Page 46 of Nowhere to Hide
“Agreed,” Sandra admitted, and the rest of the team chorused in to that effect as well.
“If Susan got pregnant from the assault, it could explain why she’d leave her job without a safety net. She’d want to get away from her rapist,” Donny reasoned.
“And Timothy would want her dealt with. So he likely would have offered a payoff and made her sign an NDA,” Sandra put in. “So when she came back six years later, looking for more money, he thought he’d solve his problem for good.”
Neal bobbed his head. “And paid someone to fix it. Gibson, have you gotten anywhere tracking down people in Timothy’s circle from thirty-three years ago?”
“Not yet. I’ve been kind of busy…”
“Bump it to the top of the pile,” Neal told him.
“Sure thing.”
Sandra read defeat in Gibson’s voice. “Just an idea, but it might be advantageous to speak with the Carmichael family about Timothy Hanson. They may be able to give us names of Timothy’s friends or right-hand men.”
“And what makes you think they’ll tell us?” Kreiger raised his eyebrows.
“Their loyalty would be to Martha,” Sandra pointed out. “If the Carmichaels find out that Timothy betrayed her, I don’t think they’ll have any problem talking.”
“Huh. Possibly. But the Hansons are still a powerful family. And let’s assume they all walk away from today, there’s the future to consider,” Kreiger said.
Let’s…Sandra couldn’t consider a dark outcome for one second.
“Who is there we can talk to?” Neal directed this at Gibson, who spun and typed on his keyboard.
“Okay, so the Carmichaels are gone, that being the parents,” Gibson said. “They died in a plane crash fifteen years ago.”
“Any living relatives?” Neal asked.
“It looks like the closest living relative is Martha’s brother. He lives here in DC,” Gibson told him. “Name’s Peter. He’s seventy-one, and his address puts him in an affluent area. He likely lives in a mansion. I can only imagine the size of his staff, and at that age, he might even have in-home nurses.”
Gibson spoke as if that were something to be ashamed of. It was a privilege some could afford. Like Margo. Not that anyone in this vehicle knew Sandra’s background or connection to the Davenports.
Neal pulled out his phone. “I’ll get someone over to talk with him.”
Sandra met Kreiger’s eye. Their conversation about the reporter ruse had been interrupted, and it was time to pick it back up again.
TWENTY-FIVE
2:30 PM
Eric rapped his knuckles on the doorframe. “Have a minute?”
Sergeant Medina was set up at his desk behind a pile of paperwork, pen in hand. “Why not?” He waved Eric into the room, and he closed the door behind him.
Medina set down his pen and leaned back in his chair. “It’s going to be one of those conversations, I see.”
“Sorry to say that it is.”
“There’s something to that old accident case?”
That’s an understatement…“You could say that.”
“Just hit me with it, Birch.”
“There was some sort of cover-up. I mean, there must have been.”
“Don’t hold back. Tell me what you really think.”
