Page 38 of The Perfect Accomplice

“That’s all right, Mr. Henshall,” Jessie said, redirecting him. “Let’s not focus on that right now. There are a few basic logistical questions we have to ask, which we hope will help us get to the bottom of this.”

“Okay,” the man replied weakly.

“You said Chloe handled things like the security system. Did she have a list of all the different providers you guys use, with their contact information? I’m talking about everyone from your housekeeper, if you have one, to whoever cuts your lawn. Plus anyone who might come to the house regularly, whether it be a personal trainer, a masseuse, or a therapist. Friends too. Basically anyone who had access to your home, we want their details.”

Henshall nodded. "Yeah, okay. She kept a list of the main ones on the corkboard in the kitchen. That's what I usually used. It had folks like the gardener, the plumber, the handyman, the dog walker, and that driver, Albert. But I know she kept a more comprehensive list on her laptop for all the stuff she knew that I didn't care about."

“Like whom?” Jessie asked.

“She had a book club. I know all the members are on that list. She had a hypnotherapist who came regularly. And in addition to our regular dog walker, she had—this is a little embarrassing, but she got a pet therapist for Missy because she kept destroying all our shoes. So they would have sessions periodically. It’s all on her computer.”

“We’ll look into it,” Ryan told him. “Now I have to ask you an uncomfortable question, Mr. Henshall.”

The man looked up. His eyes were filled with apprehension.

“Please don’t ask me what I want to do with her body,” he pleaded. “I can’t think about any of that yet.”

“No,” Ryan said. “It’s not that. We’re going to need the names of everyone you were working with on that programming issue last night.”

“Oh,” Henshall said, the apprehension in his eyes replaced with understanding. “You need to prove I was at work and not here killing Chloe.”

Ryan didn’t answer that one, but he didn’t need to.

“I’ll have a complete list for you, along with contact info, in ten minutes,” Henshall continued. “Frankly, I’m happy to have the mental diversion, even if only briefly. May I go to my study?”

Ryan nodded, and Henshall left, followed by Officer Medina. When they were gone, he turned to Jessie and Cutter.

“We’ll need to verify his story, but I assume his people will confirm that he was there,” he said. “The main focus should be on getting the estimated time of death from the coroner. If it was yesterday afternoon or evening, he’s likely in the clear. If it was more recent, he may have some more explaining to do.”

“I’ll press Dr. Roone to get us something soon,” Cutter promised.

“Even though I don’t think it will show anything useful, we also need to review the security footage from the front door camera,” Jessie said.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Cutter offered.

“Let’s hope so,’ Jessie replied, “because with as far apart as these giant homes are from each other, I doubt any neighbors’ cameras are going to help much. Still, you should canvass the area.”

“Will do,” Cutter said, pulling out a notebook and writing a note.

“In the meantime,” Ryan added, “let’s get copies of that contact list in the kitchen and the more comprehensive one from her laptop and send them to research. Maybe there’s an overlap in providers with the other victims. There’s one person in particular I’d be interested in talking to first.”

“Who?” Cutter asked, though Jessie didn’t need to. She knew exactly who her partner and husband was thinking of.

“Albert, the car service driver,” Ryan said.

“Why him first?” Cutter asked.

Jessie took that one.

“Because it’s possible he was the last person to see Chloe Henshall alive. He may our best witness.”

What she didn’t add was that the guy might be much more than just a witness.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

“This could be the day, right?” he whispered as he stood at the door of his cell, waiting for it to automatically open. He couldn’t speak too loudly for fear of alienating his extremely large cellmate, Oscar, and getting punished again.

There was no reply, but that didn't trouble Mark Haddonfield. Sometimes he just had to be patient, no matter how eager he was to start the day.

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