Page 38 of Justice for Francesca

Cruz nodded. “I’m sure he did. However, it could very well be one hundred percent true.”

Turning to Calder, she asked, “I’m guessing it’s too early for any results on Jessa?”

Calder shook his head. “Panama is running the tests. He was a little more creative in his suspension techniques this time. One difference this time, other than the severed head, is she has a multitude of welts. I’d bet my next paycheck her toxicology report will be similar to Mila’s, but I’ll know more in the morning.”

“All right.” Francesca took a deep breath, then exhaled. She began to pace the length of the conference table as she talked.“Let’s look at motives for the murder of Mila Sequeira and see if anything ties to Jessa. I know Tripoli is the only individual with a verified alibi for Mila. Do we have alibis verified for anyone for Jessa?”

Cruz and Calder glanced at each other, then back to Francesca. She pretended not to see it. “Nope. Everyone appears to have been at home in their beds,” Cruz replied.

“What about sexual assault?” she asked.

Calder flipped to the appropriate portion of his report. “Rape kit produced no DNA and was inconclusive for rape. She’d had recent sexual intercourse, but it’s difficult to tell if it was just rough sex or if it was an actual rape. Given the amount of drugs in her system, she could have been less capable of defending herself, and her attacker wouldn’t have had to be as violent.”

“No DNA. He used a condom?”

“Possible. I didn’t find anything to suggest yes or no. No fibers, no hairs, no skin cells. Just the lubricant Francesca noticed.”

“So he used a condom,” Cruz put forward.

“Or used an object,” Francesca offered.

“Or didn’t finish,” Calder reminded them.

“That too.” Cruz massaged his forehead. “The lubricant would likely have been necessary if an object was used, correct?”

“Most likely. If she were an unwilling participant in what was going on, her body wouldn’t naturally lubricate for her attacker. Keep in mind, lubricant is regularly used by couples who have active sex lives as an additive to their activities. It doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s trouble with performance. If her attacker used the lubricant and was especially careful, no DNA could be due to extreme or recent hygiene choices. Or the lubricant could have been necessary for him to even perform if rape were part of his torture.”

“So we can’t rule out anything yet,” Francesca said.

“Correct.”

Francesca went to the whiteboard and began to make lists. “Motive one—crime of passion. Someone lost their head after a sex game went wrong. Possible suspects for the crime of passion motive. Tripoli, Michael, or an outside guest we haven’t identified yet. Based on what we know—unlikely overall.”

Cruz rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I’m making an executive decision to cut Tripoli out of any further discussions as a suspect. We know he didn’t murder Mila, which pretty much guarantees he didn’t murder Jessa. Just because you’ve got some conflict of duty and personal connection to Tripoli doesn’t mean you have to go after him extra hard.”

“I do not have a conflict of duty and personal connection to Tripoli, mainly because there is no personal connection!” Francesca insisted.

A snort of derision came from Calder. “At the risk of inserting my foot up to my hip in my mouth, you’re nothing but a conflict of duty and personal connection to that man right now.”

“Frankie,” Cruz began, “it’s okay for you to have feelings for people. You’ve laid out so many land mines it’s impossible to know which ones we’re going to set off. Your trouble with calling people by their names because it breeds familiarity. Your refusal to have meals with people because it no longer keeps you separate. Your complete lack of social life with people who want you in their lives because, fuck woman, welikeyou. Your persistence at keeping yourself undercover so that you’re always someone else, rather than one of the Dirty McCabes, despite how you’re not even close. Just stop. The two of us are way too boneheaded and are going to keep battering at you until you give in.”

Inside, she felt like everything was shaking. Like that initial moment when an earthquake began, and there was no hint if itwas going to just be a tremor or bring on damage. This, however, felt like damage was coming.

“I…”

“Don’t sweat it, Frankie. We get it. But if you don’t start relaxing a bit, you’re going to either burn out or explode. Both options are bad for an agent. They’re even worse for someone we consider a friend.”

With a smile of encouragement, he slapped the table. “Back to work. People with motive. Tripoli is out and, therefore, is open season for a certain agent with more than a passing interest, even if it teeters on a line she doesn’t feel comfortable crossing.”

“You make me sound like a cougar hunting for a meal.”

Calder grinned. “You’re younger than him. Can’t be a cougar.”

She crumpled up a piece of paper from her legal pad and threw it at him.

Cruz continued, “Michael. He reads as honest in his interview that he was still in love with her, but he wouldn’t be the first man to kill someone he loved. As a precautionary measure, Angel Flores is on our interview list, but it looks like he was out of the state with his new girlfriend. Last, an outside threat we can’t discount until we clear all the wristbands. Techs are still working on the video, going through person by person and identifying against the scans to see where she got in and when.”

“But that only works if she came in the front door,” Calder pointed out. “No wristband, remember? She could have been let in another entrance.”

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