Page 29 of The Perfect Prey

“Since the killer used it, we should have Channing’s phone tested too,” she suggested, “but like the dumbbells, I doubt we’ll find anything on them.Maybe Jamil could do voice analysis on the 911 call, help us narrow down potential suspects.”

“I listened to it,” Frank told them.“It appeared to have been altered, but the voice sounded clearly male to me.”

Jessie nodded.If verified, that would help a little, but she didn’t want to put too much emphasis on it.There were a lot of guys in L.A.

“I hate to say it,” Susannah muttered, “but this ugliness has at least one positive.”

“What’s that?”Sergeant Frank asked.

Jessie answered, giving the same response she knew Susannah would have.

“It gives us fresh evidence,” she said.“More potential clues on the body.But from our perspective, it also offers additional lines of inquiry.We’d kind of hit a brick wall before we got your call.Maybe this will send us in a new direction.”

She didn’t mention it out loud, but she was already wondering if they’d be able to connect Channing to any of the warehouse or mansion parties.Or to the Hartleys?

She turned to Susannah, who said exactly what she was thinking too.

“We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jessie decided it was time for more coffee.

Even though there were no windows in the research department, her phone told her that the sun was just starting to rise.She figured that after being up all night, she might as well at least try to follow some standard, accepted Monday morning behavior.

“I’m getting coffee,” she said, standing up.“Anyone want some?”

“I’ll take a cup,” Susannah said, running her hand through her hair, which was developing a greasy sheen.

“Me too,” Beth requested.

“Not for me,” Jamil said, never looking up from his screen.

Jessie wasn’t surprised by his answer.The head researcher was like the Energizer Bunny, and never seemed to need caffeine stimulants to keep him alert.She left the research department and headed down the hall to the break room, trying to put what they’d learned overnight in some context.

They knew more than they had when they left Evelyn Channing’s apartment late last night, but she wasn’t sure what to make of it yet.Channing’s GPS data showed that, like the Hartleys, she’d never gone to any of the warehouse or mansion parties associated with the masks they wore.In fact, they hadn’t been able to find any information that suggested Channing knew or had ever interacted with the Hartleys.That was an unwanted revelation, but there was some good news.

Jamil had been able to use some filtering software to determine that there was a 97% chance that the person who made the 911 call alerting police to Channing’s murder was male.There was no sign of a strong accent.Unfortunately, he couldn’t nail down an age other than that it wasn’t a child and probably not someone very elderly, both of which Jessie already knew.

Soon thereafter, the surveillance footage from Channing’s apartment tower confirmed that fact.It showed someone entering the elevator at the parking garage level and riding up to her floor with her.They never spoke or interacted in any way, but he did get out on her floor.

The man was wearing a baseball cap pulled low to cover his face and had dark, bushy hair that Jessie suspected might be a wig.He appeared to have lighter skin, though the quality of the camera footage made it difficult to be certain.He wore gloves.He appeared to be taller than Evelyn, who was listed as five foot six, but because the angle of the camera was so high up, it was impossible to be sure if he was 5’10”, 6’2”, or somewhere in between.

Jessie poured coffee into three cups as she thought back on the one thing that had given her hope as she had watched the video.She recalled how her observation had escaped everyone else’s attention until she mentioned it around four in the morning.

“Since he got into the elevator when she did,” she had pointed out, “then there’s a good chance he was either lying in wait in the garage or possibly followed her from wherever she’d just been.”

That piece of information had sent Beth through a search of Channing’s movements last night.The woman’s GPS data showed that she’d been at a West Hollywood restaurant, but for less than twenty minutes.When Beth checked her texts, the reason became apparent.

“According to a message she sent a friend on the way home,” Beth had explained, “her date was real jerk, and she snuck out before they ordered dinner.”

“Let’s look into the date,” Susannah had instructed them,” maybe the guy didn’t appreciate being bailed on.”

That’s what the researchers had started doing when Jessie went to get the coffee.As she returned to the office with the cups, she sensed an improvement in the mood, even before a word was said.

“What did you find?”she asked quickly.

“How did you know we found anything?”Beth asked, surprised.

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