Page 14 of Whispers Left Behind (Kinsley Aspen #1)
Chapter Fourteen
Kinsley Aspen October Monday — 8:22 am
The usual hustle and bustle of the homicide division was absent for a typical Monday morning. Only two other detectives besides Kinsley were at their desks. She wouldn’t have been stuck with paperwork from last week if it hadn’t been for the coin toss Alex had won on Saturday afternoon. The loss for her meant that she would remain behind to catch up on paperwork while he drove out to the auto dealership for some scheduled interviews.
Kinsley took a sip of the caramel-flavored coffee she had picked up at the café on her way into the station. She stared at her phone, examining the grainy footage of the street outside her home. The timestamp was from Friday, but there was no indication that anyone had been surveilling her front door. She relinquished her coffee to zoom in on a tree, trying to determine if the shadows hid a figure.
“I found nothing in the wreckage at impound to suggest foul play.”
Kinsley fumbled her phone before managing to grab it securely. The only time she had ever been this on edge had been in the days leading up to Gantz’s death. She hadn’t been able to prove it then, but she had fully believed at the time that someone had been monitoring her every move.
Then…and now.
“Sorry,” Izzy quipped as she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She then rolled out Alex’s chair from his desk. She was wearing a black turtleneck with matching jeans. Her choice of clothes covered the tattoo sleeve on her right arm. “You’ve either had too much caffeine or not enough. Anyway, sorry I couldn’t get to Baird’s vehicle on Saturday. Not sure if you saw the news, but there was an incident involving five vehicles at the intersection near the silo north of the city.”
There was no one better at reconstructing crash sites than Isabella “Izzy” Martinez. The woman had made a name for herself a couple of years ago during a high-profile hit-and-run case. That particular investigation had occurred in a small town about forty miles from Fallbrook, and their law enforcement officials had been stumped for months. Once a request had come through the proper channels, she had performed a meticulous analysis of the crime scene, tire marks, and vehicle damage.
It had been Izzy’s discovery of a unique paint chip that other reconstructionists had discarded as nothing more than debris from a nearby road sign. In actuality, the small piece of evidence had been from a vanity plate on the vehicle of the accused. The successful resolution of the case solidified Izzy’s reputation as a top expert in the field.
“Not nearly enough caffeine,” Kinsley replied with a tight smile. She set her phone on the desk. “Nothing odd stood out to you? Forget evidence for a second. This guy’s sister was forced off the road. She crashed headfirst into a tree, suffered an injury from the shrapnel embedded in the airbag, and then hunted through the woods to a barn where she was ultimately murdered. You don’t think it was a coincidence that her brother was in a car accident three days later?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t a hell of a coincidence,” Izzy said with a half-smile as she used her black boots to rotate the chair back and forth. “I’m reporting to you that nothing stood out to suggest the wreckage was the result of anything other than an accident. He was going too fast around the corner near the covered bridge. His brake pads were worn, and the result was basically metal on metal. Oh, and the techs couldn’t find any place in Rachel Hanson’s wreckage where there was paint left from the other vehicle. I know you were hoping for better news. How is the brother, by the way?”
“Not good.” Kinsley reached for her coffee, though she didn’t take a sip. “I spoke to the mother on my way in this morning. The doctors aren’t sure that Gage Baird will have full use of his motor skills.”
“Where are you on the case?”
“That’s a loaded question.” Kinsley noticed that Izzy was studying the murder board. “Alex and I spent most of the weekend searching both Hanson brothers’ residences and a storage locker. We’re still waiting on footage from the hotel to confirm Sebastian Hanson’s alibi. The domestic abuse investigation involving Jack Hanson didn’t amount to anything, either. I tracked down the other party involved yesterday, and though the two were arguing, it never amounted to anything physical. With that said, the man doesn’t have an alibi for the time of death.”
“What about Friday night?”
“The brothers claim they were together. We’re collecting doorbell camera footage from the neighborhood to confirm it. Doesn’t mean they didn’t sneak out the back door, but what would their motive be to kill Rachel and Gage Baird?”
Kinsley had already filled in some of the timelines on the board. The black line started at five o’clock on Wednesday with a phone call between Rachel and Jack. Around an hour later, Sebastian Hanson spoke with his wife. Gia Torres last saw Rachel roughly thirty minutes after that phone call. Since Rachel had been killed between the hours of one and three, that left six hours unaccounted for.
“And the grandfather?”
“Tobias Zayn is coming into the station this afternoon. I have some additional questions for him. While it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, I don’t believe he could have physically kept pace with Rachel Hanson through those woods.”
Kinsley didn’t mind going over the details of the case with Izzy. Her curiosity was just that. Still, talking through the specifics helped Kinsley analyze the pieces a little better.
“I was hoping that your analysis of Gage Baird’s crash site would help eliminate him as a suspect.” Kinsley took another sip of her coffee. The contents had cooled a little too much for her liking, and she grimaced at the lukewarm temperature. “I’ve got a call into the rancher Gage conducted business with up in Leeds. I’m expecting to hear from him today.”
“Where's Alex?” Izzy’s gaze swept across the impeccably organized surface of his desk. She purposefully reached out and began to shift some items around just to annoy him. “Did you hear about the wager going around?
“Save your money.”
Izzy’s hand stilled above Alex’s stapler. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny over Kinsley’s advice. She had always been envious of Izzy’s eyelashes. They were so dark and long it was as if she had her tattoo artist ink permanent eyeliner on her lids.
“You’re not going to spill, are you?”
“Not a chance,” Kinsley replied right as her phone chimed. She almost ignored the text, but the distraction prompted Izzy’s exit. “Thanks for taking a second look at the crash site.”
“Anytime.” Izzy had purposefully left Alex’s chair turned away from his desk. “Oh, and word to the wise? Stay away from Wally. He doesn’t have any players on his roster in tonight’s game. He lost this week, and you’re the reason.”
Izzy’s advice caused Kinsley to laugh, because she had checked her Fantasy Football points while brushing her teeth this morning. She had not only come in first this weekend, she had done it by a landslide.
“Duly noted,” Kinsley called out, noticing that Sam was exiting the elevator while Izzy was motioning for him to hold the doors. By the time Kinsley had finished reading Alex’s text, Sam was standing at her desk. “Morning, Sam. Hey, aren’t you poker buddies with the service manager from Birdie’s Auto?”
“Depends. If you’ll be my partner, I’ll get you all the information you want from R.J.”
Sam’s odd request had Kinsley’s full attention. She prudently remained silent instead of wading into a conversation filled with land mines.
“You didn’t hear?” Sam curled his lip in frustration. “Hess is retiring, and Mitchell got the promotion.”
Kinsley weighed her words carefully. Sam had been passed over for a sergeant’s position twice in as many years. Rumor had the reason being was a beef between him and one of the upper brass. Either way, Sam’s life just got a little harder.
No wonder Alex had been in a mood.
“Be happy for her, Sam.”
Kinsley witnessed the difficulty Sam was having with the situation. He and Laura had been partners for years. The struggle he was enduring was twofold.
“What do you want with R.J.?”
Kinsley recalled a name on the list of employees at the dealership. Sam must be referring to Richard James Ivy.
“Our vic was in the finance department at the dealership. Alex is out there this morning conducting interviews. It’s come to our attention that Rachel Hanson believed one of the salespeople there was taking kickbacks under the table. She reported it to HR, and…” Kinsley lifted her phone once more to read off the name that Alex had supplied her. “…Joe Cider has just become a person of interest.”
“Never heard of him, but I can reach out to R.J. He tends to be protective of his staff, but I’ll make sure he gives up any necessary deets to Lanen.” Sam turned, but Kinsley could still hear his latest complaint about the previous topic of discussion. “I’m liable to end up with a rookie who tosses his cookies over a paper cut. Maybe I should be the one retiring.”
As Sam made his way back to his desk, Kinsley turned her focus to her computer. She would put in for a more in-depth background check on Joe Cider. It would be nice to catch a break in the case. While family members were usually ruled out first, an investigation covered the victim’s entire life. Everyone needed to be investigated, including friends, neighbors, and even acquaintances who might have only interacted with the victim once or twice.
Once Kinsley had exited the software and opened her inbox, the list of unread emails stretched down her screen. She quickly perused the subject lines until one snagged her attention— Rachel Hanson: Life Insurance Policy Details.
Kinsley clicked on the email.
In bold font, a seven-figure amount was displayed on the monitor, along with the name of the beneficiary. Without hesitation, she reached for her desk phone. She was willing to make the trip to Bismarck herself if necessary. She would have the hotel’s security footage in her possession by the end of the day.
While there were still many avenues to search within the investigation, Sebastian Hanson had just moved himself back to the top of the suspect list. According to the terms of the life insurance policy, three million dollars would be electronically transferred into an account under Sebastian Hanson’s name upon receipt of his wife’s death certificate.