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Marshall’s lips twitched. “The uniformed officers did. I might have directed them to the bust. But as for surveillance tapes from this hotel, I wouldn’t hold my breath. I was on my way to canvass the neighboring businesses for surveillance footage when I got the call from the lieutenant to meet you here.”
“We’ll handle it,” Connor said. “Did the vic’s wife have an alibi?”
“She was visiting her parents in Bakersfield up until last night. She has receipts from a gas station, and her parents vouched for her whereabouts. I mean, an alibi from parents is a little shaky, but she says they had a barbecue over the weekend and lots of neighbors saw her there. That’s not in the initial report. Just got that info an hour ago.”
Kit noted it. “We’ll check the wife out, too. I want to know who he was having an affair with and who knew he’d be here.”
Marshall smiled. “Good hunting. You have any more questions for me?”
“Yeah,” Connor said. “Where’s his car?”
“Not in this parking lot. I haven’t had a chance to check for GPS location. His wife said he drove a year-old Beemer, six series.”
“Pricey,” Kit mused. “Wonder how much he made at Shady Oaks.”
Marshall nodded. “Good question. Anything else?”
Connor checked his notes. “Nothing right now. Kit?”
“Me either. We’ll call if we do.”
When Marshall was gone, Connor gave Kit a cautious look. “If we want to know more about his affair, we should ask the friends he was supposed to be golfing with and his coworkers at Shady Oaks.” He paused and Kit grimaced, knowing what was coming next. “We should also talk to Sam. He observes things. People tell him stuff. He might know details about Kent Crawford that nobody else noticed or will be willing to tell us.”
“You’re right.” She went into the bathroom to search. “Toothbrush and razor, but no shaving cream. No toothpaste, either. His shaving kit is here, but it’s empty. Huh. No little soaps or shampoos.”
“His killer took them. Maybe to wash off the blood.”
Because there would have been spatter. A lot of spatter. If the killer had put the gun in Kent Crawford’s hand, they’d been close enough to be wearing that spatter.
“We’ll ask Forensics to check the shower trap.”
“Gross,” Connor muttered. “This doesn’t look like the kind of place that routinely cleans the drains. Can you even imagine what’s piled up in there?”
“Unfortunately, I can.” She crossed the room to the luggage rack, tugging on a pair of gloves before checking the contents of his suitcase. “There’s only two changes of clothes in this bag. One golf shirt, one dress shirt, and two pairs of shorts. But no nice shoes or slacks to go with the dress shirt. If he expected to be gone for four days, why doesn’t he have more clothes? Did his killer take his clothes, too?”
“All good questions,” Connor said. “And why make the original reservation here for only one night? Unless he actually did plan to catch up with his friends after spending the night with whoever he was having the affair with.”
“We should chat with his friends. You up for a trip to Palm Springs?”
Connor gave her a knowing look. “Yes, but after we talk to Sam. I’ll believe what he has to say over friends who might be prepared to lie for the victim. Especially if they knew he was cheating on the wife.”
Kit sighed. “Let’s go pay a visit to Dr. Sam.”
San Diego, California
Monday, November 7, 4:15 p.m.
Sam was locking his desk when he heard a knock at the door. He turned, expecting Angeline with a copy of his revised schedule, but stopped short when he saw Kit and Connor waiting in the doorway.
Kit clearly did not want to be here. Connor simply looked resigned.
He took a steadying breath. “Detectives. What can I do for you?”
“Can we sit down?” Connor asked.
Sam gestured at the sofa in his therapy area. “Please.” He sat in the chair as he did during most therapy sessions. It made him feel more in control.
He needed control right now. The sight of Kit McKittrick, here in his space, had his heart thundering all out of rhythm. Drawing a breath, he tried to relax.
