Page 22 of The Perfect Obsession
“We’d prefer not to get into specifics until we talk to him,” Ryan told her.“Just let him know that the LAPD needs to speak with him right away.”
She did exactly that, passing along the word, though they couldn’t hear his response.
“He’ll be right up,” she said, hanging up the line.
True to his word, Alexander Krantz appeared less than thirty seconds later.He looked much like the photo on the firm’s website.He still had the same dirty-blond hair from his senior year of high school, though, a decade later, it was styled much more conservatively.Tall and broad-shouldered with tan skin and white teeth, he looked like he could have gone into modeling instead of banking.
“I’m Alex Krantz,” he said with a wide but nervous smile.“What can I do for you?”
“I’m Detective Hernandez, and this is my partner, Ms.Hunt,” Ryan told him.“Is there somewhere more private that we can speak?”
“Sure,” he said, looking over at the receptionist.“Jenna, is conference room B available right now?”
“Yes, Mr.Krantz,” she said without missing a beat.
“Follow me,” he said, leading them down the hall.
Jessie was amazed at how casual Krantz seemed.Normally, when the police showed up at a person’s place of business, they got visibly tense.But other than that anxious smile he’d flashed, Krantz gave no indication that he was freaked out.Maybe that was because he’d never had much reason to be up to this point in his life.
Jamil had provided them with a quick-and-dirty dossier on the guy, which they’d reviewed after parking outside the building.Other than a few traffic citations, he had no record of any kind.He’d been married to his wife, Amanda, for four years, and on the surface at least, appeared to be a pillar of the community.
They reached a small soundproofed conference room and went in.Krantz closed the door and sat at the circular table.Once Ryan and Jessie took their seats, the man finally betrayed a bit of anxiety.
“Sonowcan you tell me what this is about?”His voice was tight.“Is my wife all right?”
Jessie looked at Ryan.They had already discussed how they wanted to approach this conversation.Now they put the plan into action.
“Your wife is fine,” Ryan told him.“This isn’t about her.Do you know either Caroline Sheffield or Diana Hartwell?”
Krantz nodded, the smile returning.“Now those names are some blasts from the past.Not only do I know them, but I dated both of them way back in high school.Why?”
“Unfortunately, both of them were recently murdered,” Ryan said flatly.
The bluntness was intentional.Their discussed goal was to just drop the information bomb and see how Krantz reacted.Of course, if he wasn’t involved in their deaths, this was a borderline cruel way to inform him about them.But if hewasresponsible, the hope was that being confronted like this might reveal something.
Jessie watched Krantz closely as he processed what he’d just heard.The man’s smile faded, and his brow crinkled, like he was struggling through a challenging math equation.
“Wait a second,” he said, holding up his palms as if asking them to stop.“Is this real?”
“I’m afraid so,” Jessie said, speaking for the first time.“When’s the last time you saw them?”
They intended to keep him off kilter by throwing alternating questions at him, and it was her turn.
“Hold on,” he said, shaking his head.“Are you really telling me that Caroline and Diana are dead?That they were killed?Are you sure this isn’t some kind of mistake?”
As he asked that last question, his voice cracked a little bit.Jessie couldn’t tell if it was due to tension or anguish.Either way, he was projecting an air of shock.The issue was whether it was real or manufactured.
“There’s no mistake, Mr.Krantz,” Ryan assured him.“That’s why we’re here.We have some questions for you.”
The man shook his head again, as if he still couldn’t accept what they were saying.
“Okay, but can you give me a minute to deal with this?”he asked.“It’s a lot.I’m going to get some water if that’s okay.”
“I’ll get it for you,” Ryan said, standing up and grabbing a bottle from the credenza at the back of the room.
In the meantime, Krantz put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands, rubbing his fingers through his hair.
“How did this happen?Was there a shooting or something?”
