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“Piper Zimmer had an appointment at nine o’clock on the day that she was found murdered,” Hartley said as he remained composed in the moment. “There was no name. Only a specific hour was blocked out. We couldn’t connect the appointment to an open house or to a potential client.”
“Back up a second,” Sylvie requested from her seat on the couch. Her blonde hair was pulled back in its usual bun, but she was wearing a thick sweatshirt instead of one of her typical sweaters. “Are you saying an artist asked the victims to pose with a bag over their heads? Why would anyone in their right mind agree to something like that?”
“The unsub is very charismatic and manipulative,” Brook explained as she went more into depth as to why she believed the victims had agreed to something so unsettling. “This artist…let’s just say that I believe she can deceive everyone around her. She convinced both Bella and Piper that they were subjects for paintings. It would explain why the victims’ livings rooms were so immaculate. The rooms were the stages, and they were the subjects. They trusted this woman. She persuaded them to put the plastic bags over their heads with the promise that she would remove them quickly once she had the photographs.”
“Photographs?” Hartley had taken the chair next to Bit like last time, but he couldn’t remain seated after hearing her theory. “So, now you’re saying that we’re searching for a photographer?”
“Either.” Brook took a sip of her coffee as she met his belligerent stare. “We could be searching for a photographer, or we might find that it is an artist who paints from pictures.”
“It makes sense,” Sylvie said from her seat on the couch. She shifted on the cushion so that she could put her arm over the back and address Hartley. “Think about it. The victims would have fought a male subject had they not been coerced, so it stands to reason they put the bags over their own heads. The unsub secured the material around their necks, and then she began to take photographs. Why else would their makeup be so perfect? In their mind, they were going to be subjects for either pictures or paintings.”
Blake Lawson slowly raised his hand, his intense gaze trained on Brook.
She nodded in his direction that he should ask his question.
“Am I the only one seeing the connection to Lauren Kim?”
“Theo? You questioned Lauren Kim. You were at her condo,” Brook pointed out, wanting his opinion. “Her artwork is disturbing, and some would even say unsettling. But art is subjective. Do you think she has the other characteristics of our unsub?”
“Yes.” Theo held up the empty glass that had once contained his protein shake. “With that said, I didn’t notice Lauren Kim painting from a photograph. I was inside her condo while she was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on her centerpiece for tonight’s exhibit. Yes, the added color that Kim uses against her dark background is coincidentally the same shade of lipstick and nail polish that the victims had applied right before their deaths. But, I’m still not convinced that she is the unsub.”
“You think someone is setting her up?” Blake asked with a frown.
“Maybe.” Theo met Brook’s gaze. “You should speak with her at tonight’s art exhibit.”
“You’re thinking if Lauren Kim is the unsub that she might find my story compelling,” Brook said reluctantly, but she had never shied away from her past. “Looking at her previous artwork, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say she might just find my connection to Jacob fascinating.”
It was obvious that Hartley wanted to ask a few of his own questions, but Bit cut in and made sure to switch the subject.
“Speaking of Lauren Kim, she applied for a preapproval on a rather large loan,” Bit shared as he removed Bella Kadel’s personal calendar from the monitor. In its place were now some financial documents. “She received a notification yesterday that she was approved, and it just so happens to coincide with the asking price for the building that she currently resides in across town.”
“You didn’t have a warrant to obtain that information,” Hartley stated as he walked around the table. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to finish out the meeting. “I thought you ran a tighter ship than this, Sloane.”
The quick inhalation from Sylvie and Bit had been conducted in unison. Theo, on the hand, hadn’t seemed too surprised by Hartley’s snide remark. Technically, there had been no reason for Martin Kingston to call Chief Rogan. All Sylvie had done was ask Emily Park a few questions, and none of them had been directed at her. It was doubtful that Emily had run to her grandfather, which could only mean that someone inside the café was feeding the man information regarding his granddaughter.
Brook needed time to think through what other reason Martin Kingston could have had for reaching out to the chief of police. Was Kingston merely attempting to protect Emily, or was there something more to the phone call?
Right now, Brook needed to break some news to Hartley that she’d been hoping to keep under wraps. She really would have preferred to keep things status quo, but she was being backed into a corner that had no light.
“Hartley, we were granted a federal warrant for Lauren Kim’s financials.”
The surprise on Lawson’s face was the complete opposite of the knowing, disgusted expression that crossed Hartley’s features.
“You talked the feds into taking both cases.” Hartley laughed in disbelief as he shook his head. “And the Bureau agreed to keep you and your firm on the investigation. Shit. You are one—”
“You should stop right there, Detective.” It wasn’t Theo who had come to Brook’s defense, but Sylvie. She’d set her laptop to the side and now stood beside the couch. “Whether you want to admit it or not, this is a serial case. And the evidence backs up Brook’s profile.”
“What Sylvie is trying to say is that we would prefer to workwithyou,” Brook said as she observed Hartley shrug into his coat. He was angry, but he would soon come to realize that working together would get them to their goal faster than attempting to go solo. “As a consulting firm with the Bureau, we are able to expediate requests such as the warrant to access Lauren Kim’s financials. With that said, I do understand the political pressure that you’re facing, Detective Hartley. It’s your choice.”
Hartley didn’t say a word. Still, Brook noticed the slight hesitation in his shift toward the door, though that wasn’t what had given away his reaction. Hartley had purposefully not directed Lawson back to the station.
“Did Slick really just refuse to work with us?” Bit asked after the soft click of the front door closing could be heard in the living room.
“The detective is doing what he has to do in order to save his job.” Brook’s gaze landed on Lawson, who appeared quite confused as to what he should do now that his superior had walked out of the rental house. She put his concerns at ease. “Officer Lawson, you would have been given an order to accompany Detective Hartley back to the station had he wanted you to return with him. You’re here so that you can be informed about what we uncover this evening.”
Brook wasn’t obtuse. Hartley was working the system. While Hartley understood the differences between what was best for his career and what was beneficial to the case, he truly didn’t trust her profile. He also wasn’t as unpredictable as he would have others believe, which was the reason that he was being cautious in his decision to leave Lawson behind.
When Brook had stopped into the offices of S&E Investigations yesterday, she’d thought long and hard about reaching out to the Bureau. It would have been convenient to continue working as a private investigations firm for Lorelei Jameson, but connecting both victims to one killer meant that the case could escalate solely due to their presence in town.
