Page 9 of Just Right

"It would seem so," Cami said.

“I’m saying ‘he’ until we know more. We can’t rule out a strong female killer."

“Absolutely,” Welsh agreed.

She'd been so absorbed in the files that she'd barely noticed the drive from the airport to the aquarium’s entrance. Already, they were driving in. It was nearly nine in the morning, and she saw that this crime had created a minor commotion in the area.

Crime scene tape barricaded the entrance, seemingly drawing crowds of onlookers who were standing outside, looking shocked and curious.

Connor parked as close as he could, and they got out. Detective Welsh led the way. He passed the throng of people quickly, turning when he heard a shouted question.

“Any leads so far? The Milwaukee News wants to know!”

“We’re following up on all leads. The FBI is here on site. We’ll be holding a conference for the media as soon as there’s any updates,” Welsh replied calmly, but Cami could see the stress in his face as he turned and headed on.

"Morning. FBI has arrived," he greeted the police officer who was guarding the entrance.

"Go through, please. Everyone is still by the dolphin pool. Including the aquarium manager and the mayor," the police officer said, sounding less than enthusiastic about the political interference that was already descending.

The aquarium entrance looked bright and cheery, with vivid signage and paintings of fish and dolphins on the outer walls. It didn't seem the location for a crime scene, Cami thought, sensing how out of place this murder felt.Why here?she wondered. She could understand why a killer might have lain in wait on a hiking trail, but at an aquarium after hours?

Shoulder to shoulder with Officer Welsh, Connor strode through. Cami followed behind, along a paved path lined with plants, passing more walls with fishy murals. She hadn't expected a large crowd at the aquarium poolside, but as they entered the pool area, she saw that there was a lot of people at the scene.

There were first responders and a pathologist on site, she saw, guessing that retrieving the body from the deep pool must have been a difficult and specialized process. In fact, the body was still there. A stretcher, with water dripping below it, was near the edge of the pool. A pathologist was bending over it, clearly conducting an initial on-site examination.

A few men in business suits were arguing with a police officer. As they approached, the argument paused.

Everyone turned to look at Connor. Nobody looked thrilled to see him. Welsh hastily made the introductions.

"Morning. This is Special Agent Connor and IT expert Cami Lark from the FBI." Turning to the other group, he said, "This is Mayor Maree and his advisers. And this is Bill Sands, the aquarium manager, and his team who runs the aquarium for the city."

"We need to open up," Sands insisted, frowning at Connor. "This has already been a disaster for us. We've plowed a fortune into refurbishing it. I know how tragic this is, but you guys need to see things our way. We have a lot to do. We have to clean out the pool, change the water, recirculate it, and get things ready. And we can't do any of that if you keep putting a hold on our activities here."

"We've been doing our best, sir," Welsh said defensively. "This is part of a major, serial crime. We have a complete lack of witnesses on the scene." He sounded annoyed as if the aquarium should have been better staffed or better secured.

"We're not equipped to deal with surprise visitors after hours," the manager retorted defensively. "People can read notice boards, can't they?"

"Law enforcement is supposed to work for the city," Mayor Maree frowned. "Not to intentionally try to delay us."

"We'll get you open up again as soon as we're able to," Connor said briskly. "Now, let's take a look at what we have here."

He glanced up at the balcony overhanging the pool, and Cami guessed he was wondering if the victim might have been attacked there. Maybe she’d fled up there when the killer had approached her and fallen into the pool. In that case, how had he found her?

Quickly, she scrolled through Patti's social media to see if she'd mentioned where she was going to be.

And she had, Cami saw. She'd written,"En route to the aquarium next! Going to get some photo ops with the dolphins, ready for my Sea Theme make-up effects launches! Wait till you see them. Or ‘Sea’ them!"

So, she'd advertised her arrival here. If someone had been following her online, they would have known she'd be coming.

Had they waited here for her? Or had they followed her from elsewhere? Since she’d only posted this update late in the afternoon, this couldn’t have been planned that far ahead, unless she’d mentioned it earlier on in the week. But what if someone had been tracking her more recently, and had used this opportunity to move in for the kill?

In that case,Cami thought,it would be important to know where she was beforehand. Was there anything to be found?

She checked back in Patti's social media. And then, she walked quickly over to Connor, interrupting what looked like the beginning of a less-than-civil argument between law enforcement and aquarium and city management.

"I've seen that Patti had a meeting before she came here. It was about twenty miles away. She mentioned the aquarium visit online just before she attended the meeting. Do you think that someone from that meeting could have followed her here?" she asked.

CHAPTER FIVE

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