Page 144 of Dead Man's List

“In a minute, Dad.” Shoemaker sucked in a breath and blew it out, trying to calm himself. “I need to get inside.”

“Let me,” Connor said, taking the key from Shoemaker’s hand. It slid into the lock and easily turned.

Kit looked up and froze.Oh shit.The camera pointing at the door had been covered with black spray paint.

“Detective,” she murmured, pointing up when Connor looked over his shoulder.

Connor looked up, his eyes closing briefly before he returned Shoemaker’s keys. “We’re going to need you to stay out here for a few minutes, Mr.Shoemaker, Mr.Tindall. Please.”

“No!” Tindall shouted. “I want to know what’s going on!”

“And we’ll tell you as soon as we know,” Kit assured him. “Officers?”

The two uniformed officers took their places in front of the door, barring entry to the two men, who were both freaking out.

Kit and Connor took the stairs at a run, the elegant staircase more than wide enough for them both at the same time. The seven bedrooms were clear, but when they entered the primary bath, they stopped in their tracks.

“Motherfucker,” Connor muttered.

Yes,Kit thought.Motherfucker.

Because Aylene Tindall lay in the immense bathtub, the water a dark brownish red. Her throat had been slit. Ear to ear.

Kit took a step back and called it in to Dispatch while Connor called CSU. She then called Alicia Batra to retrieve the body, finishing her call as Connor was dialing Navarro. He put Navarro on speaker.

“What?” Navarro asked flatly when he picked up.

“Shoemaker’s wife is dead,” Connor said. “Throat slit, same as the others. And the front door camera’s been painted over.”

“Goddammit.” Navarro sighed. “I’ll add additional protection to the families of the other seven. Seems like Simon Daly asking for protection was timely.”

“Maybe too timely,” Kit said. “I guess it depends on when Aylene Tindall was killed.”

“She’s Shoemaker’s wife?” Navarro asked. “Christ, this is a nightmare. She’s the heiress to one of the biggest fortunes inSouthern California. The mayor has been on my back for days and this is just going to make things worse. Keep me posted as you know more.”

Kit couldn’t rip her gaze from the dead woman in the tub. “She was Peter Shoemaker’s alibi, sir. Now we can’t ask her anything.”

“I know. Have you done any other alibi confirmations?”

“So far Estelle White’s alibi has checked out. Shoemaker was our second visit. We haven’t talked to Marshall and Ashton about their afternoon.”

“Juanita Young’s and Henry Reese’s alibis also checked out,” Navarro said. “Kevin and Alf just reported in. I’ll send them to check out Bert Ramsey’s alibi next. We can check Simon Daly’s last, since he’s in a safe house and isn’t going anywhere for now. The one woman and the other two men haven’t posted bail yet, but they will within the hour. Joel was able to get the judge to confiscate all their passports.”

“Unless they’re like Veronica and have fake ones,” Kit said.

“I’ve got local airports—including charter services—on BOLO. If they try to flee the country, we’ll pick them up. Everyone has police presence at their homes and workplaces. We’re telling them it’s to keep them safe, and after Aylene Tindall’s murder, they might even believe us. Stay there at the scene and take statements. I’ll keep Kevin and Alf on alibis. You can pick up any of the ones they didn’t get to once the Shoemaker scene is secured. I’ll send people out to check on the immediate families of the remaining seven.”

Seven, Kit thought, mentally counting them. Of the ten, Hugh Smith was dead. Simon Daly and his wife were in a safe house. Peter Shoemaker’s wife was dead. That left seven suspects’ families to check. Good. They couldn’t let anyone fall through the cracks.

“Do we know where Hugh Smith’s wife is?” Kit asked.

“Visiting their grandchildren,” Navarro said. “She’s in Baltimore now, and she’s been notified of his death. She’s on her way home.”

“Aylene Tindall and Peter Shoemaker have three children,” Connor said. “One’s in college in San Francisco. We’ll get the location and have someone inform her as well.”

Kit was still staring at Aylene Tindall’s body. “Why kill Shoemaker’s wife? Was it a message? And if so, what? He said he was making payments to Munro. He said he would have continued making payments to Neckbeard, if Hugh Smith hadn’t outed them all. He said his only crime was cheating on Aylene.”

“He said a lot of things,” Navarro muttered. “They all did. And I’m betting a lot of it was lies to either get a deal or to try to make us forget to investigate what they did to be on Munro’s list. Or both.”

---