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“It’s good to see you,” Elena said to Kara, breaking the awkward silence. “You look great.”
Kara didn’t know how to respond so she mumbled, “Thanks.”
Matt introduced Michael, motioned for her to sit and asked, “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”
Elena sat at the table across from Matt and Michael; Kara stood.
“Since you’re not officially involved,” Elena said, “I wanted to give you an unofficial report about today’s shooting.”
Matt offered water or coffee. She took neither.
“I don’t have much time,” Elena continued, “but you’d sent me a message about whether LAPD thought that Chen’s murder was connected in any way to Dyson’s. Right now, we’re being cautious in what we publicly say—our official statement is that both homicides are priorities and under investigation, blah, blah. Internally we’re running with the theory that the murders are connected. Based on the timeline Detective McPherson created, Dyson’s killer was already inside before the courthouse went on lockdown. So it appears to be a coordinated attack against Chen and the prosecuting attorney with two different killers.”
“Theories? Motives?” Matt asked.
“We have dozens, none that make sense. Chen had many enemies, so did Dyson, but who wanted both of them dead? We’re still in the early stages of our investigation.”
“What about forensics from the roof?” Matt asked.
“The lab has the grappling hook, clothing and trace evidence. It’s a priority case, so they’re working overtime. Hopefully we’ll get something, but I’m not holding my breath. The wig and beard have the highest probability of getting DNA, but that’ll take weeks. Several people saw a man in black scaling down the courthouse at the southeast corner, then on foot heading north on Spring. Once he went under the freeway, he disappeared. We haven’t caught him on surveillance cameras, but the glitch in the park next to the Justice Center may have had a broader range.”
“A glitch?” Kara asked sarcastically. “That’s what they’re going with?”
“Clearly, it was tampered with. Our techs are all over it, but I don’t have a report yet. Once we have more details about the how and the when, we’ll decide what we release to the public.”
“No weapon yet?” Matt said.
“No,” Elena said. “Likely took it with him.”
“What about security footage?” Matt asked. “McPherson said he would nail down when he entered. We might get lucky, get a good image.”
“McPherson and courthouse security have been reviewing security footage carefully, determining who entered but didn’t exit. Unfortunately, it’s a manual process and might take days, even narrowing the search to male adults under fifty and between five foot ten and six foot two.”
“What about Chen?” Kara said. “Matt said there was a person of interest.”
“Violet Halliday. An officer who knows her said she ran from the scene. She’s a twenty-nine-year-old IT operator, been with the city for nearly five years, no record. We’re treating her as a possible witness, but haven’t been able to locate her at work or home, which is suspicious.”
Kara considered telling Elena the little she knew about Violet but refrained, at least for now. Nothing she knew would help Elena find the woman.
“Chen was coming to the courthouse for a hearing that would decide whether he goes to trial or not. He’s now dead,” Kara said. “Craig told me he was going to offer Chen a deal if he ratted on who helped him keep his sweatshop in operation. Including a cop.”
Elena didn’t say anything.
“What do you know about the investigation?” Kara asked. “Were you working with Craig?”
She hesitated a fraction of a second. “I have worked with Craig on investigations before, but I don’t know specifically what his plans were with Chen.”
She was lying. Kara knew Elena well, and this woman—her mentor, her boss, her FTO—was lying.
“You know exactly what Craig’s plans were,” Kara said with cold calm.
Elena stared at her, her expression unreadable. Then she said to Matt, “Can I have a word with Kara alone?”
Matt looked to Kara. “You good?”
She nodded. Matt and Michael left for the adjoining room.
Kara didn’t say anything. She leaned against the back of the couch and stared at Elena. She could wait her out as long as it took. She should tell her what Craig said about Violet Halliday, but right now she was trusting very few people, and she wanted to talk to Will Lattimer before she decided what to do and whom to trust.
