By the time they returned to Kara’s house in Alexandria, they were exhausted, ordered pizza delivery, and collapsed into bed.
Now, Matt said, “Catherine and Chris are on their way over.”
Surprisingly, that thought didn’t fill Kara with dread. She glanced at the clock and realized it was after nine. Sheneverslept in until nine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past six.
“They have a housewarming present, and Catherine will fill us in on what’s been going on with the case.”
Thirty minutes later, Catherine and Chris arrived with their twelve-year-old daughter, Lizzy. They chatted for a few minutes, eating donuts that the Jones family brought, while Matt brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Then Chris took Lizzy for a walk along the river to give the team time to talk in private. Kara had lucked out. The park across the street was protected, so her front yard had an (almost) unobstructed view of the Potomac. Her lot was unusually large and odd-shaped for the neighborhood, and one of the few houses that wasn’t a townhouse. And because of a historical designation on the location (not the house, which had burned down a hundred years ago and been rebuilt),no one could develop it into townhomes. She’d been very lucky that her condo in Santa Monica had appreciated nicely before she sold it so that she could afford this special place.
The house needed a lot of work, but it had a solid foundation and privacy while also being in the middle of town. It was exactly what Kara wanted.
They sat at her kitchen table—one of the few pieces of furniture she had other than her bed—drank coffee, and ate a second donut, this time a bear claw.
“A lot of people want to prosecute Clara,” Catherine said. “We’re taking the first crack, however. Kidnapping and murder across state lines gives us jurisdiction, and the AUSA is eager. She’s been working closely with DA Anson in Flagler, so I think it’ll work out between the two jurisdictions.”
“She’s not going to get off on a technicality, is she?” Kara asked.
“Anything can happen,” Catherine said, “but Nathan Graves positively identified her as the woman who kidnapped him and his mother, and Franklin Graves gave a statement about the blackmail. The kidnapping of a minor child alone is plenty to keep her locked up, but the fact that she has the resources to disappear and had, in fact, been planning to do so, which we can prove, will likely keep her behind bars without bail.”
“Lily’s going to be okay, right?” Matt asked.
“Yes. She should be released tomorrow or Monday at the latest. She said you saved her life.”
“We both did,” Matt said, looking at Kara.
“Did Jim find anything to tie Clara or the victims to the factory?” Kara asked Catherine.
“She actually owned it through her LLC, but that alone won’t convict her. He confirmed other DNA present, but is still awaiting tests to match physical evidence to each of the victims,” Catherine said. “The biggest find was her phone—she didn’twipe it. She had an outside server that linked to her phone, which still had recordings from the factory and the farmhouse on it, including a recording of one of the victims who fell to his death. There is also blood evidence on two different boats that Clara had access to—the one at the house on Kiawah Island, and the one at the house in Savannah. The blood is also being tested against the victims. Ryder is working with other jurisdictions from California to Florida putting together other possible victims, but those might be harder to prove. What won’t be hard to prove is her honey trap scheme. Zack found evidence that multiple married men have been paying into one of her LLCs going back ten years, the one called SmartGirl Business.”
“She has more than one?” Kara asked.
“At least three.”
“Ten years—that’s before she left Los Angeles,” Matt said.
“She’s extorted millions from at least nineteen men.”
“Are any of them going to testify?” Matt said.
Kara snorted. “They paid to hide an affair from their wives. Why come forward now?”
“We know their identities based on the wire transfers,” Catherine said, “so they’ll be contacted as they may become part of the record. I don’t know whether they will be asked to testify or be subpoenaed. That’s way down the road. And they would be considered victims of extortion, so the court may determine that their identities can remain hidden from the public.”
“Were they drugged?” Kara thought about what Franklin had said. That he didn’t drink alcohol and didn’t succumb to Clara’s seduction, but he saw her put something in his soda water. She didn’t know if she believed him, but Lily had.
“I don’t know. Clara was a beautiful, manipulative seductress.”
“Do you think Franklin was lying? That he really did sleep with her, and then she blackmailed him to not tell his wife? Because why would Clara wait years before reaching out to him?”
Catherine thought about it, then shook her head. “I think he was telling the truth. The reason Clara targeted him was because he rejected her. She is not used to rejection, doesn’t expect it. When I spoke to him yesterday on the phone, we went over everything again, and he said that he had threatened to report her for drugging his drink. So it was rejection coupled with a threat that I think made him a target. She would have gotten her revenge one way or the other.”
“Still, nearly eight years... that’s a long time to hold a grudge.”
“Not for Clara Dolan,” Catherine said.
“Did they find Garrett’s body?” Matt asked.
Catherine shook her head.
