Page 30 of The Perfect Prey

“Just a vibe,” Jessie told her, not really able to explain it.“Tell me.”

“Good news or bad news first?”Susannah asked.

“You know I always prefer to get the bad stuff out of the way,” Jessie reminded her.

“Then you go ahead, Jamil,” the detective said.

“Apparently her date decided to stick around at the restaurant,” Jamil said.“He moved to the bar and finished his evening there.A restaurant receipt and video footage from out front both confirm that he left the place at 8:25.But the 911 call was made at 7:16 from Channing’s apartment, so he couldn’t be the perpetrator.”

“So what’s the good news?”Jessie asked, deflated.

“Your turn, Beth,” Susannah said.

The junior researcher smiled excitedly as she spoke.

“I noticed that when Evelen Channing texted to friends about her various dates, she mentioned that none of them had gone well since she broke up with Callum.So I scrolled back through her texts and found her communication with him.She’d been dating a man named Callum Clay on and off for close to a year.From what I can discern, they dated for about seven months.Then she broke up with him for a few weeks.They got back together for three months.And thenhedumped her.That was about a month ago.”

“Do we know why?”Jessie asked.

“No,” Beth says.“Whenshebroke up with him, there are texts to friends saying he was just too square and traditional.But after he dumped her, she’s very cagey with her friends about why.She just says stuff like ‘it didn’t work out’ or they ‘just weren’t a match.’”

Jessie looked over at Susannah, who had a little grin on her face.

“What are you thinking?”Jessie asked her.

“That maybe whatever led to the second breakup wasn’t your standard stuff.Maybe he was abusive.Maybe he wanted to go to one of these secret parties, and she wouldn’t do it, pissing him off.Whatever the reason, he knew where she lived and how to get in.Feels to me like someone we should talk to.”

“Agreed,” Jessie said.“Let’s make these coffees to go.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It was still only 6:52 a.m.when they rang the doorbell of Callum Clay’s Culver City cottage house, but Jessie didn’t care.

When he didn’t answer at first, Susannah proceeded to ring the bell non-stop for a full minute before they finally heard a voice yelling from inside, “hold on!I’m coming.”

The door opened a moment later.They were faced with a handsome but bewildered-looking young man who generally matched the description they’d been given on the way over.His ID photo had shown a 27-year-old with wavy brown hair and large brown eyes.Only now, the hair was smushed against his skull, bed-head style and his eyes were bleary.He wore a loose robe over boxers and a t-shirt that read “Pepperdine University.”

“What?”he demanded irritably.

Jessie cut him the tiniest bit of slack since it wasn’t yet seven in the morning, but not much.

“Mr.Clay,” she said, holding up her ID, “I’m Jessie Hunt with the LAPD.This is Detective Valentine.We need to talk.Maybe we come in?”

His expression suggested he hadn’t totally comprehended what she said, or perhaps that was just the impression he wanted to give.

“Did you say that you’re the police?”he asked, still irked but less overtly confrontational.

“That’s right,” Susannah chimed.“We’re investigating a high priority case, and we’ve determined that your assistance is essential.”

“It’s not even 7 a.m.,” he objected.

“So it’s obviously important,” Susannah countered.“Now, why don’t we go inside so you don’t have to stand out here in your underwear.”

His eyes became more focused, and he squinted hard at the two of them.

“You need to tell me more than that,” he said.“I know my rights and I’m not just going to invite you into my home without knowing what this is about.”

Susannah looked over at Jessie, deferring to her to see how much she wanted to reveal.

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