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Jo watched the tiles fly past as they hurried down the hall, her mind churning away, digesting the implications and lining up the details.
ADA Hanson was already there when they reached Lieutenant Hayes’ office, posture stiff and face tight. Hayes’ shoulders were hunched toward her ears.
“Fournier, Arnett, have a seat.” She turned to Hanson. “They’re just coming from the Deena Scott crime scene. Apparently she was Ossokov’s defense attorney—which means at least now we know who our suspect is. He appears to be killing anyone and everyone who played a role in his incarceration.”
Jo addressed Hanson. “How well do you remember his case?”
“I spent the weekend studying most of Sandra’s cases, including his,” he said.
“Can you see any reason why Ossokov would have an issue with Deena Scott’s defense?” Jo asked.
He shrugged. “It’s hard to battle a DNA match. It’s the gold standard as far as juries are concerned.”
“And, ultimately, she took on his appeals and got him freed,” Jo said. “So I’m having a hard time connecting the dots as to why he’d want to kill her.”
Hayes waved her off. “He’s obviously lashing out at everyone involved. Just because she eventually got him off doesn’t mean he doesn’t blame her for not being able to prevent his incarceration in the first place.
“Or she became disenchanted with him,” Hanson said. “If she refused to take this suit on, that could have been enough to anger him.”
Jo needed to get ahead of what she knew was coming. “Another possibility is the suit was a defensive tactic to kneecap the investigation and clear the way for him to keep killing.”
Hayes cleared her throat, annoyed at having been anticipated. “That brings us to our next point. Since we now know Ossokov is our perpetrator, obviously our next step is getting a search warrant for his home and car as soon as possible. But equally obviously, there’s no way Arnett will be able to execute that warrant since he’s named in the suit.” Hayes turned to him pointedly. “I don’t want you anywhere near Ossokov, and that means you can’t be anywhere near the case.”
Jo held her breath—this was the excuse Hayes had been looking for to pull her off the case. But nobody knew the case like she and Arnett did, and she needed to stop them before they killed another member of law enforcement.
Hayes’ face shifted like she’d just bit into something disgusting. “Fournier, you’ll be taking over.”
Relief and confusion washed over Jo. “I’m still on the case?”
Hayes shot a quick glare at Hanson. “We agreed on that before you got here. We all know this lawsuit is a crock, and I’m not going to allow this little shit to interfere with our ability to investigate the murder of our colleagues by filing a spurious lawsuit. Without Arnett you’ll need more hands, so since Goran and Coyne are already helping you work Deena Scott’s scene, they’ll continue to assist you.”
Jo glanced surreptitiously at Hanson, who nodded. DA Barbieri had made the call.
Hayes spotted the exchange. “That is, at least until word comes down otherwise. In the meantime, three detectives should be more than enough considering we know who the killer is. I’ve already had press inquiries asking if Deena Scott’s killing is related to the other two, and I expect to have very good news to give them within the next few hours. That’s all for now.”
“One more issue, if I may,” Jo said.
Hayes looked annoyed, but nodded.
“If Ossokov is taking out the people that put him behind bars—then Steve Murphy and Bob Arnett are next.”
“All the more reason to get Ossokov’s house searched so we can bring him into custody before he kills again.” She nodded toward the door. “Why are you still standing here?”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Arnett strode down the hall at top speed. “No chance in hell I’m gonna step aside while this asshole kills members of our own. If it gets me fired, so be it.”
“It won’t be hard to keep you out of sight but still involved. I’m more worried that the possibility that Ossokov is our killer—”
“Possibility? Come on, Jo. What connection do Flynn or Hauptmann or Bruce Ashville have with Deena Scott? The only reason you’re resisting the obvious conclusion is because you don’t want to face that Murphy and I are next on his hit list.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.Of courseOssokov is at the center of this, there’s no denying that. Nothing else makes sense. But there are details that don’t fit, and understanding those details is crucial to predicting what his plan is and what his next move is. Who knows, maybe he joined forces with Mitch Hauptmann andthat’swhy they took out Winnie Sakurai, because she knew about Hauptmann’s witness tampering. Maybe he’s manipulating us. But yes, you’re absolutely right—the idea that he’s coming for you next terrifies me.”
He didn’t meet her eyes. “Let him come. Then we’ll have him dead to rights.”
Jo stared at his profile, for once completely unable to guess his thoughts. Suddenly she felt like a pit had opened up under her and she was falling through infinite space. Her work life—for good or bad, the majority of her world—depended vitally on her connection with this man. Without warning, that connection had disappeared.
She grabbed his arm and propelled him into a conference room. Once the door clicked firmly behind her, she turned to him. “There’s nobody in this world I trust more than you. You know that, right? Even more than my own mother and sister.”
