Waking up to the smell of coffee and bacon was something I could easily get used to. I climbed out of bed and made my way to the kitchen, where Hanna, already dressed and ready for work, was cooking up a storm. I chuckled at the sight of her wearing an apron cinched tightly around her small waist.
“Good thing I bought that apron for your birthday. I’d hate to see bacon splatters on your work clothes.”
She laughed as she poured coffee and kissed me on the cheek. “That was the most romantic gift you’ve ever given me.”
“Really?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, dummy, I’m kidding. Heck, I could wear a burlap bag to work and nobody would notice bacon grease on it since I wear a lab coat all day.”
I cocked my head. “Guess you have a point there. That bacon smells delicious, though.”
“Yeah? It’ll be ready in a few minutes. Scrambled or fried eggs?”
“Scrambled sounds good. Thanks, babe.”
After breakfast and a shower, I was behind the wheel of my truck by 7:40 with hopes that our second shift crew had found something substantial during the night. They had plenty of names to go through, and the worst of the worst would be talked to first. They also had video footage from the parking garage. That alone could contain a gold mine of clues. I’d hoped that the list of names from Elizabeth Guthrie was in my in-box, and Lutz said he would request warrants for financial records, life insurance policies, and the wills for both men. As I thought about our growing to-do list, I saw a busy day taking shape. The second I planted my ass in my chair, I’d have to write down everything we needed to address that day. If I didn’t, something important might be overlooked.
I needed to ask Don about the projectiles too. We were looking for either one killer on a murderous spree or two killers who happened to enjoy shooting people square in the forehead while they probably pleaded for their lives.
After parking in our lot, I caught up with Henry, who was almost to the door.
“Hey, Johnson, wait up.”
Henry turned and waved. “Hear anything from Lutz overnight?”
“Nah, he insisted I get some sleep after throwing out subtle threats that we’d have a busy day today.”
“He’s probably right.”
We entered the bullpen together, and I logged in to my email account before grabbing a cup of coffee. A message had come in from Elizabeth Guthrie along with the list of those neighbors that she’d said wouldn’t be in Brice’s phone contact list. She also included several names from her own phone. She’d sent seven names and mentioned that she doubted any of them were dangerous people and none had a grudge against Brice. I got up, filled my cup again, and walked to Lutz’s office. We still had twenty minutes before roll call started.
Lutz waved me in before I had a chance to knock, and I noticed the blanket and pillow on the couch.
“Don’t tell me you slept here last night.”
He grumbled. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
I frowned at his wrinkled clothes. “That’s becoming a habit. The least you could do is keep a few clean shirts here.”
He grumbled again.
“Get up on the wrong side of the couch?”
“You can say that.”
“I just did. What gives?”
“We’re in a holding pattern with the warrants.”
Then it was my turn to grumble. I dropped down on a guest chair and asked why.
“Judge Peters is out of town, so my requests got dropped in Tinsdale’s lap.”
“Shit. He takes his good sweet time with everything.”
“Exactly. You’ll have to rely on the names that Tammy gave you for people who might have wanted Dwayne dead. It’s something to start with until we get those warrants.”
“So until we have the chance to look at financial records and life insurance policies, the spouses—usually the ones we have to clear first—get a temporary pass.”
Lutz patted his flyaway hair.
I jerked my chin. “You might want to smooth out that mess with a comb and water.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He tipped his wrist. “I have to freshen up, so beat it. We’ll discuss everything after roll call.”
I picked up my cup and headed to the bullpen. Later, I would contact Tammy. There was a chance she’d agree to let us look at Dwayne’s bank account information without a warrant. So far, she’d been forthcoming and cooperative. I wasn’t so sure about Elizabeth Guthrie. She was older, wiser, and more educated. She likely led a more private life, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she and Brice kept an attorney on retainer.
Minutes later, Lutz came in and led roll call and the updates. We were told to work together, divide the names to contact, and even cross-reference them to see if any on Tammy’s list matched ones that Elizabeth had sent or that were on Brice’s phone.
I scratched out a note to myself to speak with Todd about the voicemail and texts that had been deleted from Dwayne’s phone to see if he’d found anything suspect. We also needed to know if anything of interest was discovered on Brice’s phone.
After roll call, Lutz and the six of us gathered in the conference room. He sat at the head of the table and doled out duties for the day.
“Jesse, I want you and Frank to follow up with Todd and the trail from the phones. See if there’s any connection between the men from their contacts. After that, and if we haven’t heard back about the warrants, check on Tammy and ask if she’ll allow us to take a look at their financial records.” He pointed at me. “You said she was upfront about Dwayne’s life insurance policy, right?”
“Yep. She said he had a small one through the high school he worked at.”
Lutz rubbed his brow. “Everyone, remember that no matter how innocent somebody may seem, and that includes grieving wives, we follow the clues and the facts, not what they tell us.”
I chuckled. “I wouldn’t go so far as to call Tammy a grieving wife.”
“Well, you know what I mean.”
“Copy that, Boss, yet I’m thinking Elizabeth Guthrie may insist on that warrant.”
“And she has that right. I’ll keep working on the judge until we get them.” Lutz turned to Henry, Shawn, Tony, and Kip. “I want the rest of you to narrow down the names, starting with the people who have police records, and then hit the streets.”
Frank asked if Don had determined whether the slugs came from the same gun.
“I don’t have that information yet, and I don’t have the forensic reports as far as prints either. I’ll give the guys a few hours and then check in with them again.” Lutz pushed back his chair. “Keep me posted on everything.”
We left the conference room with our assigned tasks for the day.
“Guess I can cross talking to Don and Forensics off our list. Sounds like Lutz will take that off our hands. We need Tammy back here and she has to ID Dwayne’s remains, anyway. How about you and I pick her up instead of having an officer get her? She can take her car back to the shelter, and I can ask the administrator there if Coby can stay with Tammy for the time being.”
“Sounds like a plan, and let’s catch up with Todd on our way out to see if he has anything new on the phones.”