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He frowned. “This is new information. When did this confrontation happen?”
“It was after I’d gotten home and found that guy in my kitchen. You remember? You came to tell me that you didn’t think there was a connection to the AAG.” She couldn’t help giving him a hurt look. “After you left, I was going out for dinner to a new dog-friendly place on Mustang Boulevard and there were some AAG group members handing out leaflets in town. As I passed them, a woman started shouting about how they’d cheated her son out of money.” As Spencer watched her, she told him the story of what had happened that evening with Helen Jackson and of her subsequent visit to the sculptor’s home. “The difference in her demeanor was...” She searched for the right word. There was only one that fit. “Creepy.”
“You think someone got to her?” He indicated her food as he spoke. “Told her to keep quiet about what happened?”
She took a few more bites as she thought about what he was suggesting. “It has to be a possibility.”
He speared a piece of bacon on his own plate, then chewed it before lifting his gaze to her face again. “You know what this means?”
“The AAG must have been the ones who got to Helen Jackson?”
“It looks that way. But there’s more to it.” He reached across the table and lightly touched her hand. It was a casual gesture, but the impact powered through her like a thousand volts of electricity. “Someone knew you were at Helen’s place.”
“Oh.” She lifted a hand to her throat. “You mean I was followed?”
He nodded. “And we’re not dealing with amateurs. One person couldn’t have been tailing you out to Helen’s place and, at the same time, breaking into your house and leaving you that note threatening your dogs. It was a coordinated attack.”
She looked down at the remains of her meal. “Now do you believe me that someone connected to the AAG is behind my sister’s disappearance?”
“I’m prepared to consider it.” His voice was serious. “In the meantime, Aidan Hannant has some explaining to do.”
* * *
By the time he reached the station, Spencer felt like he was trying to juggle too many plates. If he wasn’t careful, some of them were going to come crashing down around his head.
His biggest case was the shooting of Payne Colton and, since the sting operation had gone wrong, that was no further along than it had been at the start. Although there was no direct connection between the attack on Payne and the anonymous email that had been sent to the members of the Colton Oil board at the start of the year, he couldn’t rule Ace out as a potential shooter.
Spencer’s thoughts moved on to his first meeting of the day. Harley Watts, a dedicated member of the AAG, had admitted to being the sender. So far, he had resisted any attempts by Spencer to get him to flip on his backer in exchange for a reduced sentence. Although his lawyer was dropping hints that Harley was prepared to consider a reduced sentence in exchange for information, Spencer wasn’t convinced. Someone had Harley in their clutches and his, or her, grip was tight.
And now, he had the issue of Eliza Perry’s disappearance and the threats to Katrina to deal with. He was reserving judgment about what was going on there, but her revelations over breakfast made him less concerned that Katrina might be an attention seeker. They did, however, bring a new set of concerns for her safety.
His plans to keep her safe while she was at work were all in place and he’d run through them with her and Suzie. The MVPD dispatcher had placed an alert on both women’s cell phones as well as on the business line. In addition, a police cruiser would check out the premises every half hour unless Spencer was there.
At least, unlike his colleagues in some neighboring counties, he didn’t have the issue of investigating murdered beauty pageant contestants. He supposed he should be thankful for that, at least.
As he entered the building with Boris following close behind, his mind tried to untangle the threads of the different cases. Was he trying to make sense of something that had no logic to it? Or was he right in thinking that there was a common theme throughout everything he was dealing with right now? Each time he started to investigate a lead, it brought him to the AAG.
But what did that mean? Was the group being used as a cover for criminal activity? If so, where did Eliza Perry fit in? And would Harley Watts be able to help him with this inquiry as well as telling him more about the Colton Oil email? He quickened his pace, keen to begin questioning the AAG geek.
When he reached his office, Kerry Wilder was waiting for him. From the slump of her shoulders, he guessed she didn’t have good news.
“Harley has withdrawn his offer.”
Resisting the temptation to kick the wastebasket across the room, Spencer sighed. “Did he give a reason?”
“No. I think his lawyer was as surprised as we are,” Kerry said. “Apparently, Harley had a prison visit from a very attractive blonde woman, an AAG member named Leigh Dennings. Since then, he’s decided he won’t talk.”
An image of Leigh Dennings’s face came into Spencer’s mind and he wondered how her conversation with Harley had gone. He would never know for sure, of course, because neither of them would tell him. But it seemed likely that Leigh had persuaded Harley to change his mind about striking a deal with the police. The question was why? Leigh was Micheline’s puppet. She didn’t make a move without the boss lady’s say-so.
Which led him to another question: What did Micheline have to hide?
“We didn’t do any background checks on members of the AAG, did we?” he asked Kerry.
“No.” She looked surprised. ?
?Even though Harley sent the email from the AAG server, none of the other members have come under suspicion.”
“Let’s start with Micheline Anderson and Leigh Dennings,” he said. “Run all the usual checks on those two and let me know if you come up with anything.”
