CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Damn,” Rivera said.“That sucks.I really thought he was gonna be the guy.”
The three of them were at the field office after finishing with their respective tasks.It was now after dark, and the bright Miami sun had been replaced with the almost-as-bright Miami lights.The noise, a steady roar of drunk tourists mixed with the usual big-city symphony of car horns and squealing brakes just filtered through the double-paned window of the briefing room, punctuated every now and then with the sharp bark of what Kate really hoped was a firecracker.
“So did we,” Kate said.“He had the potential for violence.He even threatened Marcus.”
Rivera looked Marcus up and down.Marcus had the ability to appear harmless if he wanted to, but the burly New Yorker also had massive shoulders, thick arms, and hands that were clearly used to applying voice in very capable ways.Rivera clearly didn’t see how someone could threaten the ex-Navy SEAL.“Guy was stupid too, I guess.”
“Well, he wasn’t the killer,” Marcus said curtly.“Tell us what happened with Maxwell.”
Now that their lead with Thornton had fallen through, Marcus was back to being surly.Or maybe it was what James had said about not cheating on someone even if you thought they didn’t love you anymore and you didn’t love them.
“So,” Rivera said, thankfully unbothered by Marcus’s brusque tone.“Kyle Maxwell.Guy’s a former Miami Police Officer.Served ten years and then was let go for undisclosed reasons.”
“Figures,” Marcus scoffed.“Probably didn’t keep up with his paperwork.”
“Judging by the mess in his office, you might be right,” Rivera agreed.“But we got through that mess.Nearly all of it’s junk, but wedidfind out that he was hired to spy on both the CarltonsandDr.Hammond.”
Kate lifted an eyebrow.“Same client for both?”
“No.”Seeing Kate’s disappointment, he smirked.“Yeah, I had the same thought.Would have been convenient.But no, it looks like he was hired to spy on the Carltons by a man who believed—correctly as it turns out—that his wife was showing up to swinger parties and offering herself as…” He cleared his throat, “Well, the details don’t matter.The point is she was cheating on him.Maxwell took some photos, but he got caught.The Carltons took his phone, deleted the image, and—according to Maxwell—threatened to utterly ruin him if he ever told anyone anything about what happened at those parties.”
“Did he?”
“He says yes.Says he told the client about the party and that he couldn’t get the pictures.The client decided he was lying, stiffed him his payment, and insisted his wife loved him and would never do anything like that.”
“Fun,” Marcus said drily.
“Desperate,” Rivera countered.“You live with someone long enough, it’s not even about love anymore.It’s about security.No one wants to believe that the foundation to which they’ve dedicated years of their life and entangled their finances and living situation with is that shaky.”
Kate looked away from Marcus so she didn’t have to see the look on his face.“What about Dr.Hammond?”
“That was a woman believing Dr.Hammond had advised her husband to have sex with her sister.”
“Jesus,” Marcus said, throwing his hands in the air and heading for the coffeemaker.“Kate, you want coffee?”
“Yeah, but it’s not gonna make this seem any less absurd.”
Rivera chuckled.“I mean, it’s Miami.We’ve got a joke here.We’re what Las Vegas wants to be when it grows up.”
“Christ, how do people live like this?”Marcus said, handing Kate her cup of coffee and sipping from his.“So did she provide that advice?”
“According to Maxwell, Dr.Hammond declined to provide any information protected by doctor-patient privilege, but shedidsay that she always told her patients that any sexual encounter needed to be consensual and between adultsandthat she believed married couples should be in agreement about the sort of open relationships they explored.The assumption was that she wouldn’t have given hubby the go-ahead to boink wifey’s sister.”
Kate was skeptical.“Well, we know from her reaction to James Thornton’s complaint that Dr.Hammond didn’t really feel that way.Her philosophy was screw everyone, and if someone has a problem, it’s their problem.”
“And what about the nights of the murders?Does Maxwell have alibis?”
“Those are the alibis,” Rivera said.“Saturday night, he was at the Carlton’s party and got kicked out.Last night, he visited Dr.Hammond’s office and got his non-answers.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.“He told me he was working another case last night.”
Rivera raised an eyebrow.“Really.That’s interesting.”
“It’s proof,” Marcus said.He began to pace around the room, like a cat pacing its enclosure, frustrated at the glass walls that allowed full view of the world outside but prevented access to it.“Maxwell’s got to be the guy.”
“It’s evidence,” Kate allowed, “not proof.And it doesn’t make sense that he’s the killer.”
