Detective Johnny Hon hung up his phone and thought about what he had just learned from Leo Farley. Anna Wakeling and her husband, Peter, had never told the police about Carter’s insistence, just hours before the murder, on stopping their mother from changing her will. In fact, this was the first time anyone other than Ivan Gray had mentioned the possibility that Virginia had such plans.
If he had gotten this tip under any other circumstance, Hon would probably have arranged to reinterview all the relevant witnesses immediately. But Leo Farley had given Hon his professional opinion that he should allow his daughter, Laurie, to continue investigating on her own for now. Because she didn’t work for the government, she didn’t have to comply with rules like Miranda warnings and was able to persuade witnesses to disclose information they might not hand over to the police. Hon had to admit that Laurie had made a break in the case after only two weeks, after it had been sitting cold for nearly three years.
On the other hand, Hon was worried about Carter’s state of mind. A man who was volatile enough to take a swing at the host of a national television program might seek retaliation—or worse—against any witnesses who could implicate him.
He tapped his fingers against his fiberboard-topped desk, weighing his options. According to Leo, Carter was at the offices of Wakeling Development as of earlier this afternoon. He Googled the address of the building in Long Island City and grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. He’d try to get a bead on Carter leaving the office and follow him from there, just in case.