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“Sorry, thinking.”
“Think out loud, buddy. We’re partners, right?” Her eyes widened as if in warning.
He was used to working alone, but Abigail had a point. “I was just wondering what he had planned in D.C., and whether this stop was permanent or a layover before fleeing the country.”
“He’d need a fake passport. His cousin doesn’t have a passport issued to him.”
“Not impossible,” Noah said. “Check the State Department and see if there is a pending application under the cousin’s name and social.”
“Got it.” Abigail made a note. “I read over the autopsy report again. Morton’s body was found at seven a.m. The coroner puts his time of death at eleven p.m. Friday night.”
“Security cameras?”
“Nope. I was going to go check it out, just to get a feel of the layout and where the vic was found, but the local police did a thorough job when they were first called in. I read through all the interviews of the marina employees. The last staff left at five-thirty p.m. on Friday. After the murder, they checked boats and supplies and told police that nothing was taken or disturbed.”
“Footprints? Evidence?”
“No prints—the ground is hard as concrete. It’s friggin’ thirty-one degrees right now, did you know that?” She shook her head in disgust. “Morton’s clothing was sent to the FBI lab for trace evidence. There was nothing found on his body—no identification, no hotel card key, no keys at all. It is possible he brought nothing, or the killer robbed him.”
“What would he have to steal? The crime appears to be motivated by revenge based on the attack to Morton’s genitals.”
“But it’s still an execution. No rage in a single bullet to the back of the head.”
Noah considered that point. “Morton must have been taken by surprise.”
“That would have been hard to do—did you look at the crime scene photos? It’s open, right there on the river, near the dry docks.”
Noah had looked at the photos. “The killer could have been waiting among the boats. They’re stored close together.”
“But Morton’s body was found in the open.”
“Suggesting a meeting.”
Abigail nodded. “But no car was found. We’re checking rental agencies and motels.”
“He could have come with someone. There’re no drag or scuffle marks to indicate a fight or body dump.”
“Why the marina?”
“Convenience. But it wasn’t a body dump—the evidence proves that the victim was shot where he was found.”
“I have an analyst contacting motels starting with those closest to Dulles and working out toward D.C. If we find where Morton was holed up, we might get a much better idea what he was up to.”
Noah looked down at his notes. “What if he threatened his last known victim? Or Kate Donovan, the agent who took him down? Maybe she killed him in self-defense.”
Abigail shook her head. “If Morton threatened either Kate or Lucy Kincaid and was killed as a result, they had cause.”
“Maybe. Though if it was a justified shooting, she should have come forward.”
“You don’t know Kate Donovan.”
“Well, I will now. We’re going to her house this afternoon.”
Abigail sighed. “This is a conversation I’m not looking forward to.”
“Why? If she’s innocent in Morton’s murder, then we need to know.”
“She’s very protective of her sister-in-law. Do you know what happened to Lucy Kincaid?”
