Page 53 of Dead Man's List

A minute followed, an entire minute. Kit was counting in her head. And then, Veronica’s voice, urgent and thick with tears.

“The cops were just here. They know.”

A pause.

“I don’t know what they know, but it’ssomething.” Another pause. “No, I haven’t found it yet, and I’ve searched. They’ve sealed his office up—both here and at his house. I can’t look for it in either place. We need to get out of here. Today.” Another pause, shorter this time. “I’ll make the arrangements. Just be ready.”

Kit met Connor’s eyes. He looked satisfied, like he’d expected something like this. She still couldn’t bring herself to look at Sam.

More silence followed, and when it became clear that Veronica’s conversation was over, Kit led them to the stairs and out the front door, dialing Navarro as she walked.

“We need eyes on city hall ASAP,” she told her boss. “I’llbring you up to speed when we’re in a secure location, but get someone over here as soon as humanly possible. We’ll wait in our car until they arrive. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” She ended the call with Navarro, then glanced at Connor. “Would you mind bringing the car up to the front? I need to see if there’s a back entrance she can slip through.”

Connor saluted with a grin. “C’mon, Sammy. You can ride shotgun. Let Kit get the back seat this time.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Sam give her a careful look before silently following Connor to the car.

She’d been a bitch to Veronica Fitzgerald, but that was required from time to time. More often than Kit would like to admit. Normally she didn’t give interviews like this one a second thought, but…dammit. She hated that Sam had seen that ugly part of her. She hated even more that she cared so much.

Shaking off the feeling of disquiet, she went back inside and found the uniformed guard. He’d been watching them outside and didn’t seem surprised to see her again.

“Back so soon, Detective?”

His name tag saidD. Macek. He was an older man, about the same age as her father.

She offered him a small smile. “Can you tell me how many exits this building has?”

“More than you and the other two can watch by yourselves,” he said, his tone indicating that he knew why she was asking or at least wasn’t surprised by the question. “Everyone is supposed to file through here on their way in and out, but there are emergency exits, of course.”

“Of course.” Kit found she’d shoved her hand in her pants pocket, her thumb rubbing the cat-bird carving that Harlan had given her nearly a year ago. “You don’t seem surprised that I’d ask.”

“Because I’m not. I figured you’d be in to talk to Fitzgerald at some point today. I hear the rumors, Detective. A lot of people liked Munro. He could be very likable and a lot of the women admired him. But I think that Munro was rotten to the core and that admin of his was up to her eyeballs in it with him.”

“Are you a retired cop?” Because he sure sounded like one.

“Twenty-five years on the force. Got this job because retirement was a lot more boring than I’d expected.”

“What can you tell me about Munro and Fitzgerald, sir?”

“Nothing concrete. You know that he drove a Ferrari—the one that’s missing. That was in the newspaper. But she also drives a fancy car, and the other admins talk about the trips she takes to the Caymans several times a year. She also gets deliveries from a lot of upscale stores. She lives well. Which, y’know, isn’t a crime, but…” He shrugged.

The mention of the Caymans was interesting. That was a long way to fly when there were beach destinations so much closer to San Diego. Money laundering was Kit’s first thought. Lots of offshore banking happened in that part of the world. “When was her most recent trip to the Caymans?”

He frowned. “I’m thinking it was in October. I overheard two of the other admins complaining about her getting special treatment, what with all the vacation time she takes. It’s more than the others get—and they compare notes. One of the women said that Fitzgerald made some noise about a friend having a time-share there that they had to use or lose. Which, y’know, could be true, but…” Another shrug.

“Do you remember which admins were talking about her?”

He snorted a quiet laugh. “All of them. They say she’s self-important and a real bitch. Some of them are jealous that she works for Munro because they wish they did, but others have been shredded by her sharp tongue. I don’t one hundred percentremember who made the comment about her vacation, but if I do, I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you, sir. Have you had any media in here today?” She was specifically thinking of Tamsin Kavanaugh, the reporter who’d been having an affair with Munro.

Macek rolled his eyes. “They were all over the place at the end of last week when he went missing. I thought they’d be back in force today, since his body was found on Saturday, but so far they’ve only been hanging around outside. Doing reports with the building in the background. Sound bites, that kind of thing.”

“Do you remember any media visiting here in the past? Asking to see Councilmember Munro?”

“Oh.” He scowled. “You’re asking about Tamsin Kavanaugh.”

Kit had to fight back a smile at his aggrieved expression. It appeared that Mr.Macek shared her dislike for that woman. “She visited?”