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“He didn’t go back to the motel?” Spencer asked, taking notes.
“I thought he might, so I cased it out over the weekend. Yesterday, I finally chanced knocking on the door. There was no answer,” Karol said. “So I broke in and there was no sign of him. I found some dried blood in the sink and cut marks on the furniture, including a moldy mattress. The guy’s fucked up.”
“Let’s table Lucas for a minute. Detective Frank, tell everyone what you know about the body that was found on the property,” Hartley said.
“Jesus, that’s so messed up,” Georgia said with a groan.
“I know. Nita texted me,” Becca said. “Was it really somewhere behind the compound? Shit, we all used to live there!”
Spencer shifted in his chair and pulled a different notebook out of his pocket, paging backwards through it. “The body was Lawrence Tate. Last known address was Corvallis, Oregon, where he lived with his brother. His brother believed he’d moved to Seattle to look for a job, but didn’t know more than that,” Spencer read.
“Not a surprise,” Claire said. “All staff, clients, and consultants sign nondisclosure agreements. At the most, we let them tell people they work for a dating service.”
Spencer huffed. “Right. Anyway, Lawrence Tate had no record in Oregon or Washington State and no known domicile aside from a P.O. box registered in his name.”
“To get his paychecks,” Claire explained. “He was one of the few who didn’t like direct deposit.”
Spencer gave her a look. “Aren’t you the Cavendish legal counsel? How do you know so much about payroll?” he asked.
“Claire’s our legal and HR in one,” Hartley said tiredly.
“We use a payroll company in Spokane, and I made sure I talked to them before today,” Claire said smoothly, although Montgomery heard a hint of impatience in her voice. “So I also know that neither Lucas’s and Lawrence’s last paychecks were cashed.”
Montgomery frowned, making a note on his phone. “That’s unusual,” he replied, looking over at Claire.
“It is. The checks included their vacation pay and final payout, so they were significant amounts of money,” she told him.
“Maybe they didn’t want to be traced by cashing them?” Karol supposed.
“Maybe,” Spencer murmured, looking into space.
“The thing is, Karol traced him here. The purpose of today,” Hartley said, standing and pacing at the front of the table, “is to find Lucas and turn him in to the police.”
“Or help him find his way to an accident,” Montgomery suggested, his gaze flashing to Spencer. There was an answering glint in his eyes.
“I didn’t just hear you say you’re willing to murder someone,” Claire noted, shaking her head.
Montgomery expected her to put her hands on her ears and chime, “La-la-la.”
“I didn’t say murder,” Montgomery said with icy calm.
He could do it, though. Watching Hartley continue to pace, her expression thoughtful, and remembering the wedding ring in the kill kit, he knew it was the truth. If he had to end a life, he could.
“That’s cold, my dude,” Becca said.
“And illegal, although I’m not hearing the only cop in the room weigh in,” Georgia added.
Spencer opened his mouth, shut it, and then shrugged. “Killing someone is illegal, yes. Killing someone in self-defense, especially someone who’s already killed… I can’t say itisn’tillegal. It depends on the law, on charges, and on a judge’s opinion.”
“We don’t even know where Rogue is,” Claire argued. “You said he wasn’t at this motel anymore.”
Karol nodded. “I think he’s gone because he knows the noose is tightening, so to speak.”
Hartley looked at Karol with respect. “You worked with him. You’ve obviously got some kind of radar where he’s concerned. Do you think he’s left Seattle? Or even the state? Maybe all of this is for nothing,” she said, a questioning note in her voice.
Montgomery instantly heard a voice in his head yell,No.
“There’s no way he’s gone,” Karol said, a touch of sympathy in his face. “Not after all this.”
