Page 54 of Line of Sight

“Hold that thought,” Riley interjected. “There was a call for you while you were out this morning. Jennifer will be able to meet with us Tuesday next week.”

“Well, that’s something.” Dan knew he sounded glum, but they seemed to be at a dead end in terms of clues. He hadn’t given them much more to work with, beyond the feeling Mark Wilson was afraid of being found out.

As for what he wanted to stay hidden, Dan had no clue.

I don’t think I’m going to be useful with these cases.

The realization was depressing.

A shadow fell across his desk. Gary stood there, his gaze focused on Dan. “We’ll get there. You know that, don’t you?”

Dan couldn’t hold back his smile. “You’re getting way too good at reading me.”

Gary buffed his nails on his shirt. “Good to know.”

“I have an idea,” Riley said suddenly. “We can’t move further with Mark Wilson’s case until we speak with Jennifer, so in the meantime, let’s take a look at the next murder.”

“Works for me,” Gary said with a shrug.

Dan stood and went to the whiteboard. He pointed to the picture of Heather Kelly. “I remember this one. Her husband was running for office at the time. Senator—”

“Jason Kelly, the senator for Maine. I remember thinking at the ball that he seemed familiar.” Gary stared at Heather’s photo. “So her body was found late on the evening of June 8, 2013.”

“Found where?” Riley asked.

“In her office in Boston. She ran a charity foundation. According to the report, she’d been working late. Everyone else had gone home.”

Dan grimaced. “The killer used a heavy-duty steam cleaner, aimed at her face, but that’s not the worst part.” He peered at the police report. “The tech boys examined it and found he’d modified the device.”

“Modified how?”

“Apparently a second heating element had been added. So it could generate more steam in less time. He set it up on the desk, the nozzle taped to a pile of books aimed at head height, then left it running. No fingerprints were found on the cleaner.”

“Did they trace it?”

“Yes. It had been bought for cash. The store couldn’t give any details about the buyer.”

“Did anyone see the killer? I mean, he had to have brought that piece of kit with him.” Riley smacked his head. “Stupid question. He strolled in there as though he was one of the cleaning staff, didn’t he?”

“The security guard on duty said they were all gone by about nine. He thinks there was one more, but he couldn’t swear to it.”

“And where was Heather’s husband at the time?” Gary asked. “Not that I’m suggesting he bumped off his wife.”

Riley snorted. “Sureyou’re not. But you’re thinking he might be behind it.”

“Because that’s the pattern, isn’t it?” Dan added.

Riley consulted his folder. “Okay, according to the reports, Senator Kelly was at the wedding of one of their classmates.”

Dan recalled something from the interview with Marie McCarthy. “Would that be Greg Collins’s wedding?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

Dan chuckled. “Let me take a stab at who else was at that wedding. Because you don’t need to be psychic to think Jennifer Sullivan and the rest of the band were there.”

Riley made a note. “I’m on it.”

Dan stroked his jaw. “A wedding…. And what do weddings have? Lots of people to see him. Potential witnesses.”