Page 43 of The Perfect Revenge
“Do you know the name of his last client?”
“Kerry Ann Smith.We’re looking into her.”
“I’m guessing you haven’t found much?”
“That’s right.”He had a quizzical expression.“I feel like you’re holding out on me here, Gentry.Care to fill me in?”
“I might have something worthwhile, but I’m not sure yet.Do you mind if I check on something first?I don’t want to step on any toes.”
“If it helps solve this case, I’m open to whatever.What are you thinking?”
“I’d like to talk to the dispatcher from the limo company if I could.”
Prescott pulled out his phone, pushed a button, and put the call on speaker.After two rings, a female voice came on the line.
“LaLa Land Limousines.How can we help make your dreams come true?”
“Hi, this is Detective Prescott.We spoke earlier.I have a colleague here who needs to speak with you.”
“Okay,” the woman sounded apprehensive.
"Hi," Kat said."I understand that you were able to find Mr.Avila's location using a tracker on the vehicle?"
“That’s right.Our entire fleet is equipped with them.”
“Can you please tell me where he took his last client, Kerry Ann Smith?”
“Hold on a moment.”
Kat looked at Prescott as they waited.He was clearly intrigued.
“Okay, I have it,” the dispatcher said.“After leaving the Biltmore Hotel, where he picked her up, he mostly drove her around the Mid-Wilshire district.”
An electric charge shot through Kat’s body as she listened to the rest.
“They went along Museum Row and made a stop in Little Ethiopia.They also drove through some residential areas.”
“Are you able to determine the exact residential streets they were on?”Kat asked, though she was already certain of the answers.
“I can but that’ll take another minute.”
“Okay, we’ll wait,” Prescott said, then muted the call and turned to Kat.“What are you thinking?”
For a second, she wondered how forthcoming she should be.But at this point, she wasn’t just working on a hunch.And if she was right, others needed to know.
“I think one of the streets they drove down was Jessie Hunt’s.I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that Kerry Ann Smith is actually the hitwoman Ash Pierce.I’m sure you heard that she snuck back into the country a few months ago.I’ve been trying to track her movements all over California and the southwest since then.”
“I had heard about the possibility of Pierce returning, but was skeptical,” Prescott admitted.“Coming back to the U.S.once she got away seems like a wild choice.”
The dispatcher came back on the line and confirmed that the limo had indeed traveled through Jessie’s neighborhood and, on two occasions over an hour apart, drove down her street.After they hung up, Kat explained her reasoning to Prescott.
" I believe she returned, despite the risks, to get payback against Jessie, her sister, me, and anyone else Jessie cares about.And I'm guessing that she took a limo to Jessie's neighborhood because she wanted to scout out the area and see what kind of security she has.There's a lot, including patrols watching the house, along with surveillance cameras placed all over the street.If Pierce had driven herself, the officers on patrol might have taken note of her, even if she was in disguise.This way, she was hidden behind tinted glass.I think that she's getting closer to making a move."
“But why kill the limo driver?”
“Something must have happened.Maybe he got too curious or she accidentally let something slip in conversation.Whatever happened, she must have believed that she couldn’t afford to let him talk.So she took him out.”
"But now she's drawn even more attention to herself."Prescott pointed out.
