Page 35 of Justice for Francesca

“Nope.”

“You suck all the joy out of things, don’t you?”

“We have two gruesome murders of women who didn’t deserve what happened to them. I see very little to be joyful about.”

Calder breezed into the room and threw himself into the chair next to Cruz. “Even if it involves a tall, blond, and dreamy man being worried you didn’t show up to work in his office today? I felt like he was going to growl at us at one point for not producing you like a rabbit out of a hat.”

Cruz joined in the fun. “I was more concerned he was going to pass me a note with her name on it that read ‘Do you like me?’ with a box to check ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’”

Francesca schooled her face into what she hoped was an expressionless mask. However, that did not prevent her heart rate from doubling at the confirmation that they had lunch with Tripoli. Or that he’d shown a possessive side. She might not be able to pursue anything, but she wasn’t immune enough to not enjoy being wanted.

Something must have registered to Calder that he might have gone too far with his teasing. “Relax, Frankie. We’re just giving you a hard time.” He turned his head to Cruz. “That man does have it bad though. I can tell. He’s acting like all of our friends, and they’re all besotted. Even those frickin’ firefighters.”

She felt the fear ebb slightly. “And the two of you aren’t?”

Calder grinned. “You got me.”

Cruz’s smile was just as big. “Call him, Frankie. He was worried when you didn’t show up today.”

“There’s no need to call him. I’m sure I’ll run into him again during the investigation. We’re not any closer than we were yesterday.”

One of the men sighed. She wasn’t sure which one, but it didn’t really matter in the long run. “I did find out more about his relationship with Mila. Should I share it with you?” Cruz asked.

She refused to take the bait. No, she did not want to know about his ex-girlfriend. Tripoli was always honest, so she believed him when he said they hadn’t slept together, but the thought of him spending time with that woman made her stomach roll just as much as if he had. The green-eyed monster was a bitch. “Unless it explains how she got into that party Saturday night without being on the invite list, it has nothing to do with what I’m working on right now.”

Cruz frowned and leaned forward. “Well, we know she wasn’t on the list.”

“Nope. That’s what I’ve been doing since getting out of the meeting with Ortiz. I have a list of all six hundred guests who were invited. I verified that five hundred and ninety-eight of them checked in. Two did not. However, there were the proper number of ticket scans. Triumph walked me through the scanning process yesterday. The employee checks the ID against the person and then the ticket. Like an airline ticket, the name has to appear exactly the same or you don’t get in. If the guest matches the ID and the ticket, the ticket gets scanned. The guest doesn’t get their wristband until the scanner reads ‘Accepted.’ Their wristband is also then scanned to activate their entry and scanned again when they leave, which helps the employees clear the property before they lock up at the end of the night. I’ve been trying to cross-reference what name she got in under.”

“Were all the wristbands scanned as outgoing?” Cruz asked.

“There was a little more slack with that. About fifteen got missed, which is why the intensive walk-through at the end of the night. I called Triumph, and he said that was pretty normal for a large group night. People leaving en masse, occasionally, people in the middle of a large exiting group get missed. I’ve eliminated four hundred and fifty-three people so far.”

“Why not start with the fifteen missed scans? Seems that would be the most logical place for her to have been a part of.”

“I have the names here to cross-reference, but since no one knows the people by name, we couldn’t do a visual check. Otherwise, I would have had Triumph start there.”

A thought seemed to strike Calder. “Did Mila have an employee card to swipe for entry and exit?”

Consulting her paperwork, it took Francesca a moment to find the ID number assigned to her. “Yes.” She then went back to the binder she’d been looking in, flipped to the employee section, and scanned the swipe reports from the night of the murder. “Wasn’t used Saturday night or Sunday morning.”

Calder flipped open his folder and paged through the photographs from the autopsy. “Do either of you remember the body having a wristband on it?”

“I don’t remember seeing one,” Francesca admitted.

“Me either,” Cruz replied.

After about two dozen photos were turned over, he extracted one and threw it into the center of the table, then paged through to a mirror image and threw that one to the center as well. Immediately, he hit the speed dial on his phone. “Hey, Panama. Do you have the evidence bags from Mila Sequeira handy? I’m looking for a wristband, like one you’d get at a nightclub.” He pulled his mouth from the speaker. “Notice what the bodydoesn’thave?”

Cruz picked up one photo, raised his eyebrows, and turned it to Francesca’s eyes. Francesca picked up the other, her raised eyebrow matching his, and turned it to face Cruz. The photos Calder had pulled were of the forearms of Mila Sequeira. No wristband on either hand. Both began looking through photos from the crime scene.

“Thanks, Panama.” Calder clicked off the call. “No wristband found. Suggestive. Either she got in somehow without one, or the killer took it with him.”

Cruz asked, “Who was scanning at the door that night?”

Francesca skimmed the duty roster. “Damaris, the event planner, was at the door initially. She did all of the scans except for around fifteen minutes starting at eight thirty-four when Michael Murphy did all of the scans until eight fifty, then Damaris took back over. Tilly did scans from ten forty-seven until eleven when the last guest group was admitted.”

“Damaris’ scheduled breaks?” Calder guessed.

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