t shake out with that.
“When was the first time?” Knox asked.
“First time that I know of was at the VA,” Carter said. “Supposedly he was arguing with Kellerman. Second was at my law office a week later.”
Mason’s phone vibrated an alert, and he made a face as he read the message.
Carter studied him. “That your guy at the PD?”
“Yep. They found a couple sets of prints inside Kellerman’s car, but none of them belonged to Raines.”
“He could’ve worn gloves or something.” Some people even used superglue to minimize their fingerprints and eliminate the oils from the skin.
“Possible, but they also found a hair that doesn’t seem to match Raines, either. Raines is mostly gray. This is short, likely a man’s, but dark blond or brown.”
Jesus Christ. Couldn’t they catch a break?
Carter pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.
He knew the police were doing everything they could, but in the meantime, whoever had killed Kellerman was still running loose.
He wouldn’t let him get to Audrey next. “Okay. So Raines didn’t kill Kellerman.
What do we know about an organ-smuggling ring? ”
“Bad news on that.” Knox grimaced. “PD thinks whoever is harvesting the organs is working with Escobar Valdez.”
Carter dropped his head back on a groan. This just kept getting better and better. “The cartel? Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Aiden Taylor rolled his chair over. “Got a tip from an acquaintance that the feds are on his trail.”
Carter lifted a brow. “Nice of them to join the party.”
The former FBI agent’s lips quirked up in a wry smile. “Don’t expect too much. It could take years to build a case.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Carter crossed his arms over his chest. “This is a nightmare.”
“Anyone else with motive?” Knox asked Carter.
“Not that I can think of, but Audrey was pretty adamant it’s someone with medical experience.”
“So, we’re operating under the assumption that she overheard something she shouldn’t have? Maybe Raines and Kellerman were working together.”
“That’s my best guess.”
“But Kellerman was cleared,” Mason reminded them, “so either they didn’t find any evidence, or he really was clean.”
“I’m guessing clean,” Carter replied. “Why else kill him, unless he was on to whoever was responsible?”
Taylor glanced between the three of them. “Do we think Raines is involved in the smuggling ring, or maybe someone else Kellerman worked with? Another doctor from the VA, maybe?”
“Possibly,” Knox spoke up. “But she works there every day. If it was someone from there, she most likely would’ve recognized them. Plus, why wait so long?”
“But for what purpose?” Carter said as he raked one hand through his hair. “She hasn’t done anything.”
“Doesn’t mean someone doesn’t think she saw or heard something she shouldn’t have,” Knox spoke up. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what.”
Taylor nodded. “I’m running background on employees at the VA right now. They were completed at the time of hire, but God only knows how long ago that was for some of them.”
With the number of people Audrey interacted with on a daily basis, Carter had a feeling it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.