Page 60 of Line of Sight

Dan gaped at him. “Well, of course he’s busy, but we’re investigating his wife’s murder, for God’s sake.”

“And I told her that, but she was adamant. He can’t see us until then.”

“Which makes me wonder if the senator has anything to do with the delay.” Dan peered at Gary. “What do you think?”

He snorted. “I think you nailed it. Senator Kelly is avoiding us.”

“Fine.” Riley grabbed a folder. “Then we make appointments to talk to Heather Kelly’s family, friends, and staff. Maybethey’llbe more inclined to help us catch her killer. And in the meantime, we look at the last murder. Well, itwas, until Sean’s.” He went over to the board. “Jeff Murphy. I think I remember this one. It was only a year ago.” He peered at the report. “Detectives Williams and Quinlan were working this case.”

Gary opened his copy of the file. “Murphy was twenty-eight when he died. He worked for a tech company here in Boston, Rivera Technology, and the detectives carried out interviews with his coworkers. The bottom line is, he was a likable guy, but his bosses said he was a bit lazy.”

Dan frowned. “Hardly a glowing posthumous reference. What did they mean by lazy?”

“They said he got ahead on the backs of others,” Gary told him. He gazed at the top sheet of the report. “Murphy had a studio apartment on Harvard Street, Waltham. According to the file, it was a poky little place. Except that wasn’t where the body was found.”

Dan gazed at the crime-scene photo. “The chest of drawers alone would have set its owner back a small fortune.”

“The bedroom was in the apartment of Guy Robins, also in Waltham.” He whistled. “Now we know why the furniture is so expensive. Mr. Robins lived in Cronin’s Landing.”

“Where’s that?” Dan asked.

Riley’s eyes glittered. “Probably the swankiest place on the Charles River. Put it this way… I probably couldn’t afford to rent aclosetin one of those apartments. Gotta be more than four grand a month in rent nowadays. That place even has its own gym. Only thing missing is a pool.”

Dan’s brows furrowed. “Did Robins know Murphy?”

Gary shook his head. “At the time of Murphy’s death, Robins was in Europe for three months. Police contacted him in Zurich, and he said he’d never seen Murphy before.”

“Did he sublet his apartment while he was away?” Riley asked.

“No.”

“So are we assuming the killer knew the place was empty? And even if he did, how did he gain access?” Dan put his hands on his hips. “Did he have a key?”

Riley picked up his pen and scribbled a note. “I think we need to know who lives in those apartments. Who owns the property?”

“Looking now.” Gary scrolled for a moment. “Okay, Baystone Development. Riley, get onto them. See if they’ll give us a list of tenants.” He scrolled some more and groaned. “Ohdear Lord. There are two hundred eighty-one apartments. We’ll need a warrant.”

Dan leafed through the report. “What time did the pathologist pinpoint as the time of death?”

“Some time during the evening of January nineteenth. None of the tenants on Robins’s floor reported seeing any strangers. No camera footage either.”

Dan stared at Gary. “In a place like that? How come?”

“Oh, there are cameras,” Gary confirmed. “But due to a technical issue, none of them were working that evening.”

“Justthat evening?” Riley inquired.

Gary nodded.

“So either our killer is a technical whiz the equal of Barry Davis, or else he is one lucky son of a bitch.”

Dan had gone quiet, and Gary didn’t hesitate. “What’s on your mind?”

“There’s nothing in this report that points to a possible motive. So why was he killed? And which of the four did he have a connection with? Because we know he did without looking, right?”

Gary removed a sheet from his folder. “This is the list of employees, about three hundred of them.” He scanned the list and smiled. “Well, whaddaya know about that? Amy Walsh worked there too. Actually they worked in the same department.”

“Was she interviewed at the time?”