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But here, Cami saw, this lead was going nowhere. Each set of data was compartmentalized and secured, and it hadn't been logged into or accessed since it was put on file by anyone except Sandra herself. Individual events had been accessed by one or two different people in the past, but not the ones where either of the victims had attended. Older records had been accessed by the software developer, presumably for checking, and by a couple of other people, but not in the past few weeks, and Rosalind had only gone to the venue in the past few weeks.

Perhaps the software was working so well in real time that nobody had needed to access the information subsequently.

That meant Sandra was the only suspect in this company, and Connor was even now checking Sandra's alibi across the corridor. She was sure Connor would do a very thorough check since the IT manager had been so unwilling to give out the information.

What else could Cami see while she was here?

She could see who this software belonged to, and who'd originally written it. Knowing the originator might help them. Quickly going into that folder, Cami took a look.

The software was written by a company called Wave Management, located within Boston.

Cami was impressed by them. They'd written a damned good program here, and she was confident that it worked as advertised. So, perhaps they had sold the same program to other people within the Boston area, and this would be another way of trying to catch this killer.

In fact, the perpetrator could even be linked to Wave Management. It was worth following up on that too. Especially since she saw, in the terms and conditions, that since it was still in the third and final testing phase, all faces captured on camera had to be shared with the originating company, anonymously, so that they could continue to perfect the coding.

Now that was very interesting. In fact, Cami realized, it was a breakthrough.

Wave Management was the company that would have the biggest pool of faces in their own archives because their Ts and Cs in this development stage allowed them to extract the faces from all their clients’ records to perfect their coding and comparisons.

So, Wave Management was now a place of interest.

She captured their details and then quickly took the USB out of the machine and made sure all her tracks were covered.

On shaking legs, she got up, realizing she was only just in time, because Connor's voice was getting louder, and she knew this was a warning to her that the meeting was over, and he was approaching the door. If her time hadn't been up earlier, it was up now.

Cami had to act quickly as she slipped out of the office and back down the corridor, her heart beating a million miles an hour.

She waited by the stairs, pretending to be sending a message on her phone, and then started walking back in the direction of the office just as the door opened.

Connor powered out, looking stressed. Cami wasn't prepared for the bombshell he unleashed.

"There's just been another murder called in," he muttered to her. "We need to get to Crown Hill, near the town center, fast."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sammi Jackson pulled into her home street in Crown Hill, accelerating to over the limit with a smile. She saw the guy who lived on the corner glower at her sleek, silver Audi as it sped past, putting a protective hand on his dog’s collar and calling his son inside. She didn't care. He was probably just jealous of her, although he claimed it was because of all the kids and animals in the area that she should slow down.

She had good wheels, and she was going to flaunt them because they were hers.

Her mother had always said she should get a qualification and a degree, but Sammi hadn't been motivated to go that way in life. She'd wanted to use her looks, which her mother seemed to think should be kept under wraps as if they were something to be ashamed of. How ridiculous was that? Looks were there to be used.

She had started out by making a name for herself as a singer, using her voice to get a toe hold in the industry, a step onto the first rung of the fame she craved. However, the modeling and PR jobs that were flooding in were really more about her dark, sultry appearance, her huge, blue eyes, and her slender yet shapely build. The media articles she'd read were lauding her looks and her beauty. It always gave her a thrill of pleasure to read them.

"Well, I'm blessed that way," she said with satisfaction. "I've always been a go-getter. I was the most popular girl at school, and it has been plain sailing since."

She brushed aside the real truth which was that she'd been a terrible bully at school. However, she told herself that what she'd been doing was asserting herself. If people were weak and cowardly and couldn't stand up to her, they deserved what they got.

That had been her attitude ever since. She knew she'd trod on a lot of toes in her quest for fame, but she didn't care. And her parents must keep out of her sleek, dark hair and stop trying to micromanage her life and her thoughts.

At that moment, her phone rang.

It was her mother, and Sammi rolled her eyes. Should she even pick up?

She guessed she could, quickly. After all, she was almost home.

"Hey, Sammi," her mom said, her soft, hesitant voice already causing a flash of irritation in Sammi's mind.

"Hey, Mom," she said. "Listen, you need to make it quick. I'm just getting home."

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