Page 44 of The Perfect Obsession
Ryan wrapped up.“With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to us?”
Krantz, now much more alert, nodded forcefully.
“I need a verbal response,” Ryan said.
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s start with—,” Ryant started to say, but Krantz cut him off.
“I didn’t kill Amanda,” he insisted.
“That’s confusing,” Ryan told him, “because you admitted to the first officers on the scene that it was your necktie beside her and that you were responsible for her death.How do you explain that?”
“I meant that I should have agreed to go to a hotel last night,” Krantz said.“But we had a long day with you folks, and we were exhausted.Plus, I had a big meeting this morning, and I didn’t want to pack a bag at the last minute or scramble to make sure I had everything I needed.Amanda seemed okay with that.I guess I just didn’t think that we—that she—was ever truly at risk.Clearly, I was deluding myself.”
“Clearly,” Ryan said.Jessie knew he only responded at all to keep Krantz talking.It worked.
“I came home from work early, and we were going to head straight to the Chateau Marmont.Amanda booked a bungalow.But when I arrived, I found…you saw what I found.My selfishness led to her death.That’s what I meant by being responsible for it.”
Assuming he was telling the truth, Jessie understood how he felt.The guilt over not insisting more aggressively that the couple immediately change locations was weighing on her.She made a mental note to be even more forceful with Riley Sinclair, the one Thornfield friend who was still working in a public place, and therefore exposed.
As to Krantz, while his story was compelling, it wasn’t enough to overcome the circumstantial evidence against him, as well as what some would consider a confession.Even before Ryan spoke, she knew what he would say.
“Your statement will be taken into consideration.But right now, you remain under arrest for Amanda’s murder, as well as the other victims.Once the doctors clear you to leave the hospital, you’ll be taken to Central Station for booking.Your arraignment will be tomorrow.”
Krantz began to cry.Jessie wasn’t sure whether it was because of what he’d just been told or because he was processing what had happened to his wife.Either way, the sobbing grew more intense until he was wailing loudly and yanking at his restraints.
The nurse appeared out of nowhere and moved over to his IV to make an adjustment.After about fifteen seconds, Krantz became more subdued.The crying turned to whimpering, and his eyes fluttered open and shut.
Jessie could see that Ryan was annoyed that the nurse had acted without consulting them.But she didn’t mind.The questions she still had couldn’t be answered by Alexander Krantz.She wasn’t sure they could be answered at all, but she intended to find out.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
Jessie was almost to the Los Angeles Central Library when she got the call.
She pulled over just before she was about to enter the parking garage, worried that she’d lose the connection.She had decided that she was going to personally make Riley Sinclair, the one remaining unsecured Thornfield friend, fully aware of the danger she was in.But first, she hoped the research would have good news for her.
“What have you got?”she asked as she eased into a parking spot a block from the library.
“I guess this is good or bad, depending on whether you think Krantz is our guy,” Jamil said.“You wanted me to check his financial information to see if there were any suspicious payments.”
“Right,” Jessie confirmed.She wanted to know if the man might have paid someone else to kill Jennifer Nash, the one murder for which he had an ironclad alibi.
“I’m afraid that I haven’t been able to find anything in his financials that supports the theory that he put out a hit on Ms.Nash.No unusual transfers.No unexplained withdrawals.I will concede that, since the man is an experienced investment banker, he might have used a surreptitious maneuver beyond my ability to detect.But at least so far, there’s nothing that jumps out.”
That wouldn’t make the powers-that-be very happy.One local station had already led its afternoon news with the story.According to them, “a prominent local investment banker named Alexander Krantz has been arrested for an alleged killing spree that included four women, most recently his own wife.”
Jessie suspected that one of the first officers on the scene had leaked the story because it included details about the silk tie and Krantz’s front yard meltdown.When she had time, she intended to have a not-so-friendly chat with Sergeant Frank about keeping his people in line.She respected the guy, but the work of his men on this case had been full of sloppy assumptions.
The tidbit about the tie, in particular, was the sort of thing that should have been kept under wraps.Not only could it inflame a potential jury, but if Krantz wasn’t their guy, the killer now had valuable information about the state of the investigation.
Of course, none of that mattered to Captain Parker or Chief Decker.Ryan had informed Jessie that Parker was over the moon about the arrest.And apparently, Decker was anxious to tell his friend, Caroline Sheffield’s aunt, that they definitely had her murderer in custody.He was only holding off at Ryan’s urging.But Jessie knew that wouldn’t last much longer.
“Okay,” Jessie said.“Keep on the financials.If we’re going to credibly nail this guy, we need to explain away his alibi for Jennifer Nash’s death.If we can’t, then this whole thing stalls out.I’m about to head into the library.Who’s my LAPD liaison?”
Ryan had agreed to let Jessie go to the library without him, but not alone.If the killer did intend to make Riley Sinclair their next target, that meant Jessie was at risk, too, and he wanted her to have backup.She acknowledged that his concern was valid, so she agreed to it without argument.
“Officer Devery is actually in the area,” Beth said.“He was dealing with a hit and run.When he heard you needed backup, he jumped at the chance to help.He said he’d meet you in the main lobby of the library.”
