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“I’d appreciate whatever estimation you can give me about time of death as soon as possible. The RO said the industrial baker in the next unit over arrived at one this morning to begin work and found him like this. She didn’t see any cars or anything unusual, and claimed it was clear he’d been dead for some time. I see now why.” Jo straightened and scanned the building. “Hopefully there’s some sort of security camera inside the building, and that’ll help set the time.”
“As soon as I have something more conclusive than that I’ll let you know, but for now I can’t place it much more precisely than the baker’s information.”
“Thanks.” Jo returned to the responding officer and asked him to send out local PD to canvas the area and check into the security footage. Then she followed Peterson as he photographed the surrounding scene segment by segment, searching for anything that could give more of a clue to what happened. They’d nearly finished the space when her phone buzzed an incoming call. “Goran. What’s happening?”
“We tracked down Ossokov’s mother. She spent last night at her sister’s house. Sarah Billings.”
“Why?” Jo asked.
“She slipped getting out of the bathtub last night and sprained her wrist. Sister Sarah took her to urgent care, then insisted Rebecca spend the night so Sarah could take care of her. Of course the hospital has security footage.”
“What time?”
“She slipped around nine thirty, and checked in to urgent care around ten fifteen. There had been a multi-vehicle crash on the pike, so they were busy and she wasn’t seen until almost one in the morning. All documented and verified. I requested security footage just to be certain.”
“Damn. So fully accounted for during the time Ossokov was murdered.”
“Yep, but from what you said I figured you still wanted to talk to her. We’re bringing her into interrogation now.”
“I’ll be right there.”
* * *
Rebecca Ossokov’s head snapped up as Jo entered the interrogation room. Random tendrils stuck out from her messy bun, and her crystal-blue eyes were swollen and rimmed with red. Both hands, one wrist wrapped in a brace, clutched crumpled tissues, and a cup of something sat ignored in front of her.
Hope briefly flashed in her eyes as she searched Jo’s face. “Is this some sort of ploy to mess with my head?”
“No ploy.” Jo put a full box of tissues in front of her. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Fresh tears poured down her face. “You’resorry? You did this to him! You wouldn’t leave him alone! First you take his life from him, then just when he gets it back…” Her anger devolved into sobs, and both hands flew up to clutch at her eyes.
Jo waited quietly until the jag subsided and Rebecca’s breathing calmed. In a gentle voice she asked, “What do you mean by that, that this is our fault?”
Rebecca’s face screwed up into an angry red ball, and her finger thrust into Jo’s face. “You all cover for each other no matter what. You never thought he’d get out of prison and when he did you had to cover up your mistakes. You expect me to believe it’s a coincidence that he files a lawsuit against your department, then two days later he’s dead?”
Jo took a deep breath before responding, careful to keep her tone calm and non-confrontational. “Whoever killed your son also killed Sandra Ashville and the others. Do you really think we’d kill three members of law enforcement and his defense attorney just to frame your son, only to then kill him?”
Rebecca’s arm dropped to the table, and her gaze zig-zagged around the room as she struggled to find an answer.
Jo gave her a moment, then continued. “Whoever killed those people, including your son, I want to catch them—even if they’re a member of law enforcement.” Rebecca’s eyes snapped back to her. “I need your help to do that.”
As Rebecca searched her face, Jo tried to telegraph her sincerity. Rebecca finally nodded, sending twin tears down her cheeks.
“Do you know of anybody else angry enough on Cooper’s behalf to kill for him?”
Rebecca’s fingers grasped at the surface of the table. “Nobody.”
“No friends or girlfriends?”
Rebecca looked down at the floor and swiped at her face as more tears came. “Cooper has always been an introvert. He never had many friends, and the very few he had disappeared when he went away to prison. Inside, he kept to himself.”
“Maybe somebody he met at his new job?”
“They’re all gone by the time he gets there each night.”
“Family? Maybe the uncle who loaned him the car?”
She gave a strange hiccup-laugh and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “The little family we have has always been wary of him. Nobody was surprised when he got sent to prison—they were surprised when he wasreleased.” Her mouth clenched momentarily into a tight circle. “Even my sister and her husband. He only loaned us the car for my sake, not Cooper’s. I can still see in their eyes they believe the release was a technicality.”
