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“You know, maybe we’re looking at this all wrong. We should lay out which of our three suspects had the most to gain from Anna’s death. If you put Pollock up against Deming or Vincent, is money a bigger motivator than grabbing your kid?”
Lucien sent her a confused look. “Really? Four hours ago, you were staunchly in favor of Vince as the killer. Now you’ve switched to Pollock?”
“That was before talking to Helene. It’s called keeping an open mind,” Brogan emphasized. “Unless Deming or Vincent went berserk one day and decided they suddenly wanted to become a father, I don’t see either man motivated enough to commit two murders. If taking Elliott was the true motive, why didn’t they snatch the kid at daycare or the park? It would’ve been cleaner and less messy. If the killer is Deming or Vincent, there’s something else going on that we don’t know about yet. Right now, Pollock benefited the most. And he needed both Mack and Anna dead—maybe even Elliott—to make sure he got to keep the inheritance.”
“Half the inheritance,” Lucien corrected. “He had to share it with Matthew for almost a year. But getting Elliott out of the picture shows how greedy Pollock is.”
“Okay, then after Anna died, Pollock got greedier and decided Matthew had to go, too. How do we prove it, though? Pollock is perhaps the one suspect that doesn’t have a clear opportunity. How do we find out where he was the morning Anna and Mack died?”
“We talk to the longtime girlfriend. What’s her name? Adelai Lucas.”
“Why? I’m sure she’ll stick to her story,” Brogan insisted.
“You’re probably right about that. Pollock is the cash cow that keeps on giving.”
“Then why hasn’t he married Adelai? Twenty-one-plus years is a long time to shack up together. And how do we approach her without tipping our hand to Pollock? He can’t know that we suspect him. Otherwise, he could bolt. We need a plan, Lucien.”
When she elbowed him in the ribs, he muttered, “I’m thinking. First, we need to know more about her and come up with a good enough reason why she should tell the truth about her sleazy boyfriend.”
Lucien opened his laptop and Googled Adelai’s name. “There’s not a whole lot on her. Financially she’s doing fine. For some reason, her finances are kept separate from Pollock’s.” He switched gears and changed from one browser to another. “On the personal side, she attends a lot of charity events. Jeez, it sounds like Adelai and my mother could be best friends. They’re bound to have bumped into each other at one of these things. Here’s a list of charities she’s involved with and some articles that mention her at the symphony. Wait a sec. This one says she attended an event at the Hollywood Bowl the first week of August this year in the company of her new boyfriend, Liam Woodman. There’s a photo of the smiling couple.”
“The British actor?” Brogan asked, shifting in her seat to peer at the screen.
“Yep. That must mean she and Pollock broke up. When did that happen?”
“Who cares? It gives us the perfect opening to approach Adelai and get the truth out of her. Maybe we should’ve spent more time in L.A.,” Brogan grumbled as the landing gear dropped into position. “Wow. That was fast.”
Lucien snapped his laptop shut and picked up her hand. “Have we reached a momentous occasion to celebrate? You do realize you’re not freaking out on this trip?”
“Of course I realize it. You were right. Ewan was right. Who gets to fly like this? I should consider myself fortunate instead of acting like such a big baby. I’m tired of getting left in the dust whenever traveling comes up. I feel like an idiot. Not that I intend to become a jet setter, globetrotter, or whatever they call it. I don’t see how you’ve put up with me all this time, Lucien.”
He pulled her closer. “Frankly, I don’t, either. Although it could be because you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Aww. Well, right back at ya, babe. But I don’t think you should mention this breakthrough to my grandmother. If she finds out I’m flying on short trips, she’ll demand I make a regular thing out of it, and I’m not sure I’m ready to spend five hours cooped up inside a jumbo jet.”
“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” Lucien pointed to the seatbelt sign. “Looks like we’re a few minutes away from landing. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Let’s stop and pick up a pizza on the way home.”
“Fine by me.”
Brogan forced herself to relax and leaned back in the cushy leather as the wheels touched down on the tarmac. A massive weight had lifted, a weight she’d been carrying around for most of her life.
Half an hourlater, Lucien turned into the driveway at home and spotted Jade’s car parked at the curb. “Were you expecting to see her tonight?”
“Nope.” Brogan rolled down the window and waved. “Hey, what’s up?”
Jade darted over. She had to catch her breath before saying anything. “I wanted to stop by and ask how it went with the mother.”
“Long story. You’d need to stay for pizza to hear it all.”
“Not necessary. I’ll update you on the latest from Beckett and Birk and get out of your hair. You don’t want to eat cold pizza. The short of it is the SAR team from Santa Cruz had an amazing day. Beckett and Brodie found the two missing Mendocino teenagers this afternoon around three-thirty. Those guys are on a hot streak that just won’t quit. There’s a press conference happening now to tout our local SAR group. It’s a big deal because Beckett and Brodie have been such standouts lately. Anyway, the other big news is that Birk talked to Chief Bonner in Coyote Wells. They’re headed there first thing tomorrow morning. It turns out that Lyssa did have a cell phone. Bonner held that information back from the public. The last ping on Lyssa’s phone was at Spirit Lake. And it never moved, not even days later when it probably ran out of juice. There’s an excellent chance Birk and Beckett will know where to dive after they get there and see the area. They’ll triangulate the data, look at all the possible routes the Dodge Charger could’ve taken that night, and take it from there.”
“That’s great news. Are you sure you won’t come in?”
“No, thanks. Kelly and I plan to cook spaghetti later. If you plan to get in touch with Birk about anything, tonight or early tomorrow morning will work best before he and Beckett get on the road.”
“Good to know,” Brogan said as she got out of the car with the dogs. Even though the dogs took off toward the front porch, she walked Jade back to her car. “How’d it go with Gerald and Susan?”
“It’s a sad business. It broke my heart to listen to their story. I’m sure those two will grab my listeners the same way.”
