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He spent another fifteen minutes pouring through Glenn Vice’s social media account. The guy had been careful, he’d give him that much. All the people he’d friended appeared to attend the same church as Harper.
Obviously, there were no links to Grotto or Brooks. Or Feldman.
When his phone rang, he froze when he saw Banner’s number. He ignored the call before he could talk himself out of it.
As if not talking to the ATF would prevent them from continuing to work the case.
He quickly picked up the phone and called Raelyn. “Hey, do you have an update?”
“You mean on the Starkey murder?” Rae asked.
“Yes. I’m sure you heard the weapon was found.”
“I did.” She hesitated, then said, “I don’t believe Harper Crane killed Starkey. And I think the ME agrees with us.”
He liked the sound of that, even if it was almost too good to be true. “Care to explain?”
“I spent a fair amount of time with the ME during the autopsy.” Attending autopsies was never fun, but to her credit, Rae didn’t shy away from the gruesome job. Neither did Jina nor Cassidy, the other female officers on the team. “He thinks the killer was a tall male based on the trajectory of the bullet. There was no evidence Starkey was kneeling, so he was standing upright, his chin planted firmly against his chest as the shot was fired. That means the shooter was taller than Harper.”
“Okay, go on.” He was encouraged by the news.
“There’s also the fact that the murder took place somewhere else. Starkey was literally tossed into the dumpster like garbage.”
His heart sank. “Even one strong guy couldn’t do that. It would take two people to get him up and inside. That doesn’t exonerate Harper. Not if she had help.”
“Depends on the killer,” Rae admitted. “But with Harper being short and pregnant, she’d be little to no help in dumping the body.”
Maybe. He tried to take comfort in the ME’s opinion. “That sounds good, Rae. Thanks for the information.”
“How is she?” Rae asked.
He glanced at Harper, who was sitting with her eyes closed making circles on her pregnant belly. “Hanging in there.”
“Keep her safe, Steele. I have a bad feeling about this case.”
“You and me both.” His phone rang again. A glance at the screen indicated the call was from Steve Banner. He sighed. “This is the ATF. I have to go.”
“Later.” Rae ended the call.
He pressed the button to answer the call. “Hey, Steve. I was on the other line with Raelyn. What’s going on?”
“I just heard from Finnegan.” Banner didn’t beat around the bush. “Sounds like Ms. Crane is interested in a face-to-face meeting with her ex-husband.”
He really, really wished he hadn’t mentioned it to Rhy. “She is, yes.” He could feel Harper’s gaze on him, her previous Zen mode having vanished.
“Why?”
It was a good question. He considered the best way to respond. “She thinks her ex-husband is framing her for the murder of Ellis Starkey out of a deep-seated revenge.”
“Impossible,” Banner shot back. “He’s had no contact with anyone outside of the safe house.”
“And you know that for sure?”
“Yes, there are two ATF agents sitting on him in Chicago,” Banner said. “I’m telling you, he’s not responsible.”
He almost hoped Banner would deny the request. “Look, I’m just telling you what she’s thinking. She pointed out that she knows her ex-husband better than anyone else. If you’re not on board with the plan, that’s fine. I’ll let her know.”
“I didn’t say that,” Banner protested. “I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”
