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Teddy continued looking around and discovered another package not far away. While the leather zip-top bag was identical to the one holding the syringes, instead of containing drugs, this one held a pistol.
Short of checking for fingerprints, Teddy had no way of knowing for sure if Matthew was connected to either bag. But only a fool at this point would not believe Matthew had put them there. And Teddy was no fool.
He pulled out his phone and called Mike Freeman.
“Where are we with the background check on Matthew Wagner?”
“Still waiting for confirmation on a few details, but...”
“But what?”
“Hold on a second.” The line went silent for a few moments. “Check your email. I’ve sent you what we have so far. You’re not going to like it.”
“Give me the highlights.”
“Lowlights, more like it. So far, we’ve determined thathe has at least seven aliases, and it won’t surprise me if the final number is double that.”
“You’re right, I don’t like it.”
“That’s just the start. Matthew has a lengthy arrest record.”
“For what?”
“Stalking, harassment, breaking and entering, shoplifting. Only one conviction, though, but that occurred when he was a minor, so the record is sealed. There may be a way of finding out, if you want me to pursue it.”
“Let’s put a pin in that for now.” The reason for his conviction wasn’t as important as the fact he clearly had been living as if laws didn’t apply to him. “What else have you learned? Any family? Friends?”
“He appears to have broken off contact with his family when he was released from juvenile detention at eighteen. We have found no indication of any friends.”
“A loner.”
“That would be my preliminary assessment, yes. Do you want me to have Rivera remove him from the set?”
“Not yet. Better to keep him where we can watch him.” Teddy opened the email and skimmed through the report. “I see he currently lives in Los Angeles. His address looks—”
“Like it’s close to Centurion Studios? You’re right. It’s only four blocks away.”
Teddy grimaced. “I don’t see anything here about where he’s staying in Santa Barbara.”
“That’s one of the things my people are still checking. Give me a moment.” The line went quiet again. When Freeman returned, he said, “It looks like he’s renting an Airbnb, about a mile from your hotel. I’ll send you the address. We’re waiting for final confirmation, but we have high confidence the information is correct.”
“Do you have someone at your L.A. office who can check out his apartment?”
“Of course.”
“Great. Do it. When do you think you’ll have confirmation on the Airbnb?”
“Within thirty minutes.”
Teddy’s phone beeped with another call. He checked his screen and saw that it was Kevin.
“Let me know when you get that, and I’ll check it out myself. I’ve got to run.”
He clicked over to Kevin’s call.
“Tell me you have good news.”
“I figured out what number kept calling the locked cell phone, will that do?”
