Page 12 of The Perfect Deception (Jessie Hunt #40)
Jessie waited until both men had left the station to share her plan with the others.
She and Ryan called a meeting of every available HSS team member who was already at the station. It was not quite 7 A.M. so that wasn’t everyone. Detectives Jim Nettles and Sam Goodwin wouldn’t be in for a few more hours. The same was true of Hannah, who would show up at eight. But Jamil and Beth were here, as were detectives Susannah Valentine and Karen Bray. For what Jessie had in mind, that was more than enough.
“Something is up with these husbands,”
she said to everyone assembled in the bullpen.
“We don’t know what it is yet and we don’t want to let them know we suspect anything, so the plan is to tail both men to see if they do something interesting.”
“Haven’t they both already left?”
Beth asked, concerned.
“Yes,”
Ryan replied.
“That’s why we assigned squad cars to follow both of them at a distance. But obviously that’s not sustainable long-term. Even the most clueless civilian is going to notice a black and white tailing them after a while. And these guys are probably more edgy than clueless.”
Jessie picked up from there.
“Which is why Ryan and I planned to take over surveillance of one husband. We were hoping that Susannah and Karen could take the other.”
The two detectives exchanged a casual shrug.
“We’re both done with our most recent cases,”
Karen said.
“I have some paperwork left to do but it can wait a few hours.”
“And you know I love a good tail,”
Susannah added with a wink.
“I also like doing surveillance.”
Jessie shook her head.
“Don’t quit your day job, Detective Valentine. That material will get you heckled off the stage.”
Susannah looked like she was about to offer a comeback but Ryan, ever the professional, jumped in first.
“Let’s save the teasing for once we know where these gentleman are. Both have alibis for last night but their behavior has been—.”
He trailed off, unsure of the word he wanted to use.
“Squirrelly,”
Jessie offered.
“Their descriptions of how well the couples knew each other is unconvincing. Instead of jumping to conclusions, I’m hoping they’ll either confirm or remove my suspicions based on where they go and who they see today. I figured Ryan and I would follow Michael Dominik. Are you ladies okay taking James Maplewood?”
Susannah and Karen nodded in unison. Satisfied, Jessie turned her attention to the researchers.
“Jamil’s already got a head start on this. But we’d like you guys to continue to look into the couples. Financials, work connections, social media, any clubs or boards they belong to. You know the drill. We’re looking for any connections among these four people that might serve as motive for murder. Have Hannah help you when she gets in later. I did some hunting overnight but I’ll be honest—I’m out of practice and operating on very little sleep. I’m betting that I missed something that will be obvious to you two.”
“I’m sure that if there was something to find, you’d have found it,”
Beth replied generously.
“But we’ll double check.”
“There’s got to be something,”
Ryan insisted.
“Two women—neighbors— were found dead in each other’s beds. Both husbands were out of town at the time. That is inherently unusual. We’re counting on you to find a data point that might explain it. Everybody on the same page?”
The entire group nodded that they were.
“Then let’s do this,”
he said, sounding more like a coach than a detective.
Jessie didn’t need the pep talk. She was raring to go