CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The interview room at the FBI field office felt even more sterile than the conference room they'd been using as their temporary headquarters.
Miles settled into one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs across from Carmen Rodriguez.
Vic already occupied the other. Across from them, Carmen sat with her hands folded on the metal table between them.
The fluorescent lights overhead cast everything in harsh, unflattering tones, and the windowless walls seemed designed to create psychological pressure.
Carmen appeared calm but alert, her dark eyes moving between Miles and Vic as she waited for their questions to begin. Vic activated a digital recorder and stated the date, time, and participants for the record.
"Ms. Rodriguez, thank you for agreeing to speak with us voluntarily,” Vic began. “As we discussed, we're investigating the murders of Patricia Vance, David Goldberg, Rebecca Thornfield, and Nelson DeWalt. We understand you've had professional dealings with some of these individuals."
"That's correct," Carmen replied, her voice steady and professional.
Now that she knew she was being recorded, her voice was softer and more agreeable.
"As a financial crimes investigator, I've been building cases involving several prominent San Francisco residents who've engaged in questionable business practices. "
Miles leaned forward slightly, recognizing that Vic was giving him an opening to participate more actively in the interview.
He'd noticed throughout their brief partnership that she seemed to be testing his performance in different investigative situations.
He appreciated the opportunity to demonstrate his analytical skills but it also felt like he was being micro-managed in an odd sort of way.
"Can you tell us about the specific nature of your work?" Miles asked. "What kinds of financial crimes do you typically investigate?"
Carmen's posture relaxed slightly as she shifted into a more educational mode.
"I specialize in real estate fraud, predatory lending schemes, and market manipulation cases.
Basically, I go after people who use their wealth and position to exploit others, particularly vulnerable populations like the elderly or low-income families. "
"And you were actively investigating David Goldberg at the time of his death?" Vic asked.
"Yes. Goldberg was running what we call a 'loan-to-own' scheme. That’s a situation where he would offer high-interest loans to elderly homeowners who were struggling financially.
The terms were structured so that default was almost inevitable, allowing his company to foreclose and acquire properties worth far more than the original loan amounts. "
Miles made mental notes as Carmen explained Goldberg's methods, recognizing the same predatory practices that Jessica Breeding had described. Only Carmen was much more detailed about it all.
"How long had you been building this case?" Vic asked.
"About eight months. These investigations take time because the perpetrators are usually sophisticated enough to stay within the technical boundaries of the law while still engaging in fundamentally unethical behavior."
"What about Patricia Vance? We understand you also had dealings with her development projects."
Carmen's expression became more guarded, but for only a moment.
Miles could all but see the gears at work within her skull.
"Vance's company was systematically deceiving families about displacement timelines and falsifying environmental impact assessments,” she said.
“I was working with Marcus Holloway's legal team to build a case against her firm. "
"Working with them how?" Miles pressed, sensing that there was more to this relationship than Carmen was revealing. It was also enlightening to have Holloway’s name pop back up again.
"I provided Mr. Holloway with some information that helped his legal case against Vance's development project."
Vic leaned forward, her tone becoming more direct. "What kind of information? And through what channels?"
Carmen's jaw tightened slightly. She looked truly uncomfortable for the first time since the conversation began. "I'd prefer not to go into the specific details of my cooperation with Mr. Holloway's legal team."
"Ms. Rodriguez," Vic said firmly, "we're investigating four murders. If you provided information to Marcus Holloway through unofficial channels, we need to know about it."
"I understand your concern, but I'm not going to compromise ongoing investigations or reveal methods that could affect future cases.
" Carmen's voice carried the conviction of someone who had made a firm decision about what she was willing to disclose.
"If you truly feel it's important to your case, you can obtain the proper warrants and documents…
but I'm not giving that information of my own accord. "
Miles could see Vic's frustration with Carmen's evasiveness, but he also recognized that they were dealing with someone who understood the legal implications of her cooperation.
Whatever help she'd provided to Holloway's legal team, it had probably involved accessing records or sharing information in ways that might not have been strictly authorized.
And she also knew that getting the proper paperwork and warrants for obtaining that information would take weeks. If not longer.
"Let's move on to the murders themselves," Miles said, deciding to shift the conversation toward areas where Carmen might be more forthcoming. "Can you account for your whereabouts on the nights when these victims were killed?"
Carmen pulled out her phone and opened what appeared to be a calendar application. “What are the dates?”
"Patricia Vance was killed on March 15th.”
Caremn nodded and took a moment to think about it.
“That was…what, about a week ago? I was at home that evening, working on case files.
I ordered dinner from a Thai restaurant, had DoorDash deliver it.
That was round 8:00 p.m., and I was on a conference call with a colleague in Sacramento from 9:30 to 11:15. "
"Can we verify that conference call?" Vic asked.
"Absolutely. It was recorded as part of our case documentation, and my colleagues can confirm the timing."
Miles continued to listen, and though her alibis were indeed strong, he was pretty sure the case files indicated that Vance had been killed later in the night.
Her memory was precise and detailed, suggesting someone who maintained careful records of her activities—exactly what he would expect from a professional investigator.
"What about David Goldberg?” he asked. “His body was discovered early this morning."
"Last night I was at a community meeting about predatory lending practices. It ran from 7:00 to almost 10:00, and afterward I went home and worked until about three in the morning reviewing financial documents for the Goldberg case.”
"Can anyone verify that you were home after 10:00 p.m.?" Miles asked.
"I live alone, but I made several phone calls to sources who were providing information about Goldberg's lending practices. The calls would show up in phone records. Also, I sent a few emails out somewhere between midnight and three."
Vic made notes on a nearby legal pad about the verification steps they would need to take to confirm Carmen's alibis. "What about Rebecca Thornfield? Did you have any dealings with her or her gallery?"
"I never met Thornfield personally, but her name came up during my investigations into art market manipulation several months back.
" Carmen's irritated expression suggested she found Thornfield's practices distasteful.
"She was accused of artificially inflating prices by withholding artwork from the market until her clients gained prominence, then slowly releasing pieces to create artificial scarcity. "
"How does that work exactly?" Miles asked, genuinely curious about the mechanics of art market manipulation.
"Thornfield would acquire works by emerging artists and store them instead of selling them immediately.
As the artists gained recognition and their market value increased, she would release the stored pieces one or two at a time, creating the impression that the works were rare and highly sought after.
The artificial limitation of supply drove up demand and allowed her to charge much higher prices. "
"And you considered this criminal behavior?" Vic asked.
"It's market manipulation, plain and simple.
Not quite criminal I suppose, but…close enough.
She was deceiving buyers about the actual availability of artwork and artificially inflating prices through deceptive practices.
It might not be prosecutable under current laws, but it's certainly unethical. "
Miles found Carmen's explanation illuminating, not just for understanding Thornfield's business practices but for seeing how someone with Carmen's perspective might view all their victims as part of a broader pattern of wealth-based exploitation.
"What about Nelson DeWalt?" he asked. "Did you know anything about his business activities? "
"I'd never heard of DeWalt before you two mentioned his name to me," Carmen admitted. "If he’s ever been involved in the kinds of systematic fraud cases I typically work on, I’ve never heard of him."
Vic exchanged a glance with Miles, both of them noting that Carmen's lack of connection to DeWalt weakened any theory that she had personally targeted all four victims. If she was their killer, she would have needed some other source of information about DeWalt's activities.
And with the passing of each minute, Miles became more and more certain that Carmen Rodriguez was not their killer.
"Ms. Rodriguez," Vic said, "I want to ask you directly: did you kill any of these people?"
Carmen's response was immediate and emphatic. "Absolutely not. I believe in using legal channels to prosecute financial crimes, not taking justice into my own hands through violence. For me to murder someone would be spitting in the face of the very system I work so hard to uphold."
"Do you know anyone who might have had access to the kind of detailed information about these victims that would assist in targeting them?" Miles asked.
Carmen considered the question carefully…
much better than stating no flat out, as far as Miles was concerned.
"Believe it or not, the financial crimes community in San Francisco is relatively small,” she said.
“There are maybe a dozen investigators working on these kinds of cases, plus attorneys like Marcus Holloway, some journalists who specialize in financial reporting, and academic researchers who study wealth inequality. That’s big on a lot of college campuses these days.
Anyone serious about exposing financial corruption would probably have similar information about prominent targets. "
"Can you provide us with names of people in that community?" Vic asked.
"I can give you a list of my professional contacts, but I want to emphasize that these are all legitimate investigators and advocates. I can't imagine any of them being involved in murder."
Miles could see that they were reaching the natural conclusion of their interview with Carmen. Her alibi appeared solid, and her professional motivation was clearly focused on legal prosecution rather than vigilante justice. Also, her assumed lack of connection to Nelson DeWalt wasn’t helping.
"Ms. Rodriguez, thank you for your cooperation," Vic said, beginning to gather her notes. "We may need to speak with you again as our investigation continues, so please don't leave the San Francisco area without notifying us."
"Of course," Carmen replied, standing up from her chair. She didn’t seem angry, just put out. She was probably already once again thinking about that massive pile of work on her desk.
After Carmen left the interview room, Miles and Vic sat in silence for several minutes, both of them processing the implications of what they'd learned.
Carmen Rodriguez had provided valuable information about the victims' business practices, but she'd also effectively eliminated herself as their primary suspect.
"Well, that was frustrating," Vic said finally. "She clearly knows more than she's telling us about her cooperation with Marcus Holloway, but I don't think she's our killer."
“You think the Holloway stuff is in any way tied to this case?” Miles asked.
“Nah, probably not.”
"Her alibis seem solid, and her reaction to learning about the murders felt genuine," Miles added. "Plus, if she was involved, I don't think she would have been so forthcoming about her investigations into the victims."
"Which puts us back at square one," Vic said.
She sighed…a deflated sound that carried the weight of an investigation that had lost its most promising lead.
"We know our victims were connected by their involvement in financial crimes, but we still don't know who had both the motive and the technical expertise to kill them. "
“You know…she mentioned that there are about a dozen investigators working on financial crimes in San Francisco, plus attorneys, journalists, and academics. Maybe our killer is someone else in that community. Maybe he’s one of them and just sort of acting out."
"Could be," Vic said, but her tone suggested she wasn't optimistic about pursuing that angle. "Or maybe our killer is someone we haven't identified yet, someone with access to the same information but operating outside the legitimate investigative community."
As they sat in silence, Miles reflected on how Vic had conducted the interrogation.
She'd allowed him to take the lead on several questions, seeming to evaluate his technique and analytical approach. He appreciated her willingness to let him participate actively in the interview process, and he hoped he’d proven that his laboratory background didn't limit his effectiveness in field investigations.
But they were still no closer to identifying their killer than they had been that morning. Carmen Rodriguez had provided valuable insights into the victims' criminal activities, but she'd also eliminated herself as a suspect and left them without a clear direction for their investigation.
Four people were dead. Four people had been transformed into golden statues by someone with both the technical skills and the ideological motivation to turn murder into artistic statement.
And despite their best efforts, the killer remained as elusive as ever.
And Miles was truly starting to wonder if Hayes had been right to be skeptical about sending him out here at all.