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“And this time one of the perpetrators didn’t survive,” Finley said, still leaning toward the idea there was more Winthrop was hiding even in light of this comprehensive package.
Their client stared at her. “I had nothing to gain by murdering my husband. Marsh, on the other hand, had much to gain. She had nothing to lose except having to share the spoils with him. I had far too much to lose to do something so foolish in my own home, however tempting the thought may have been.”
Finley nodded her acquiescence. “A valid point.” She studied Winthrop. “Did you suspect any ofthisbefore his death?”
“I only saw the report this morning.”
Which wasn’t actually an answer to the question Finley had asked.
“Marsh is gone,” Finley said, mostly to see Winthrop’s reaction.
Winthrop exhaled a weary sound. “I’m not surprised. Perhaps if my team had moved faster, we could have provided this evidence in time to catch her.” She closed her eyes a moment, shook her head. “I continue to be stunned by what the man I foolishly thought cared about me was capable of doing.”
As suspicious as Finley still was, she couldn’t deny how painful that place could be. She thought of the stalker photos and the thumb drive and considered the idea that Derrick might have been working for Dempsey, and she felt ill with the overwhelming idea of it all. The fact was, whatever Winthrop had known before now, the final truths were rarely easy to swallow.
Jack and his client continued to discuss this shocking news. Finley listened, but one question kept nagging at her. Why, after all those years of being single and singularly focused on her career, had Winthrop suddenly married a con man? Sure, anyone could be fooled. Finley certainly had been. But this still felt off somehow.
None of it sat exactly right with Finley. Bottom line, she needed to find answers that would satisfy a jury if the prosecutor brought up thissame question, and any prosecutor worth his salt would. Assuming the case ended up at trial.
Jack assured his client that he would convey this new potential evidence to Detective Ventura and go from there. Winthrop thanked them both and took her leave.
“Talk about tied up with a neat little bow,” Jack said as he closed the file.
Before Finley could comment, Nita appeared again. “Detective Ventura on the phone for you,” she said to Jack.
Jack raised his eyebrows at Finley as he took the call. “Good morning, Detective,” he said. “I have you on speaker so my colleague, Finley O’Sullivan, can participate in the conversation.”
“Good,” Ventura said, “you’ll both want to hear this.”
Finley prepared for yet another revelation.
“First,” Ventura said, “our expert discovered the Winthrop home-security-camera footage had been edited during the time frame of the murder.”
Jack grunted. “Are you suggesting my client edited the video?”
“Not yet,” Ventura explained, “but the edit was done remotely. She certainly could have done it during her alleged walk.”
“The actual killer could have done the same,” Finley countered.
“Is there a way to identify the incoming source that performed the edit?” Jack asked.
Considering what Marsh and Grady appeared capable of pulling off, Finley wouldn’t be surprised at all by the possibility.
“The hacker who got in was good,” Ventura said. “So far we’ve had no luck tracking down the source.”
Finley and Jack shared an “and there you have it” look.
“We appreciate the heads-up,” Jack commented.
“There’s more,” Ventura said. “We got lucky with the murder weapon.”
“How lucky?” Jack wanted to know, his gaze locking once more with Finley’s.
“We lifted a couple of usable prints. The prints were in the database from a long-ago arrest for prostitution.”
Finley sat up straighter.
“A Mina Arnette. She was nineteen at the time. She uses an alias now. Lena Marsh.”
