Page 32 of Night Moves
“Can be or the school could cut the parent some slack and wait for them. In this case, Willow had told the counselor that her dad thought a bad man had taken her mother. This wasn’t what he’d told others, and with the aspect of neglect in failing to pick them up, the counselor grew concerned and made that call. So I brought the children to the office until we could locate Kirk. He’d gone out for drinks with a co-worker and said he’d forgotten his nanny was out of town.”
Drake swiveled his chair to face her. “Did you believe him?”
“He’s very convincing, but no. I didn’t buy his story. Which is why I did a thorough investigation and put him on watch status, though I still don’t really know why he didn’t pick them up. Maybe he’d just snapped under the single parent responsibilities. Tracey was a stay-at-home mother, and my investigation revealed that she and their nanny pretty much handled the child-rearing duties. He didn’t know a whole lot about his children’s lives, and he was only marginally involved.”
“Is there proof of the private investigator in his file, or might it just be hearsay?” Malone asked.
“No proof. Only mentioned in his statement.” Londyn set down the photo and rested her arms on the table. “Our investigation into her disappearance ended when the video was located showing Tracey alive and well, and the detective never looked into Gentry’s claim of hiring the PI.”
“Sounds premature to close the investigation,” Drake said.
“Have you seen our caseloads?” Londyn narrowed her eyes. “We barely keep our heads above water. This woman is seen leaving of her own accord. No foul play. I’m not surprised they closed it.”
Natalie knew all about high caseloads on the job. “Are my pictures enough for you to get a search warrant?”
Londyn nodded vigorously. “You’re a person with expected access to the house, which means anything you found is most definitely admissible both for a warrant and trial.”
“Good. Then you’ll want to see this.” Natalie took out the nail polish photo they’d printed from her iCloud account. She unfolded it and pressed out the wrinkles, her heartbeat ratcheting up just viewing the bottles. She slid it across the table to Londyn. “I also found these in his basement. Check out the names on the bottles and the order. Matches the order of polish colors used on The Clipper’s victims.”
Natalie held her breath as she waited for Londyn’s reaction. The detective made a detailed scan, then her head popped up. Her eyes were narrowed and dark. Suspicious. And she looked like she might be controlling her anger. “How do you know about this?”
Londyn’s frightening detective stare had Natalie’s heart racing and broughtHand-me-Dunnto the surface. She shook her head to still the urge to revert back to her childhood feelings of inadequacy and glanced at Malone to see if she should answer. Not because Natalie really thought she shouldn’t for any legal reasons, but because she would have to admit again to being an eavesdropper.
Malone offered Natalie a sympathetic look followed by a sharp nod.
Natalie swallowed hard. “I overhead someone talking about it at your office.”
Londyn aimed her chin at Natalie like a weapon. “Who?”
Natalie worked hard not to letHand-Me-Dunntake over and make her shrink under the stare. “I don’t think that’s important.”
“Not important.” Londyn snapped her chair forward. “They should be disciplined for their carelessness.”
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.” Natalie twisted her hands together, fighting the urge to run. “And to be fair, I could’ve told the person I could hear the conversation, and I didn’t.”
“But—”
Malone rested a hand on Natalie’s arm, stilling her. “Natalie doesn’t want to reveal this person’s identity, so let’s move on.”
“Fine,” Londyn said, not at all sounding like she was caving. “But I can’t let this go. Not when it’s such a high profile investigation. Know that I will revisit it at some point.”
“How do you want to proceed after seeing these photographs?” Malone asked.
Natalie was so thankful Drake had thought to invite Malone to the meeting for support, and thankful she was moving them forward before the conversation became contentious.
Londyn looked at Natalie. “I’d like to bring you to Gentry’s place to walk me through your night. I’ll make the arrangements with the other task force members then give you a call to join me at the house.”
Londyn stood and kept her pointed focus on Natalie. “Be ready for my call, and don’t make me waste valuable time looking for you.”
9
Exhaustion weighed down on Natalie after a brainstorming session with Malone and Drake, and as they walked Malone down the hall to Reed’s condo, Natalie stifled a yawn. She and Drake would wait for Londyn’s call at Drake’s condo and hopefully grab some sleep while waiting. They all agreed talking to the Gentry’s nanny was top priority, so after the walkthrough at Kirk’s house, they would interview her before heading back to the cabin.
They approached Reed’s door, and Natalie glanced at Drake. “You know Londyn’s not going to like us talking to the nanny.”
“I don’t care.” Drake curled his fingers. “You saw those pictures. This guy needs to pay and pay big-time. We can’t sit around and wait for Londyn to tell us what she found.”
Natalie agreed. Of course she did. Especially after Londyn had flipped through her murder book while questioning Natalie.Murder book. Natalie couldn’t even believe she was saying those words as she’d never been privy to the police insider information. Or believe the glimpses she got of Londyn’s photos—The Clipper’s victims lying in pools of blood, their chests pierced with a sharp object over and over, their hearts the main target. He clearly killed like he was in a fit of rage, but then he took the time to paint fingernails and pose the women. The two acts seemed out of sync with each other.
