Page 78 of Zero Divergence

“I don’t know what a Burberry briefcase looks like, but it’s leather, and I think that deep purplish-red color is called burgundy,” Royce said.

“I think it looks more mulberry,” Mendoza remarked.

“It’s a Burberry briefcase,” Sawyer said. “It’s impossible to make out in this frame, but it looks like a gold monogram on the front.”

“I’ll see if our tech people can enhance the photo for us,” Mendoza said. “It’s enough to bring her in for questioning, but I think we need to proceed with caution and continue to build a case quietly. The last thing we can afford is for Bonita to tip off Humphries that we’re looking at her if they’re in this together. He wouldn’t trust her not to roll on him.”

“I’m waiting for a list of places Bonita delivered flowers to, Chief,” Royce said. “So far, we can’t match anyone in our department to this woman, but we’re not going to stop until we learn how she found out about the evidence and when it was moving.”

“Excellent,” Mendoza said. “In the meantime, send the rookies out to recanvass the neighborhood with pictures of Bonita Brothers and her car.”

Royce nodded. “Will do, Chief.”

“Any updates on the warrant for Gross’s phone records?” Mendoza asked.

“No, sir,” Sawyer replied. “Not yet.”

“Will you follow up on that, Detective Key?”

“Absolutely, sir.”

“I’d like to think we won’t need them at this point, but we can’t afford to get cocky and careless. Connecting Bonita Brothers to Gross’s death and the missing evidence appears to be straightforward, but who else is involved?”

“Exactly,” Royce said.

“I’ll let you guys get to it. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir,” Sawyer and Royce both said.

The rookies were in the bullpen when they finished. Sawyer had briefly chatted with Carnegie on his first day back, but not at great length. Rather than send the rookies out by themselves, Sawyer and Royce went with them. It made more sense to be proactive than twiddle their thumbs and wait for the delivery report to come from Mick Sattler.Ifit came at all. Opie could’ve changed his mind as soon as they left if he’d been involved from the beginning. Opie?Jesus.He was starting to sound like Royce.

The four of them rode over to River’s Crossing together, then broke into two teams. Sawyer wasn’t a bit surprised when Royce chose Diego and knew damn well there was an ulterior motive. A few weeks ago, it would’ve been because he wanted to keep Diego away from Sawyer, but Royce was much more confident about his place in Sawyer’s life. Nope. Royce wanted to talk to Diego about Levi. Sawyer didn’t mind, because it gave him a chance to get to know Topher better, but he hoped Royce didn’t make things worse for Levi instead of better.

Most of the neighbors surrounding Gross’s residence weren’t home, but they did talk to a lady who lived behind Vivian who stated the Dart was parked on her street for a while.

“How long is a while?” Topher asked. “An hour? Two?”

The woman scrunched up her face. “Longer than an hour but less than two,” she said. “I noticed the car parked across from my house when I tossed some clothes in the dryer. It’s an odd color of blue, so it catches your attention. Plus, I’d never seen it before, and I was being nosy.” She waved her hand in the air. “I digress. I had set the timer for an hour and fifteen minutes. The car was still parked there when the buzzer went off. Some of the clothes were still damp, so I restarted the dryer for an additional twenty minutes. The car was gone when the buzzer went off the second time.”

“Do you remember what time you started the dryer the first time?” Topher asked her.

“It would’ve been between five thirty and six. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific.”

“Thanks, ma’am. You’ve been very helpful.”

She smiled and batted her lashes at Topher. “I can give you my phone number in case you need to ask me follow-up questions.”

Topher blushed and wrote her number down in his notebook, where he’d made notes. “Did I handle the situation okay?” he nervously asked when they walked away. “I don’t really plan to call her unless it’s regarding the case.”

“She is an eyewitness and could end up testifying,” Sawyer said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

They met back up with Royce and Diego at their Charger when they finished. “How’d you guys do?” Royce asked.

Sawyer nodded for Topher to fill them in on what they learned.

“Lucky for you we didn’t place a wager on which team got the best information or else we’d win,” Royce said, gesturing to himself and Diego.

“Yeah?” Sawyer asked. “What do you have?”