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“That’s about right,” Lawson said with a nod. He was becoming more comfortable, which allowed him the ability to participate without being prompted. “I believe that she’s a teacher at the elementary school.”
Brook couldn’t see an elementary school teacher having the personality traits listed in the profile, but stranger things have happened on cases like this one. She took a sip of her own coffee while Sylvie finished up her portion of the briefing.
“I should have Adeline Murphy’s background check within the hour, but I plan on speaking with her later today. All I know right now is that Bella supposedly caught Adeline staring into her windows from time to time, and Bella went out of her way to close her blinds.” Sylvie cleared the screen of the monitor before stepping back. “Her initial statement was taken by you, Detective. Do you recall anything odd about that meeting?”
“Nothing that stood out,” Hartley replied, even though he seemed very interested in whatever Bit had on one of his laptops. “I’ll go back through my personal notes, though.”
Brook wondered what else Hartley had written in his personal notes that hadn’t been included with the criminal reports, but it wasn’t like he would voluntarily show them to her. She would wait for a more appropriate time to ask him if he’d left anything out for the sake of political retribution.
“Sophia Delacroix fits the profile, although I wouldn’t label her with narcissistic tendencies,” Theo said as he pulled up the woman’s photograph. “She works for Maxwell Vanderbilt, she was basically Bella Kadel’s assistant for six months, and Bit discovered that Sophia used Piper’s real estate company when she purchased her first home around eight months ago. And according to the criminal reports that were provided to us by your department, Sophia didn’t have an alibi for either night in question.”
Hartley seemed to have lost interest in whatever Bit was doing, because he sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. He obviously thought that they were wasting time.
“I know Sophia, and that woman couldn’t use a flyswatter without feeling regret.”
“What about Lauren Kim?”
“Don’t know her,” Hartley replied with a shrug as he sought out Lawson’s response. The officer shook his head, as well. “Care to fill us in?”
“Lauren Kim is an artist originally from Annapolis,” Theo replied as he pulled up her picture. He also displayed photos of three oil paintings that had garnered everyone’s attention. “Her art is…macabre.”
“I’m calling it.” Bit was wagging his finger at the portable monitor. “That death-obsessed painter is our unsub. Whatisthat? A heart? An exploding heart? Who would hang something like that up in their house?”
Sylvie compressed her lips together to stem a smile, and Officer Lawson seemed to be in agreement with Bit. Hartley, on the other hand, rested his elbows on his knees as he studied the paintings with interest.
“I saw similar paintings at the gallery over a year ago when I spoke to Bella Kadel’s coworkers. Not as…graphic.”
Brook tilted her head to the side as she reviewed the art, which in theory was technically supposed to cause people to think about its underlying meaning. While she could make out a heart that wasn’t quite intact, she didn’t believe that the image was intended to be taken literally.
Then again, they did have two dead women on their hands…and all avenues led to the owner of the gallery. Could the artist be the killer?
“What do you know about Lauren Kim?” Brook inquired as she switched her focus to the woman in question. She was a striking individual with a hint of Asian heritage. She had long, dark hair that hung to the middle of her back, with high cheekbones and a flawless complexion. She wasn’t smiling in the photograph, and her intense gaze hinted at hidden emotions that made it difficult for her to express herself to others. “I take it that Bella discovered her?”
“Yes, and according to Lauren Kim’s background, she is renting out a condo on the other side of town.”
“I know the condo building that you’re referring to, and it doesn’t have a Harbor address. It’s technically located in the neighboring town.” Detective Hartley continually turned the cup in his hands as he intently reviewed the information on the monitor. He appeared fascinated with the paintings. “She’s in pain.”
Bit had stopped clicking away on his keyboard to stare at the detective in disbelief. Sylvie had taken a seat on the couch at an angle, which allowed her to shoot a glare of warning at Bit. It was unlikely that he’d even caught the sage advice, and Brook cleared her throat to capture everyone’s attention.
“Theo, would you like to share with Detective Hartley and Officer Lawson what you discovered yesterday about Lauren Kim?”
“Bella and Lauren had a disagreement regarding Lauren’s artwork about a week before Bella was killed, and the result of said argument was a cancellation of Lauren’s viewing at the gallery.”
“I didn’t hear any of this last year when I spoke to Bella’s colleagues,” Hartley said with a frown. “Where did you get your information?”
“Sophia Delacroix.”
“Why reveal this so-called argument now?” Hartley asked skeptically, obviously not pleased that such pertinent information had been withheld from him. “Like I said, I know Sophia. It’s not like her to lie.”
“I’m sure such omission wasn’t intentional,” Brook reassured him. “Bella Kadel’s colleagues were going through a lot in the days following her death. It’s one of the reasons that we reinterview witnesses several times after the fact. If Theo were to walk back into the art gallery today, Sophia Delacroix would more than likely recall another detail from back then.”
“Still, I think that I’ll stop by the gallery today,” Hartley advised with displeasure.
Brook casually switched her focus to Theo, giving him the floor. While he didn’t seem to have a problem with the detective verifying the additional details of Sophia’s statement, he gave his own reasons as to why the new information had come to light.
“Sophia grew up in Harbor, correct? You said yourself that you know her well, which is probably the reason that she didn’t think anything of the disagreement between Bella and one of their artists. Not until a stranger with credentials showed up, which usually has a witness seeing the situation from a different perspective. I’m not saying that you can’t go speak with Sophia yourself, but I would advise against it. She’ll feel as though she’s being judged, and we won’t get anything else out of her. Your call, though.”
Hartley didn’t seem too pleased with the advice, but Theo had handled the situation just as well as Brook would have given the circumstances. She nodded that he should continue in order to wrap up the meeting.
