AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not if you wanted to lure me into going there.” Oh, what the hell. She was suddenly grinning. “Wrong bait, Lynch. You should have mentioned the Navy SEALs who train and work out on the beach there. I can’t tell you how often I’ve enjoyed watching them.” She pulled away from the curb. “Of course we’ll go to the Del Coronado. Like you said, perfect…”
Chapter
5
6:25P.M.
Kendra’s Condo
After a perfect lunch at the Hotel del Coronado, Lynch dropped off Kendra at her condo so she could spend a few hours rescheduling appointments for her practice. Some of that time, however, was consumed by an enlightening call from the FBI.
When Lynch returned, she greeted him with a large mug of coffee. “Come in and sit down. We need to get to work.”
“What’s the urgency?” He took a sip of coffee and strolled over to the couch. “Did something happen?”
“No, I just realized after I got home that we spent half an afternoon playing in Neverland and I need to make up for it.” She made a face. “And you need to tell me that you didn’t waste time after you left me a few hours ago.”
“Ahh, now I get the picture,” he said solemnly. “Major guilt trip. I should have known you’d have an attack. You were having entirely too good a time out on the beach after lunch.”
“Guilt trips are foolish,” she said. “I did have a good time, but I could have stopped it at any time. I didn’t choose to do it, but it shouldn’t interfere with the work we agreed to do today.”
“Absolutely not.” He smiled. “Totally logical, Kendra.”
“Is that a smirk?”
“I wouldn’t think of it. I have far too much respect for you. I did make those calls exploring ways to get contraband items to prisoners. It’s fairly common for prisoners to be able to get their hands on phones if they pay enough. Some of those methods are quite inventive.” He shook his head. “But slipping anything to a high-profile prisoner like Barrett in solitary would be different.” He held up his hand when she started to speak. “But not impossible. I’m still exploring who would do it, and how. I’ll make some more calls tonight.”
“Good. Then I’ll tell you as much as I’ve learned so far.” She took a notebook out of her pocket and flipped it open. “I got most of the report on the goggles from the Bureau a few minutes ago. The only fingerprints on them belonged to Barrett. The same goes for any DNA. I was right, there was Barrett’s body oil on them. But every inch of those goggles had been scrubbed and sterilized before Barrett handled them. Wherever there wasn’t a print, there was absolutely nothing. Whoever gave those goggles to Barrett made certain they couldn’t be traced back to them by any means.”
“Sterilized,” Lynch repeated. “I can see them being wiped clean, but that’s going to an extreme.”
She paused. “And you said they were probably given to Barrett. Why couldn’t they be a souvenir?”
He shrugged. “Maybe they could. If that was the case, it makes sense the person who gave them to Barrett wouldn’t want to be connected to the goggles or to Barrett.” He added, “An extreme solution from an exceptionally careful person.”
“We don’t even know how those goggles got to him in that prison yet, much less who managed to bring them,” Kendra said. “But I do know who they belonged to. I told you I only got a partial report, but the forensics specialist managed to trace them after she hung up, and she left me a message. They were high-performance goggles custom made by the manufacturer with prescription lenses. They were sold two years ago to a Tricia Walton, an eighteen-year-old freshman at UC San Diego.”
“Very good,” Lynch said. “Now for the big question. Is she still alive?”
“I don’t know. I hope so. As I said, the agent left a message, but it was only about where the goggles were issued. He said he’d call me back later with more info.” She shook her head. “There was no way I was going to wait for him to get back to me. I was about to call this Tricia Walton when you came to the door.”
“Then by all means go ahead and do it,” Lynch said gently. “Let’s put that souvenir question to rest.”
She nodded. “Maybe I was hesitating because I didn’t want to know. I kept remembering the scent of that bastard on those goggles. Only eighteen, Lynch.”
“She’ll be older now. Maybe it wasn’t a souvenir. Call her, Kendra.”
“Don’t nag me.” She was already dialing the number. “I just want to—”
“Hi, this is Tricia and you guys know I can’t have the phone by the pool when I’m practicing.” The voice on the other end of the line was vibrantly alive and filled with amusement. “Which is forever and ever. I’ll call you as soon as I get through here if you’ll leave a message.” She was laughing. “Hey, do what I tell you. You know I’m worth it.” She ended the call.
“Encouraging,” Lynch said. “But it’s not uncommon for family members to keep a cell phone account active for months or even years just so they can call and hear their deceased loved one’s voice.”
“You’re right, but I want to think she’s still alive.” Kendra stared at the phone in her hand. That voice had been full of humor and warmth and vitality. “I like her.”
“So do I,” Lynch said. “But I believe it’s time to try to see her in person and ask her a few questions about Barrett.”
“We don’t want to frighten her,” Kendra said.
