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“We won’t press charges this time,” Connor said. “But consider this a warning. Next time, cooperate with the cops and don’t harass women. You’re going to end up in trouble again if you do.”
Seth nodded, finally looking apologetic.
As Cami filed thoughtfully out of the interview room and Connor was directing the cops to release Seth, she knew that they urgently needed to find another way forward in this case.
The aspect that was bothering her the most was the absence of any alarms. How had this killer been able to bypass the alarm systems in both cases?
A thought occurred to her as she walked out.
"The security systems," she said to Connor as they headed back to the car. "Could it be that Shiree and Caroline used the same alarm service provider, seeing that they lived in the same area? Perhaps the installer, or one of the technicians, knew how to override it and came back to kill these women.”
CHAPTER TEN
The security system provider was surely a strong new lead that they had not yet explored, Cami thought, feeling motivated by this new direction. Now that she thought about it, the alarm system was the weakest link in this entire mystery. The security system could have been bypassed, and perhaps that was how this killer had gotten into both these houses.
“It definitely points to a way in,” Connor said, though with a warning note in his voice that told Cami she mustn’t jump to conclusions. “But it doesn’t explain the other inconsistencies that have been picked up. The unpacked ornaments, that cooked meal.”
"He’s clearly a psychopath. Isn’t that what a psychopath might do?" Cami suggested as they headed out of the police department.
"Without a doubt, he is that," Connor relented. He checked his watch. "It’s already nine-thirty p.m. We'll need to investigate this first thing tomorrow. I’ll head back to the office and review what we’ve done today. You can go home. Get some rest."
"Can’t we go ahead now?" Cami asked, surprised.
"No. We have no idea which company installed this alarm, or even if it was the same provider in both cases. We need to do our research first, and if we're going to go into that company with guns blazing and demand to question people, we should do it during office hours when there actually are people there. Otherwise we’re literally stabbing in the dark at this stage."
"It makes sense," Cami agreed. It felt frustrating to have to abandon the case now, but she did see that trying to track down the right person as night wore on would be a waste of time that Connor could better spend in the office, reviewing what they had so far.
"I’ll drop you back at MIT. I want you to check in with your parole officer when you’re there. Jacenta asked me to tell you that you should touch base when you're on a case again.”
"I'll do that," Cami said, finding to her surprise that she was looking forward to touching base with Jacenta.
Cami hadn’t known when she hacked the FBI’s homepage that as part of her deal with them to drop the charges, she would be assigned a parole officer. She’d first thought that Jacenta was super scary, and that she thoroughly disapproved of Cami’s antics. Perhaps that had been correct, but now that there was more water under the bridge between them, Cami found that they were achieving a different level of relationship.
She'd grown to respect and admire her parole officer. She was a “tough love” kind of person, and Cami appreciated that.
She felt a blend of anxiety and relief as Connor headed to MIT. Anxiety because this case was not yet solved, and she wanted desperately to continue the hunt. Relief, because at last she'd be able to get Liam’s laptop out of her bag and into safekeeping in her room.
Perhaps she'd even be able to access it. Her stomach twisted at the thought. It was stolen property, even though—theoretically—she was planning on giving it back as soon as she'd had a look inside. But she knew that the law wouldn't see it that way and to be honest, all she was doing was convincing herself.
This was theft, pure and simple. The fact that she strongly suspected its owner of being a shady character involved in misdoings didn’t change that. The fact remained that she’d had to stoop to his level in order to get what she needed from him. That was a shaming thought.
Connor pulled up outside the main gate of MIT.
"I'll pick you up from here at seven-thirty tomorrow. We can head straight to the security company then," he said.
"Okay. Good night," Cami said.
She headed straight into her residence, detouring to the canteen at the entrance to buy Chinese. She was starving, and she knew from experience that trying to get through a tough day's work tomorrow on an empty stomach would be an impossible job. The container of beef noodles smelled delicious, and her mouth watered as she carried it upstairs.
Before she opened the noodles, she opened her phone and called Jacenta, sticking her laptop bag firmly under the desk so that she didn't even have to think about what she'd been doing before this case was called in.
Jacenta answered almost immediately. "Cami Lark. You're on another case, I hear?" Her rich voice resounded over the phone, making Cami visualize her proud, dark-haired looks and authoritative bearing.
"Yes. It was called in late this afternoon."
"How are you dealing with it?" She cut straight to the chase.
"I think I'm okay so far. Luckily, I haven't had to look at any of the actual victims yet." Dead bodies had been her big stumbling block on previous cases.
