I stood off to the side as Lutz conducted the press conference on the steps of our police station. I’d printed out a sheet of paper with the bullet points, and Lutz held it before him and went through the profile we’d put together of the killer.
“I’m sorry we don’t have a physical description of the perp. Hell, we don’t even have an age range to throw out there, but if anyone knows an individual who exhibits the type of personality, quirks, and hate that the killer has, please call the Wentworth station with that person’s name and address. We’ll check into every viable lead.”
Lutz answered the few questions that he could then thanked the reporters. We were back in the building by noon.
“Guess we’ll find out soon enough if anyone knows somebody who fits that description,” I said. “Meanwhile, what are we going to do about the warrant for the Guthrie financial records?”
“Serve it. We can’t tiptoe around hurt feelings. Going through their personal papers is the only way to exclude Elizabeth Guthrie and her contacts from the suspect list.”
“We have a suspect list?”
Lutz rolled his eyes. “Smart-ass.”
I pointed at the stairs. “I’m going to see what Todd has pulled from Brice Guthrie’s phone. Hopefully, there’s something that can lead us in the right direction.”
Lutz grabbed the banister as he headed up. “I’ll have Henry and Shawn pay Elizabeth a visit with the warrant in hand. They’ll need to locate every financial document in the house, along with the will and life insurance policies.”
“Sounds like a plan, and I’ll let you know what Todd came up with.”
I took the stairs to our lower level and passed through the glass doors of our tech department. Billy was on the phone but gave me a nod, and Todd looked preoccupied at his computer. I called out to Todd, and he spun his chair to face me.
“Hey, Jesse, what can I help you with?”
“Looking to see what you’ve found, if anything, on Brice Guthrie’s phone.”
He gave me a Cheshire cat grin.
“Uh-oh. That look you’re giving me could change the course of this case. What did you find?”
“I’m working on his text messages right now.” Todd scratched the top of his head, still wearing that grin. “It appears that Mr. Guthrie was having a torrid affair with a person named Charles.”
“Charles? You mean—”
Todd laughed. “No. It was clearly a girlfriend that he hid behind the contact name of Charles.”
“Interesting. Let’s have a look at some of their text messages.”
Todd jerked his chin at the nearby roller stool. “Grab a seat, and I’ll show you the most recent exchanges.”
I leaned in and read the enlarged text that filled the computer’s screen. “Wow, those are some hot messages. Sounds like the woman works as a cocktail waitress at the same casino. Where does it show her name?”
“Farther back. He calls her Lorilee, but sometimes, cocktail waitresses go by fake names. They have to protect themselves from the occasional customer who gets too friendly.”
“Yep.” I wrote down her name and knew it wouldn’t be difficult to find out who she was by asking the casino’s personnel department for the cocktail waitress who went by that name. “How many text messages are between them?”
Todd rolled his eyes. “Would you believe over two thousand?”
“Damn. Can you print them out for me?”
“You bet. I’ll get started on that right away, and I’ll bring them up when I’m finished.”
“Anything else that looks fishy? Threats of any kind?”
“Haven’t found any, but I can check every name in his contact list for texts between them.”
“Okay, but get me those texts with Lorilee first. Thanks, buddy.”
I headed upstairs to give Lutz the news. There was a chance that Elizabeth Guthrie knew of her husband’s infidelity and took matters into her own hands or hired somebody to do it for her, which could change the course of the investigation. I knocked on Lutz’s door, and he waved me in. Plopping down in one of the guest chairs, I began to explain what Todd had found.
Lutz shook his head. “Shit. Now I’m wondering if Elizabeth knew of Brice’s affair.”
“I’m wondering the same thing. Maybe the anguish she showed Frank and me was just an act.”
“Maybe.” Lutz lifted the receiver of his desk phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Henry. They have the warrant with them, so they might as well go through the entire house from top to bottom.”
“We did ask about guns, and she said they didn’t own any.”
Lutz huffed. “Well, for her sake, I hope they don’t find any, then. And she didn’t know of Dwayne?”
“She said she didn’t.”
Lutz held up his hand when Henry answered. “Johnson, use that warrant to go through the entire house. Look specifically for guns. We just found out that Mrs. Guthrie’s husband was having an affair with a coworker. Yep, and keep me posted.” After hanging up the phone, Lutz told me to head to the casino and find out who Lorilee was. “And take Mills with you.”
It was one thirty by the time we reached the Lucky Strike Casino. I got the attention of the first employee I saw and asked where the human resources office was located. After showing our badges, we were led to a secured door where the employee swiped his ID card to open it. We followed him up the stairs to the second floor, and he directed us to the office we were looking for. After thanking him for his help, Frank and I entered and asked for the person in charge of the casino floor personnel.
Minutes later, a woman with a sleek ponytail, dress slacks, a crisp white blouse, and heels walked out and greeted us. “Detectives, I’m Ann Jacobs, the human resources director. How may I help you?”
I introduced Frank and myself and got to the point. “Ma’am, we’re looking for an employee named Lorilee, but we don’t have a last name. My question is, do the cocktail waitresses go by their real names during work hours?”
She smiled. “Actually, they don’t. Safety is our main concern here, and with the recent death of Brice Guthrie—” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe that happened. Lorilee, you said?”
Frank spoke up. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Follow me, please. I’ll have to check on my computer. Since we have over nine hundred employees, there’s no way I have any names memorized—real or fake.”
I gave her a thank-you nod. “Understood, and thanks.”
Inside her office, we took seats and waited as she tapped the computer keys.
“I’ll look up the name Lorilee as a pseudonym first. It’s unusual and memorable like most of the fake names our female servers use.” Ann looked from Frank to me. “Would you happen to know what shift she works?”
I responded. “We’re pretty sure she works the second shift hours, but I couldn’t say that with one hundred percent certainty.”
“Sure. Give me one second.” Ann typed in the name and stared at the screen. “Humph, no matches. I’ll look under our actual employee names.” Seconds later, a smile crossed her face. “We’ve got one Lorilee listed as a cocktail waitress. That must be her, and she obviously goes by her real name. She works from one until nine p.m., four days a week.”
“Her last name?” I tipped my wrist—2:07. “And is she scheduled to work today?”
“Sorry. She has Sundays and Wednesdays off, and her last name is Saunders.”
“Okay, then we’ll need her address, phone number, and a copy of her ID.”
“Of course. I’ll get that printed out for you and be right back.”
Once Ann Jacobs had left the room, I made a quick call to Lutz. “Hey, Boss, I only have a minute. The cocktail waitress who was having the affair with Brice isn’t scheduled to work today, but the human resources manager is getting Lorilee’s contact information for us. I think Frank and I should pay her a visit before we head to the precinct.” I listened as Lutz gave us directions. “Okay, we’ll be back soon.” I hung up seconds before Ann walked in, and I indicated to Frank that we’d gotten the okay to proceed from Lutz.
“Here you go, Detectives. This should be everything you need.” She passed the copies across the desk to me. “May I ask why you’re inquiring about Lorilee? Is there a reason I should terminate her employment?”
“No, ma’am. She isn’t doing anything illegal. Just some bad judgment calls, but we can definitely handle that. Thanks for your help.” I placed my card on the desk. “If there’s anything that seems suspect to you, please don’t hesitate to call.”
Frank and I showed ourselves out and crossed the casino floor as bells rang, lights flashed, and people cheered with every winning pull of the slot machine’s handle.
I chuckled as we passed a couple who yelled with happiness as they hugged each other. “I can see how addictive gambling is as long as you’re winning.”
“Yep, but as soon as the tide turns, things go dark pretty quickly.”
“That it does, partner. That it does.”