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After I left my meeting with Mark Sumners, I headed back to my office. I spent an hour going over the case in my mind. Clearly it required something more than staring at my ceiling. I needed to clear my head and stretch my legs.
I swung by doggie daycare and picked up Dash for a walk. We were walking at a brisk pace along the Charles River next to Memorial Drive. Joggers, bikers, and rollerbladers passed us on the sunny and warmer fall day. Probably the last hint of warmth before winter.
Dash wanted to stop every ten feet to mark territory, but I kept him moving. He had already emptied his bladder and would only be leaving a drop here and there. The act of walking is what helped me think more clearly.
We approached John F. Kennedy Park to our left across Memorial Drive. Harvard students tossed footballs and frisbees. Across the Charles on our right was the Newell Boathouse. Crew shells had been packed away for the season.
Grant Worthington's connection to Ashley Holland, Hannah Parks, and Victoria Clark continued to bother me. But we had nothing concrete to go on other than his affairs with the three young women. Also troubling was knowing, without being able to prove it, that Mercado was the contract killer.
Dash and I continued along the path and stopped at the light on the corner of Memorial Drive and John F. Kennedy Street. We crossed Memorial with the walk signal and entered the park. We walked until we reached the fountain, drained and off for the winter season.
Dash stood next to me, keeping an eye out for squirrels, as I sat on the edge. I wondered if the squirrels were smarter because they were Harvard squirrels, but noticed one struggling to find his stash of nuts and concluded they were not.
Detective Captain Robert Burke called me. “A guy matching Mercado's description was a guest on Worthington's yacht,” he said. “Gave the name Dwayne Willis. Said he had played in the Canadian Football League.”
“Let me guess,” I said, “no one by the name Dwayne Willis ever played in the CFL?”
“The PI wins a prize,” he said.
“I hope it's better than your usual prizes.”
“Not unless nothing is better than nothing,” he said.
“I don't know if you heard,” I said, “but the FBI has nothing on Grant Worthington. Questioned him, and had to cut him loose.”
“I'm not surprised. Worthington is either extremely clever at covering his involvement, or he's telling the truth and didn't hire Mercado.”
“I've been thinking,” I said. “Maybe we have been looking at the wrong Worthington.”
“You talking about his wife?”
“Why not?” I said.
“Isn't she a client at Pinnacle Detective Agency?”
“That is why I didn't even originally consider her. The fact she was one of their clients blinded me.” I paused a beat. “But think about it. There's certainly motive. She knew about the affair with Ashley Holland. Pinnacle provided her evidence of the affair with Ashley for divorce proceedings.”
“Okay, you could establish motive,” Burke said.
“And means,” I said. “Presumably the same fortune as Grant Worthington.”
“So instead of filing for divorce, Mrs. Worthington exacts revenge by killing the women her husband is having affairs with?” Burke said.
“And she used Pinnacle to provide evidence on who he was having the affairs with,” I said. “Who knows, maybe she never planned on divorcing her husband.”
Burke whistled and said, “All an act to get the identities of the women to put hits out on? That's cold-hearted calculating.”
“Obviously it's just a theory,” I said, “but it makes as much sense as Grant Worthington hiring Mercado. Maybe even more.”
“Hell hath no fury,” Burke said.
“You said that. Not me. And I wouldn't repeat it front of Sanchez or Jessica.”
“Yeah,” Burke said, “they'd kick my ass.”
“Without breaking a sweat,” I said.
Burke was silent on the other end of the phone. After a moment he said, “She's been right under our noses the whole time. I think we all looked past her because she was a Pinnacle client.”
“No red flags were raised about her,” I said. “Everyone believed she wanted a divorce and half the fortune.”
“That's all well and good,” Burke said, “but we still should have listed her as a suspect. A cheating spouse has been the motive for murder before.”
“You're right,” I said. “We missed it.”
We were quite a moment. Burke and I both feeling a heaviness at missing what we clearly should have seen.
“I'm not sure it would have changed any of the outcomes,” I said.
“You're probably right,” Burke said. “If it was Mrs. Worthington, she will have equally strong alibis. The evidence will be no easier to find.”
“We still need Mercado,” I said. “But if our current theory is correct, we should now have a way to draw him out.”