Deadly Exposure. Cara Putman

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СКАЧАТЬ around her aunt’s eyes was tightening, a reflection of the confusion that intruded. “Logan, I have to get her home as soon as I can. Can she rest in the Jeep until we’re done?”

      “Sure.” They quickly had Aunt Jayne tucked into the front passenger seat with Logan’s jacket tucked around her like a blanket. Tricia slipped in behind her and settled in for a chat. Dani heard the murmur of their voices as she focused on the Lied Center.

      “Thanks.” A smile touched her lips, and she sipped her coffee. “Grab that camera. We’ve got a lot to do before we call it a night.”

      Half an hour later, Dani watched people from the medical examiner’s office wheel a gurney out the front door of the theater. Hearing footsteps behind her, Dani turned to see Phil Baker, one of Channel 17’s evening anchors, walk up. “What are you doing here? The newscast ended a long time ago.”

      “I was on my way home. Just thought I’d swing by for a minute. See what happened.”

      Logan crossed his arms and scrutinized Phil. At his closed posture, Dani wondered what Phil had said in those few words to set Logan on edge.

      “Well, looks like you kids have it under control. See you tomorrow.” He turned on his heel and left them staring at his back. The gathered media followed his progress to his car as if controlled by one puppet master.

      “What on earth was that about?” Dani fumed. “Mr. High-and-Mighty thinks we can’t handle the story?”

      “The theater is not on his way home,” Logan said.

      THREE

      Investigator Caleb Jamison examined the scene at the plush box for any lingering threads of evidence the crime scene technicians missed. Soon the techs would cart the marked bags of evidence to headquarters for processing.

      He sighed in frustration. This murder had the marks of careful premeditation. Few clues were left behind. To have a great shot at clearing the case, he needed a suspect within the first twenty-four hours. With each successive hour, the chance of resolving the case plummeted.

      Caleb tucked his chin toward his chest and took a deep breath. Given a case of this visibility, the chief might assign a more experienced investigator in the morning. Any mistakes Caleb made would be blamed on his inexperience.

      “I think we’re done, Jamison. Here’s the lady’s purse.” Nate Winslow, one of the techs, held out the handbag for him to take. “You can take a quick look before we head to the lab.”

      Caleb put on a pair of gloves. He took the bag and ran his fingers over the outside of the purse before unzipping it. He looked inside and pulled the contents out one by one. “Nothing unusual. Two twenties, a tube of orange lipstick, credit card and ID.”

      He jotted down the information from her driver’s license in his notebook. Renee Thomas, Wainwright Drive, Lincoln.

      Caleb swept his fingers in the corners of the small handbag. Nothing lay hidden in its inner folds. After returning the contents to the purse, he handed it to the technician.

      “Let me know if anything turns up.”

      “Sure thing. See you back at the station.”

      He slid his notebook into his inside jacket pocket. Why would anyone risk killing someone in a very public place like this? The killer either felt very confident or acted in the passion of a moment.

      Whoever killed Ms. Thomas believed he wouldn’t be caught.

      Dani had noticed he didn’t have a ring. Her blush had kept him from admitting he’d noticed the same about her. Her beauty had deepened since that summer when she was sixteen. She wore her hair in a layered cut and looked good. Real good. But she had an edge that hadn’t existed then. A feistiness that dared him to get near. Someday he’d tell her how much he regretted the way he’d acted. She’d deserved better, but he’d been so ashamed, he couldn’t face her again. In the years since, no one had ever measured up to her.

      He shook his head and retrieved his notebook. Time to focus on the task. Interviews indicated that none of the theater-goers who’d contaminated the crime scene had seen or heard anything. The murderer could have been a ghost for all the clues retrieved from the scene. He hoped the crime scene technicians came up with something or the case would be nothing but dead ends.

      Heavy footsteps reverberated off the marble floor. Caleb turned to see Officers Jack Denimore and Todd Westmont stride toward him. The two were the Lincoln Police Department’s odd couple. Denimore always saw an unsolvable crime, while Westmont’s natural optimism was an unusual feature in an investigator. The police had let most of the public leave after the manager announced there would be no second act. Few had volunteered to talk, and they’d retained only those who had entered the box.

      “Jamison, I don’t think you’ll like what we learned.” Denimore’s haggard expression matched his message. The man looked older than his forty-two years. Caleb’s gut tightened.

      “He meant he knows you won’t like it.” Westmont grinned at Denimore, and then turned to Caleb. “Nobody saw nothing. Nobody heard nothing. The interviews were a bust.”

      Caleb rubbed his left temple, a vain attempt to slow the pounding that echoed his heartbeat. “Someone saw something. This murder did not happen in a vacuum. More than two thousand people attended the show.”

      “True, but it happened in a packed theater with everybody focused on the kitty cats onstage. Who’s gonna watch the boxes?”

      “And if anyone saw anything, they aren’t talking.” Denimore’s scowl deepened, which made his long face appear longer.

      Caleb knew Westmont had a point. Most in the audience were honest bystanders who had seen nothing. As much as he hated it that was the reality. Caleb promised himself his first solo case would not become a cold file stuffed in some dank storage room. Each represented a family that waited endlessly for closure. Police might not have found the hit-and-run driver who killed his father, but he’d found a career. The same pain would not linger for this victim’s family.

      “We know the basic information about her. Chase it down. Learn who she came to the theater with, and we’ll find a witness or her killer.” He hoped the trail led somewhere productive.

      “And maybe the tooth fairy will put a dollar under my pillow tonight.”

      “Come on, Denimore. You don’t want to lose more of your baby teeth. We’ll do this the old-fashioned way and wear out some shoe leather.” Westmont looked at Caleb and shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll chase down this lady at the station while we wait for forensics.”

      As the three officers strode out the main doors of the theater, Denimore slowed his long stride at the sight of media vans collected along the edge of the parking lot. Grabbing Caleb by the collar, he hissed, “There’s your star witness.”

      Caleb followed Denimore’s outstretched arm. Moonlight reflected off Dani’s blond hair as she leaned against a Jeep. She looked tired but gorgeous.

      Westmont pointed him toward the cameras. “Ready to make a statement?”

      With a tight shake of his head, Caleb scanned the assembled reporters, cameras and lights. He saw only piranhas who’d devour him alive. “Nobody СКАЧАТЬ