Page 53 of Lost Cause
She looked up at Burke. “Do you have a tablet or computer with you? If not, I’m glad to share my screen.”
“I could use my phone, but I’d like to look on with you if it’s all right.”
She tapped the chair next to her, ignoring Gabe’s raised brow and told-you-so look, to log into the session already in progress. Pictures of the remaining four members of their team popped up on the screen, and Gabe’s photo followed.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Abby said. “I’d first like to introduce you to Detective Burke Ulrich.”
Burke leaned closer until her camera caught his face, and the screen displayed it next to hers.
Abby introduced everyone else and ended with Hayden. “He’s doing the deep background checks on Victor and Estelle Lemoine.”
Hayden stared into the camera, his gaze intense as usual. “I handle techie things for the team. Most often writing algorithms to find information not readily available to the average internet user.”
“Thanks for your help,” Burke said. “Did you locate anything we need to know about?”
Hayden confirmed the basic information Abby and Burke had already learned about the Lemoines. “The most interesting thing I found relates to Estelle’s missing person investigation. The detective in charge told me there were rumors she’d had an affair shortly after they moved to Oregon. Orman couldn’t proveit, so you won’t find it in the files, but he heard it more than once.”
Abby tamped down her excitement at the lead to focus more carefully. “Did he say who told him?”
“No. Not even when I pushed him.” Hayden’s gaze intensified. “He said if we investigate her disappearance, ask everyone we interview about the affair, and press anyone who mentions it for more details.”
“Did he seem willing to talk with us about the investigation?” Burke asked.
Hayden rubbed a hand over his face, dragging his fingers down slowly. “Not open at all. He wouldn’t discuss any other details and basically said to leave him alone. This investigation had already ruined his life once, and he didn’t want to go there again.”
“Any idea what he meant by that?” Abby asked.
“When Orman didn’t find Estelle, Victor threw his weight around with his wealthy friends and basically burned the detective’s reputation. That ended any chance he had to advance in the department. He quit right after that and left the investigation in his rearview. He doesn’t want to bring it all back up, and I was lucky I got him to say anything at all.”
“I don’t blame him.” Burke gripped the edge of the table. “Politics and policing have no business being bedfellows.”
“Amen to that.” Gabe’s rigid expression solidified his opinion. “But it’s often a bigger factor than anyone in law enforcement wants to admit.”
Abby didn’t want them to continue down this path and forget their mission. “Did you learn anything else?”
Hayden shook his head. “I still have algorithms running. They might pull something up on some obscure website, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
“Can you look into Sylvia Bass and Ugo Morell?” She told him about their jobs. “Ugo started working for Victor in France, and I need you to go back that far if possible. We definitely want their financial information. I’ll text their addresses to you.”
“No problem, but don’t count on me finding the old information. Very few files that old made it to the internet.”
“Just do your best.” Abby told them about the computerized ferry passes and how they might help determine if Ugo or Sylvia spent the night on the estate. “Can you also get recent logs for their pass numbers? I’d like to see their movements around the time we think the crown was stolen.”
“No sweat,” Hayden said. “Consider it done.”
“Also, get a list of anyone who took the ferry to the island in the last month. I doubt our thief would’ve been dumb enough to take public transport, but it’s possible.”
“Is that all, Your Majesty?” He grinned.
“Actually, no,” Abby said. “We need background on Victor’s son, Vidal, and Victor also has a daughter, Viviane, and three grandchildren. We’d like information on them as well. They’re named in Victor’s will. I’ll forward a copy of it.”
“Can you be sure to include a look into their finances too?” Burke asked. “We need to know if money motivated them to steal the crown.”
Abby waited for Hayden to comment on being overworked, but he simply nodded.
“Hey, thanks, man,” Burke said. “I know we’ve piled a lot on you, but we really appreciate your help.”
Hayden shrugged. “When you’re the only one who can find hidden information, you get used to it.”
