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The young woman looked over at Hannah, unsure how she should answer.
“Oh, she’s good here,” Hannah said. “Before you came in, she was telling me that she's got to get ready to head back to Seattle. She's got some major packing to do."
CHAPTER THIRTY
They had to wait for Kayley Wallace to officially alibi out, but in her head, Jessie had already moved on.
While the officers took Wallace in on suspicion of DUI, she and Ryan remained in Brentwood. This was where the murders had taken place, so it felt like as good a place as any to be right now.
They were grabbing a bite at a sandwich shop as they waited for Jamil and Beth to potentially offer them the names of some other neighborhood folks who had fallen on hard times. But Jessie feared that looking through local news stories and financial records wouldn't give them the full story of the dynamics in this little corner of Los Angeles.
“We can’t count on our Research team to provide the lead we need,” she said after gulping down a bite of her turkey sandwich.
“What did you have in mind instead?” Ryan asked.
“We need to talk to someone local, who knows all the gossip behind the bankruptcies and divorces,” she told him.
“Who did you have in mind?”
“I say we go back to Nina Kirby,” Jessie suggested. “She’s probably got all kinds of inside dirt that we’d never otherwise learn. And now that she’s in the clear, she’ll probably be happy to share what she knows.”
“What about attorney-client privilege?” Ryan reminded her.
Jessie smiled.
“Obviously, she can’t share anything about her clients,” Jessie conceded, popping a french fry in her mouth, “but what about all the people who didn’t hire her? She might be open to discussing them. And then there’s the general scuttlebutt she’d know just from living around all these people.”
“It’s worth a shot, I guess,” Ryan said. “And maybe her husband will be privy to stuff too.”
“Now you’re thinking,” Jessie teased playfully. “So hurry up and finish that salad so we can get moving.”
“Ah, the loving words of my adoring wife,” Ryan said. “It’s like listening to angels sing.”
Jessie tossed a fry at him.
***
They walked into the office of Kirby & Kirby Law Partners just after 1 p.m.
Nina Kirby must have heard the tinkle of the bell because she came out of her inner office right away. The smile on her face disappeared at the sight of them. In fact, she looked stricken.
“Did someone else die?” she asked apprehensively.
“Not that we’re aware of,” Ryan told her, “but we would like to talk with you if you have a moment?”
“Why? I thought Rhett and I gave you all the information you asked for.”
“You did,” Ryan assured her.
“We were hoping for some information on a few other folks,” Jessie told her.
“Oh,” Kirby said, her demeanor softening noticeably. “Well, of course I’m happy to help in any way I can, as long as it doesn’t infringe on attorney-client privilege.”
“We figured you’d say that,” Jessie replied, “so we’ll steer clear of that area. May we come in?”
“Please,” Kirby said, waving them into her inner office, “just know that I may be getting a call or two related to various cases. If I do, I’ll have to take them.”
"We understand," Ryan said as they followed her back down the hall, past the open bathroom, and into the office where they'd talked yesterday. "Where's your husband, by the way?"
