Page 138 of Dead Man's List

“Sam?” Navarro asked. “Your take?”

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “I definitely agree that Bert Ramsey is capable of stabbing a man. He’s a cold-blooded sociopath. But I’m not sure he did stab Munro. Like the others, I don’t think he’d get his hands dirty. I don’t think that any of them would have participated in the murder-for-hire scheme if Hugh Smith hadn’t ambushed them all by inviting them to his house.”

“Could one of the nine have killed Hugh Smith?” the captain asked. “I’d be mad as fuck if someone outed my blackmail situation like that.”

“Possibly,” Kit said. “We’re still waiting on the ME to give us a tighter window on Smith’s time of death. Right now, it’s going to be difficult to get airtight alibis on any of them because they’d have to account for every moment of two full days. They were likely all alone at one point, so…”

“Got it,” the captain said.

“I’ve got two of my detectives searching for Jason Goodman, sir,” Navarro said. “The hit man associated with Juanita Young.”

Ashton smirked. “Juanita Young offered him up on a platter like a Thanksgiving turkey, affair or no affair.”

“That made my job easier, for sure,” Joel said.

“Ours too,” Navarro said. “She told us exactly where to find him. I’ve sent people to pick him up. Hopefully we’ll have news on that front soon.”

“What about this ‘Neckbeard’ character?” the captain asked, using air quotes.

Connor sighed. “He’s infuriatingly average. We have video of him, but he’s either covered in more facial hair than Sasquatch or wearing a hoodie and a mask. We have no clear photo of hisface. From a body-type standpoint, every one of our male suspects could be him. Hell, half the men in this room could be him. We just don’t know. At this point, we need to check the alibis of the nine suspects for the time during which Munro was abducted and then tortured.”

“Each agreement requires them to cooperate with the police,” Joel said. “I kind of hope they don’t because I need a shower after negotiating all those deals. I’d like all of them to break their deals just so I don’t have to follow through with them.”

“Did everyone get a deal?” the captain asked, frowning.

“No. The last three we talked to didn’t have anything new.” Joel huffed a weary laugh. “They were very angry that they were last. Kind of like when you’re at the back row of the airplane and all the good dinner choices are already gone by the time the meal cart gets to you.”

Kit slid a plate of sandwiches over to Joel. “You’re making food references. Eat something.”

Joel grabbed a sandwich. “Thank you. I’ll be honest with you. They’re all going to get out on bail. We have them for conspiracy to murder Munro, but the real evidence is only what they’ve said about each other. We have no physical evidence yet. The finger-pointing will be compelling at trial, but I don’t think a judge is going to give us a no-bail option at arraignment. These are ‘pillars of the community,’ and a lot of them donate to the various judges. They’ll be back at home by five p.m. today.”

“Can we at least get their passports taken?” Kit asked.

“I’m sure as hell gonna try. They’re definitely flight risks. But I can’t make promises. We should plan to have them watched as soon as they’re out on bail. Especially Bert Ramsey. Simon Daly negotiated a safe house for himself and his wife, so he’ll be where we can easily find him, but none of the others got protection. None of them asked for it.”

“That’s telling,” Marshall murmured. “They don’t want to be under surveillance.”

“Well, they’re gonna be,” Navarro said grimly. “I’ll set that up. Thanks for the heads-up, Joel.”

Joel waved at him, having filled his mouth with a huge bite of his sandwich. He closed his eyes and moaned, a pitiful little sound.

“Anyone have anything else?” the captain asked.

“The tan Chevy Suburban,” Sam said. “The one that the landscaper saw Neckbeard driving. Has there been any success in tracking it with an unwrapped trailer?”

“I’ve got a team analyzing all the traffic cams,” Navarro said. “They’ve tracked two that may be the same Suburban/trailer combo. One was last seen on 163 and the other was on the 8.”

“State Route 163 runs north,” Connor said with a frown. “I-8 runs east. Which way did he go?”

Navarro shook his head. “They’re still working to figure out where the vehicles went from there. They disappear, then reappear. The vehicles aren’t where my team expects them to be if they use normal traffic patterns.”

“He’s doing it on purpose,” Kit said. “To muddy the waters.”

“It’s working,” Navarro muttered. “But we’re not giving up.”

“Sir, what about Christopher Drummond?” Kit asked. “We’re not still entertaining his offer, are we?”

The captain gave Navarro a questioning stare and Kit winced. “Sorry, Lieutenant,” she murmured.

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