Page 43 of Line of Sight (Second Sight #4)

GARY FINISHED his call and put his phone on the desk. “Apparently Senator Kelly is a very busy man. His secretary says she can fit us in next week, on Tuesday afternoon.”

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.

Maybe they’ll be more inclined to help us catch her killer.

And in the meantime, we look at the last murder.

Well, it was , 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 a closet in 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. “Oh dear 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.”

“ Just that 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?”

“Yes, but only because they asked all Murphy’s coworkers questions about him. There was no reason to suspect her of being involved. No motive for killing him either.”

“So we don’t know where she was the night he died?”

Gary shook his head once more. “No, but we’re going to find out. We’re talking to Jennifer tomorrow.” He grinned. “Which is good timing after the phone calls I had this morning. I’ll be very interested to know what you can tell us, Dan.”

“What about Senator Kelly?” Riley demanded. “Are we really going to wait until next week?”

“We can let him stew for a week,” Gary said with a smile. “Besides, he didn’t have a motive for killing her.”

“And that right there is what connects them all,” Dan declared with a note of triumph.

“At first glance, it seems as though none of them have a motive for any of the murders. All of them have alibis—at least I’m assuming Amy Walsh is going to have one, because why should she be any different?

And as for the senator, yes, he lost his wife, but we don’t know anything about their marriage. ”

“And if we’re still going with the theory that Unknown Guy is our killer, can I just say something?” Riley pointed to the photo of the stiletto that had been used to kill Murphy. “Surely that points to a woman?”

“Two things.” Dan proceeded to count them off. “One, we’re assuming Unknown Guy actually is a guy. And two… are you telling me men don’t wear heels?”

Riley opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut.

Dan nodded. “So maybe we need to question anyone who worked at or near Cronin’s Landing.

Flash Murphy’s photo around. Ask if anyone saw him that night, and if so, was he alone.

” He glanced at Gary. “I’ve just taken another glance at the autopsy report.

No wonder they paid no attention to the notion of Amy Walsh as a possible killer.

Or any other female for that matter. They were looking for a man—or a trans woman. ”

“Why would they do that?” Riley frowned.

Dan put down the report. “Because of what turned up from the swab taken from Murphy’s mouth. Granted it wasn’t much, but it was enough. All they needed was a tiny amount, and it wasn’t something that could have been concocted.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Gary pulled his copy from the folder and scanned its contents.

Sure enough, there it was in black and white, and they’d missed it.

Sperm cells.