Page 15 of Just Now

“Yes, I understand.” He paused, as if gathering himself. “I’m ready to answer the questions now.”

“Tell me about your interaction with Kate Minnett,” Connor said.

Watching this play out, Cami was starting to wonder if this was their suspect. He’d appeared so genuinely shocked to hear about the deaths. He could be an excellent liar, but she wasn’t sure he was that good at it.

“I counseled Kate a while back. She’s a very busy lawyer and wanted to make healthier food choices. I helped her in that regard,” he said, now with a hint of self-satisfaction in his voice. “Gave her meal plans and menu ideas. She was very happy. We were in touch a few weeks ago for a follow-up.”

“And Gracie Foster?”

“That name’s not familiar,” he said. “I haven’t seen her as a client. But I do presentations to small businesses, helping them make better food choices for slimness and health. I’ve done a few of those in the last month or two. She could have attended that, and if so I would have called her to follow up, and she might have returned the call if she was busy. Does she work in the hair and beauty industry? I’ve done a few presentations to small businesses in hairdressing and aesthetics in the last few months.”

Cami didn’t think this was a lie. It sounded plausible. And Gracie was a beautician.

“Your movements last night?” Connor asked. “In particular, from around five to seven p.m.”

Now Maxwell was cooperating in a surprisingly willing way. The news of the murders seemed to have jolted him severely.

“Yesterday, I was at the Health Symposium in town, gaining further knowledge in a nutrition class. I was in class the whole afternoon, and I signed out at six p.m. and picked up my daughter from an art class on the way home. She’s sixteen, and she stays with me for her vacations,” he said anxiously.

“And then?”

“Then we drove home, via a pizza restaurant. Got home at about nine p.m.”

That wasn’t a healthy food choice, Cami thought, noting the incongruity between what Maxwell practiced and what he preached.

“Your street has cameras? Your house?”

“Yes, it does.” Maxwell nodded energetically.

“I need to see that footage.”

“I’ll arrange it for you.”

“Now!” Connor’s tone brooked no argument.

While Maxwell got on the phone, Connor’s phone also rang and he began speaking in low, rapid tones.

By the time he’d finished his conversation, Maxwell had produced the confirmation of him leaving the course, as well as the pizza receipt and the footage which showed his car arriving home just after nine p.m. It drove into the garage and didn’t leave again until the following morning. Cami checked the time stamps carefully as the footage scrolled past.

“Okay,” Connor said. “You’re cleared. Of this.”

He stared dubiously at Maxwell and Cami knew he didn’t fully believe the “fresh start” story, but didn’t have time to pursue it further, with the pressure of this case taking priority.

As he walked out, he said to Cami, “That was the pathologist calling. He’s done the postmortem on Kate Minnett. He needs to see us urgently, because he’s got findings that may shed light on how and where the victims were held.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Bodies held secrets, and Cami knew they needed to know what those were.

But immediately after Connor said the word “postmortem,” her stomach started churning. This was her least favorite part of the cases she was involved in. She always felt a deep sense of relief when she didn’t have to attend one. They really traumatized her, even though she knew that Connor wouldn’t force her to go to one unnecessarily.

It was because of Jenna, and the unknowns surrounding her sister. Seeing a body lying on that steel table brought all her fears to the surface. It forced her to confront the terrible truth that Jenna might be dead.

Cami remembered the argument she’d had with Connor the first time they’d gone to the pathology lab, and the way she’d shut down.

Now, she felt determined that she was going to see this damned thing through, and she was not going to show how much it disturbed her. And furthermore, she promised herself, she was going to find a clue. She was going to prove herself and add value, even if she couldn’t do it through her hacking skills in that environment.

“Let’s go, then,” she said, through gritted teeth.

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