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Blevins nodded, looking relieved. "Thanks," he said. And then he added in a softer tone, "Look, I'm sorry I ran. I was just scared. I'll - I'll be more careful when I chat up the ladies next time."
Juliette knew that one or other of the men would now take the details, make a few calls, perhaps check the camera footage, and then if it all checked out, Blevins would be released.
But right then, her phone buzzed again.
It was Sierra.
"I think I’ve got a breakthrough here. Call me, quick, when you can.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Taking out her earpiece so that she wouldn't interrupt Wyatt, Juliette got on her phone and called Sierra in a hurry.
"What is it?" she asked. "What breakthrough? What have you found?"
She was beginning to have serious respect for the techie's abilities. After all, twice now they'd been at a dead end, and twice, Sierra had come through with something.
"I've been researching the exact type of paint this killer used. I even called the pathologist's offices so that they could give me their input. And I've found out what brand it is."
"What is it?"
"It's a type of top quality body and face paint used by the theater, generally. They have a lot of colors and gold is one of them. The gold looks to be an exact match."
"And have they had any big orders? Where can you get it in Paris?" This could be a seriously strong lead. She felt excited.
"Several different shops. And online. I've called around all the shops and none of them have had any big orders. But here's what's interesting."
"What is that?"
"The company sales manager, who I spoke to just now, said they've sold about double the amount of gold paint that they usually would in the past two months. So, someone's been sneakily buying it up."
"Is that so?" Juliette felt worried by this, mostly because it showed the level of cunning and preplanning that they were up against. This killer looked to be a meticulous planner.
And the quantities equated to a lot of gold paint. How many victims, exactly, was he planning to kill? She remembered the paint cans in the empty apartment. He'd stockpiled there, too, so maybe he was doing the same here.
"We need to investigate that. He must have either ordered online to a French address, or else flown here sometime in the past couple of months, and bought up some stock. Maybe both.”
"I've asked all the shops to send me any information they have. Unfortunately, there's no camera footage in any of the shops that goes that far back, and very few of them take any customer details. They’re getting the online orders for me, but that might only be ready tomorrow, as it’s done through a different company. But I guess we keep trying?"
"I guess we do," Juliette said. "If you're done there, do you want to meet us here?"
"When I wrap up here, I’m going to stay with a friend tonight," Sierra said. "One of my university friends lives in Paris, so I'll go and have a drink with her and then sleep over."
"Okay. I think you can probably head off now, and we'll touch base tomorrow," Juliette said. There was nothing further for Sierra to do tonight. Already, the stores were closed and they would need to wait until tomorrow to get any further information.
She headed out of the back room, and came face-to-face with Wyatt and Lucien. Both looked disappointed.
"The alibi checks out," Wyatt said.
"Unfortunately, we have confirmed it beyond any doubt," Lucien agreed.
At least they were briefly united in their disappointment, she thought. The questioning had brought the two men together. But this was a huge blow. She'd felt they were so close to catching the killer, but now they were back to square one. It was late at night, and they had no leads apart from the paint.
"Sierra is researching the stores that sell the type of paint he uses," she said. "She might have more information on that tomorrow. But for now, I guess there's nothing we can do."
It felt frustrating to say that, as if she was admitting defeat, but Lucien nodded.
"I will go home, in that case."
