Jessica's cheeks flushed slightly. "He spoiled the hell out of me. Expensive dinners, jewelry, weekend trips to Napa. I knew where the money was coming from, but I convinced myself it wasn't my problem." She looked up at them with genuine remorse. "I'm not proud of that. This whole thing with David was only supposed to be a way to get my foot in the door and then I…I just got carried away."
Miles could see how Goldberg's lending practices fit perfectly into the pattern established by their other victims. Like Vance's development projects and Thornfield's art market manipulation, the predatory lending scheme represented exactly the kind of wealth-based exploitation that seemed to motivate their killer.
"I think he was about to bring that venture to an end, though,” Jessica said, as if trying to defend David.
“Why’s that?” Vic asked.
"He was getting nervous about some financial crimes investigator who had been building a case against him. He'd been talking about shutting down the lending operation because this person was getting too close to exposing what he was doing.Or, at least, that’s what he had been saying for the past few weeks or so."
"Do you know the investigator's name?"
Jessica frowned, trying to recall the details. "He only mentioned it a couple of times, and I wasn't really paying attention because I wanted him to stop the whole thing anyway. But I remember the last name. Rodriguez, I think. He said this Rodriguez person had been digging into his records for months."
Miles felt the familiar excitement that came with discovering a new lead. A financial crimes investigator who had been building cases against their victims could represent either another potential target or someone with intimate knowledge of their business practices who might be involved in their deaths.
"Did he mention anything else about this Rodriguez person?" Vic pressed.
"Just that they were persistent and had access to records that David thought were supposed to be confidential. He was worried about criminal charges, maybe even federal prosecution." Jessica paused, her expression growing more thoughtful. "He said Rodriguez had been asking questions about the Vance development deal, too, so I got the impression this investigator was looking into multiple connected cases."
This information brought up alarm bells in Miles’s head. If Rodriguez was investigating both Goldberg's lending schemes and Vance's development projects, they would have detailed information about the specific ways these people had exploited others for financial gain.
"Ms. Breeding, thank you for being so helpful," Vic said, standing up from the steps. "We may need to speak with you again as our investigation continues, but you've provided us with some very useful information."
"I hope you catch whoever did this," Jessica said, looking back toward the house where Goldberg's golden figure still satfacing the windows. "David wasn't a good person; I know that. But nobody deserves to die like that."
Miles and Vic walked back toward the house, but instead of returning to the crime scene, Vic led them to a small sitting room near the front entrance. The space was decorated in the same contemporary style as the rest of the house, with a few pieces of modern furniture arranged around a small fireplace. Built-in bookshelves lined one wall. The room felt more intimate than the main living areas, suggesting it was where Goldberg had entertained guests or conducted private conversations.
"Rodriguez," Miles said, pulling out his phone as they settled into the comfortable chairs. "That's a specific enough lead to track down."
He opened his browser and began searching for"financial crimes investigator Rodriguez San Francisco."The search results populated with several news articles and professional profiles, and one name immediately stood out.
"Carmen Rodriguez," Miles read from his phone screen, reciting one of the articles. "Senior investigator with the San Francisco Financial Crimes Division. She's been with the department for eight years and specializes in real estate fraud and predatory lending schemes."
"Sounds like a perfect fit for our case," Vic said, leaning over to read the search results. "What else can you find about her?"
Miles continued scrolling through the articles, finding several news items that mentioned Rodriguez's work on high-profile financial crime cases. But one article in particular caught his attention, and he felt his excitement building as he read the details.
"Here's something interesting," he said. "According to this article from two weeks ago, Carmen Rodriguez was seen in a heated argument with David Goldberg at a city council meeting about predatory lending practices. The article says she accusedhim of deliberately targeting vulnerable elderly residents and called his business practices 'criminal exploitation disguised as legitimate lending.'"
"So she had direct contact with Goldberg and wasn't shy about expressing her opinion of his business methods," Vic observed.
"And look at this," Miles continued. "It looks like Rodriguez also filed formal complaints about Patricia Vance's development project, claiming that the environmental impact assessments were fraudulent and that the displacement of low-income families violated several city ordinances."
Vic stood up and began pacing the small sitting room, her investigative instincts clearly engaged by this new information. Miles felt the need to pace or fidget as well as the excitement continued to brew. "So we have a financial crimes investigator who had intimate knowledge of both Goldberg's lending schemes and Vance's development projects. Someone who had been building cases against at least two of our victims and who wasn't afraid to confront them publicly about their business practices."
"She would have access to detailed financial records, knowledge of their specific methods, and clear motivation to see them punished for their crimes," Miles added. "Plus, as a government investigator, she'd have the kind of institutional knowledge that could help her avoid detection. Maybe…that could be a stretch.”
"Either way, Carmen Rodriguez just became our highest priority person of interest," Vic said, checking her watch. "It's almost six in the morning. We can probably catch her at her office in a few hours. Until then, I think you and I deserve some coffee and breakfast."
Miles saved the search results to his phone and made notes about the specific articles they'd found. The patternwas becoming clearer with each new piece of information they discovered. Their killer wasn't selecting victims randomly; they were targeting people whose business practices had been documented and investigated by someone with the knowledge and resources to understand exactly how much damage they'd caused.
They gathered their notes and prepared to leave Goldberg's house, but Miles couldn't shake the feeling that they were finally closing in on something significant. Carmen Rodriguez represented their best lead yet, someone with clear connections to multiple victims.
As they walked back toward their car, Miles reflected on how quickly their investigation had gained momentum. Jessica Breeding's interview had provided the crucial link they needed to connect the dots between their victims and a potential suspect. Now they just had to find Carmen Rodriguez and determine whether she was their killer or simply another piece of the larger puzzle they were trying to solve.
The sun was beginning to rise over San Francisco's hills, painting the fog-shrouded city in shades of gold that reminded Miles uncomfortably of the crime scene they were leaving behind. But for the first time since arriving in the city, Miles felt like they had a real chance of stopping the killer before they could claim another victim.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
