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Instead of the kitchen, she entered Bit’s tech room.
“Alex, I’ve got to do some damage control.” Brook set her bottle of water down near the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. “I appreciate the heads up.”
Brook disconnected the call.
She pulled a chair up beside Bit, who had turned down the holiday music coming from the sound bar.
“What’s up, Boss?”
“Millie Gwinn was just taken in for questioning,” Brook shared as she made herself comfortable. “What have you found on the footage from last night? Were you able to isolate Kyle at one of the bar stations?”
“I think our neighbor across the hallway has a drinking problem.” Bit quickly and efficiently split the screen so that there were six feeds. “He had five drinks in the span of under three hours. It wasn’t long after his fifth drink that he left, so I concentrated on that five-minute span. No one connected to the case was standing nearby, and there was no notable shift in Kyle’s body language.”
Brook was proud of how much Bit had learned in the past year. Granted, he’d already had street smarts and a sense for when a situation was about to go awry, but searching footage like he’d been doing today was a bit different. He’d taken what he’d learned from the team and had applied it to how he gauged people in any given situation.
“Did Kyle say he left the fundraiser immediately after overhearing some guy talk about Millie?”
“No.” Brook took her time and viewed the six different footages that were all running at the same time. “You said that Kyle had five drinks in the span of less than three hours. What is this sixth frame?”
“Oh, there are more than six,” Bit revealed as he motioned to a second monitor. He’d pulled up four more clips that showed Kyle from a different angle. “These cameras caught him near one of the bar stations that was positioned near the stage. In two of these, Gary Heinsel was close enough to be overheard, but so was Josh Perisot. In this frame, Brett Kolsby was nearby, but he seemed to be listening more to his date than he was talking himself.”
“I need to go speak with Kyle to find out what time of the evening this so-called conversation was overheard,” Brook said as she pushed back her chair. “Good work, Bit. I’ll be back shortly.”
Sylvie wasn’t in her office, which meant that she’d already left to drive to the station. The investigation seemed to have kicked up a notch, but Brook didn’t like the sense that they had lost the initiative.
“Kate, I won’t be long,” Brook advised as she crossed the foyer. “I’m just going across the hall to—“
Brook’s phone rang before she could finish her statement. She opened the glass door before looking at the lighted display. She slowed her steps as she took the call.
“Theo, I already have Sylvie on the way to the police station.”
“Why?”
Brook came to a complete stop in front of the elevator bank. She’d thought that Theo had been contacting her regarding Detective Soerig taking the lead and not consulting anyone of her plans, but Brook had clearly been wrong in her assumption.
“Detective Soerig decided to bring Millie Gwinn in for questioning,” Brook divulged as she took a couple of steps toward the entrance of the hedge fund. “Alex just notified me. If you weren’t calling me about Millie, I take it that you found the vehicles?”
“I was actually calling you to tell you the opposite,” Theo countered after a long pause. His tone had dropped a level, which usually happened when he was bothered by something. He hadn’t shared anything with her regarding Hadley, and Brook hadn’t seen the detective inside the building since that first morning. It could have simply been a one-night stand, but it didn’t matter in the end. Brook could sense that Theo was hurt by the woman’s actions. “We thought we might have something, but it turned out to be a sunken boat. The unsub had to have taken the cars somewhere else. We can expand—“
“If Detective Raines wants to expand the search perimeter, let him. I’d rather have you here. Bit has been combing over last night’s footage ever since he got in this morning. A fresh set of eyes wouldn’t hurt.” Brook figured Theo could use a break, especially if it meant keeping the peace between the two detectives and S&E Investigations. “There’s a bowl of chili in the kitchen for you from the deli. Kate hasn’t put it in the fridge yet.”
“I need some of those heated gloves that I keep seeing on television,” Theo muttered, his bad mood coming across the line loud and clear. “I’ll be back soon. Tell Kate that I’ll bring her a hot chocolate from the café.”
“What if Kate wasn’t the one who ordered you a bowl of chili? It could have been me,” Brook countered, hoping that he would take the hint. She was almost certain that her question had garnered a silent laugh. “I’ll take a—“
“I’ve got you covered. See you soon.”
She had no doubt that Theo would be reaching out to Hadley, but that situation was between them. Brook wouldn’t interfere unless their choices started to compromise the case. All Hadley had done was her job, in a roundabout way. She still had a lot to learn when it came to working with other agencies. There was a good chance that her orders had been dictated to her from above, but Hadley still should have notified Theo and Detective Raines.
Brook viewed the detour of the case as nothing more than a mere distraction, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Whoever had attempted to turn the tables back on Millie had done so with purpose. While Hadley was otherwise preoccupied, the unsub might feel a sense of relief that the focus had been taken off the Kolsbys and Cranstons.
Brook wouldn’t waste an opportunity that had been handed to her on a silver platter. She needed to find a thread somewhere that would ultimately lead to more.
She’d never been inside the offices of the hedge fund before, but there was a desk to the right of the entrance. It wasn’t surprising to find that the layout was much like the offices of S&E Investigations, only without the modern décor.
“Would you please let Kyle Paulson know that I would like to speak with him?” Brook asked the receptionist who she’d seen numerous times over the past year. “Brook Sloane from next door.”
“Of course, Ms. Sloane.” The young woman stood from her chair and came around the large counter. “My name is Lizzy. Please, follow me. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Water? A soda, perhaps?”
