Jess and Mike were killing time, sitting in the courthouse cafeteria. They’d come to watch Aidan Callahan plead guilty to murder, but there had been an unexpected delay. They’d been told it could be an hour or two wait while a new lawyer was brought in to represent Callahan at the plea hearing. But it had already been over three hours, and when Jess checked in with the court clerk, he didn’t have any new information.
Jess sipped her coffee and grimaced at the burnt taste of it. Mike scrolled through his phone, an herbal tea in front of him. She’d discovered he was a health nut. No surprise there.
“Hey,” she said. “Do you think he really did it?”
He looked up at her. “Callahan? Of course.”
“What about the Russians? They had a serious beef with Jason Stark, and they’re known killers. Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence?”
Mike shrugged. “I agree that’s strange. But truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.”
“What about Callahan’s claim that he was drugged? The test results showed Ambien in his blood.”
“You think the Russians drugged him?”
“The Russians? No. Somebody else. Caroline, maybe.”
“Or, Callahan took Ambien on his own that night. That’s more likely.”
“It was a lot. Who takes that much Ambien?”
“I don’t know anything about Ambien dosage. I don’t think you do, either. Anyways, he’s pleading. Nobody pleads guilty if they’re innocent.”
“That’s not true. They do if they think they won’t be able to convince a jury, and the deal’s sweet enough.”
“If Callahan can’t convince a jury, it’s because he’s guilty. And his deal isn’t even that sweet. At this rate, we’ll never find Caroline Stark. She’s probably sitting on a beach with an umbrella drink in her hand, beyond the reach of the law. Without her to testify against, Callahan does a minimum of twenty-five. Say twenty with good behavior. Not exactly a sweet deal.”
“I know. That troubles me. There’s no appeal under his plea deal. What if he’s innocent?”
Mike snorted.
“You thought Caroline Stark was innocent. Now you think Callahan is. I hate to break it to you, but if you want to be a cop, you need to start believing the defendants are guilty.”
He went back to his phone.
“Okay, then,” she said. “What about Caroline?”
He looked up. “What about her?”
“Why can’t we locate her? We’ve been monitoring her phone. Her sister’s phone. Her daughter’s phone. Surveilling locations where we think she might turn up. It’s been over a week with no trace. Where is she?”
“I told you what I think. She left the country.”
“We checked. Customs and Border Patrol has no record of that.”
“Maybe she used false documents. A false name.”
“I don’t buy it. If she’d made a big move, we would know. She went to ground. We need to search harder,” Jess said.
“Okay. What do you suggest that we haven’t already tried?”
“Follow her sister. We have every reason to believe they’re in contact.”
“Actually, their phones don’t show any contact, Jess. Plus, I surveilled Lynn on two separate occasions. You read the reports. She went to the gym, the nail salon, the grocery store, and her husband’s trucking company.”
“Why her husband’s trucking company?”
“I assume because her husband works there.”
He went back to his phone again. Mike lacked imagination, in Jess’s view. Something wasn’t sitting right about this case, and she was running out of time to solve it. Mike didn’t seem that interested in solving it, or maybe he just didn’t feel the same nagging doubts. Callahan would plead guilty by the end of the day. Once that happened, the pressure to close the file and move on would only grow. They could say they’d solved it. The killer was in jail. And yes, maybe a coconspirator got away, but she was female. The public wouldn’t view her as a serious threat. They could keep the warrant for Caroline’s arrest open, but they’d be reassigned to other duties. Maybe one day, years from now, Caroline would get pulled over for speeding, and Jess would get a phone call. Or maybe not. Maybe Callahan would take the fall alone.
Mike would be satisfied with that outcome. Jess wouldn’t.
She sighed, stood up, and went to the bathroom. When she came back, Mike was staring openmouthed at his phone.
“What is it?” Jess said.
“I think you might get your wish.”
“What wish is that?”
“Caroline Stark.”
“You have a lead?”
“I got a text from the claims adjuster at the life insurance company. We’ve been in touch all along. If Jason’s death was foul play, they’re not responsible for paying out the five mil, so she’s been helping me. She just texted that Caroline filed a claim.”
“When?”
“Five minutes ago. She filed electronically. I have to figure out how to trace that filing to a location. Do you staties have a computer forensics expert I could borrow?”
Jess thought about Aidan Callahan’s plea. It would happen well before they could trace the claim, and it would be final.
“We can’t wait to trace her electronically,” Jess said. “By the time we get her location, she’ll be gone. Call your insurance company contact. Tell her she needs to bring Caroline in.”
“Bring her in where? How?”
“To her office. We’ll be waiting to lock her up on the outstanding warrant. Tell her to make up some excuse. There’s something wrong with the form Caroline filed. Or she has to sign it in person. Whatever the lady can think of.”
“You think Caroline will fall for it?” Mike asked.
“With five million dollars at stake? Hell, yeah, she will.”