Page 63 of Tough as Steele

“I’m finished,” Peyton said. “I don’t see any of the men I talked to as viable suspects. Sounds like Mimi’s hard negotiations resulted in losses to their companies, but they chalk it up as doing business with Mimi. No mention of Gaskin.”

“Same with me,” Mackenzie said. “But being a weekend, I still have one more person to track down.”

“And you each took one of the men we assigned to Bristol?” Londyn asked.

The women nodded.

Londyn chomped a bite of her bread and moved to the nearby whiteboard. “What’s the name of the one we have left to talk to?”

Mackenzie shared the name, and Londyn circled it then put a checkmark next to the other names.

“Let me guess.” Ryleigh held a forked carrot midair. “I’m up next.”

Londyn nodded and reached over to stab a bite of beef with her fork.

Ryleigh chewed her carrot and swallowed. “As you know, Wendy Powell is really Jessica Oates. The real Wendy Powell died in a knife fight shortly after being released from prison two years ago.”

“So Jessica thought she could safely use the name,” Peyton said. “But she wasn’t smart enough to figure out someone might find Wendy’s rap sheet.”

“I still can’t figure how a smart businesswoman like Mimi would hire her,” Nate said. “Jessica had to have snowed Mimi somehow.”

“Which is odd, because Wendy wasn’t all that pleasant to any of us,” Londyn said. “She probably planned to disappear as soon as possible and didn’t care if she was nice to us or even aroused our suspicions.”

“Could be,” Ryleigh said. “I located a Facebook account, and she mentions dating, but not the guy’s name. There are pictures of him from behind but that’s all. Still, I can tell he doesn’t fit Gaskin’s profile. This guy had blond hair and is big. Muscular. Tall.”

“Her neighbor gave a similar description,” Nate said, but didn’t add Dolly’s more vivid description.

“Jessica only has three friends listed. They haven’t commented on any of Jessica’s photos or posts.” Ryleigh lifted her water glass. “I’ll email the photos to everyone along with the friends’ names.”

“Do you have addresses for these friends?” Nate asked.

“Two of them reside at Coffee Creek,” Ryleigh said, referencing the only woman’s correctional facility in the state of Oregon. “They’ve been locked up for the past ten years. Means no activity on their accounts since they went away, but I have a local address for the third friend, a Helen Russell.”

“I’ll go talk to Helen after Gaskin’s autopsy,” Nate said. “We could get lucky and find Jessica holed up there.”

“Now as to the Benjamin in the letter,” Ryleigh said. “No one by that name has come up in my searches, but I left the algorithms running and will let you know if anything pops up.”

Londyn listed the item on the board then looked at Ryleigh. “Would you be able to get us real-time access to Wigg’s movements using Hotwatch?”

Ryleigh stared at Londyn. “You know how controversial Hotwatch is. Violating fourth amendment rights and all.”

“Yes, but if ever there was a time to bypass someone’s rights, it’s when a woman has been kidnapped and her life is in danger.”

Ryleigh bit down on her lip. “I won’t do it without my supervisor’s approval.”

“That’s fine,” Nate said. “We’re running out of time and need help even if it means forming an official task force for you or another agent to participate if needed. But every second we delay could cost Mimi her life.”

“I’ll call him the minute the meeting breaks up,” Ryleigh said.

“Thank you,” Nate said. “What did you find on Charles?”

“Plenty.” Ryleigh firmed her shoulders. “He’s in serious debt and defaulting on his payments. He clearly needs the cash.”

“But why?” Nate asked. “I overheard Mimi and Clarice talking about the monthly stipend Clarice gets. It’s part of her future inheritance and very generous. Plus, I’m sure he gets paid to work for the Vandervoort corporation.”

Ryleigh leaned back. “He has a gambling problem. Lost large sums of money and owes big bucks to some very unsavory characters. He’s still racking up debts.”

Nate’s stomach knotted. “I wonder if Clarice knows about that.”

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