Leland Asher, at the reception during the time of the murder.”
“Any records of Asher making big withdrawals around the time of the murder?” Jim asked.
Olivia shook her head, knowing what he was getting at. “If he hired a hit man, there was no paper trail that Dad or Al could find.”
Gabe Knight’s claims were looking less credible by the minute. Maybe, as her father said, the collusion story and cover-up was nothing more than a grieving fiancé grasping at straws. Danielle Reese could very well have been the victim of a random carjacking. Although Gabe had seemed so certain that his fiancée’s death was some kind of mob connection cover-up that Olivia had believed him enough to bring Dani’s case to the team.
And, maybe there was a little bit of Irish vindication running through her veins. If she could solve this case for her dad, it might make his forced retirement after a career-ending injury a little easier to enjoy.
“Are we a go on reopening Dani Reese’s murder?” Olivia asked, watching her supervisor’s gray-blue eyes for approval.
The lieutenant closed her laptop, signaling that the meeting was winding down. “Sounds like our type of investigation. Olivia, you take the lead. Reinterview any suspects and the men who found her, look at the crime scene, nail down the motive—you know the drill.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Olivia rose and pulled her jacket off the back of her chair. “I can follow up with Dad—see if he’s got any insights that might not be in the records.”
Jim jotted a line on his notepad and closed it. “I’ll go over to storage and pull the evidence box. We can look at everything with fresh eyes. If there are any trace samples, I’ll find out if there are new tests the lab can run on them.”
Ginny Rafferty-Taylor shrugged into her sky-blue blazer. “If this was a robbery, let’s prove it. If not, our best lead is to talk to the man who knew our victim best. See if we can put our hands on those notes she allegedly kept and find a motive there.”
“Best lead, as in Gabriel Knight?”
The lieutenant nodded. “You’ve already established a rapport. Talk to him. Let’s make him KCPD’s friend again. We need to get a look at the story Dani Reese was writing.”
Olivia adjusted her jacket over the white blouse she wore before answering. Her fingers hadn’t just started tingling at the mention of Gabe’s name, had they?
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her hesitation. There was a chorus of
yes
,
ma
’
am
s as they shut down computers and pushed away from the table.
“I expect regular updates,” Ginny reminded them. “Keep in touch.”
“Trent?” Katie set her laptop on the table and hurried past Olivia to reach the dark-haired muscle man before he left the room. “Tyler has Little League tryouts this weekend. I was wondering if you could help him with his swing? This is his first year playing regular ball instead of hitting off the tee. I’ll throw in a home-cooked meal for your trouble.”
“Baseball’s not my sport,” the big man conceded. But he smiled at the mention of Katie’s son. “You know how much I like hanging out with the little guy, though. I’ll give it a shot. Saturday okay?”
While the computer genius and the detective worked out the details of their weekend afternoon, Jim circled around the table to speak to Olivia. “I’ve picked up that Knight isn’t your favorite person. Want me to go with you?”
Adjusting the cuffs and collar of her blouse, Olivia frowned. “I thought you and Natalie had an appointment with a Realtor about making an offer on that house you two saw yesterday.”
“I’ll postpone the meeting.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can handle Gabe Knight on my own.” She tugged on the badge hanging around her neck. “The day I can’t conduct an interview is the day I need to turn this in.”
“You sure you’re not just trying to go solo without me again? You can’t break me in if we don’t spend time
“Any records of Asher making big withdrawals around the time of the murder?” Jim asked.
Olivia shook her head, knowing what he was getting at. “If he hired a hit man, there was no paper trail that Dad or Al could find.”
Gabe Knight’s claims were looking less credible by the minute. Maybe, as her father said, the collusion story and cover-up was nothing more than a grieving fiancé grasping at straws. Danielle Reese could very well have been the victim of a random carjacking. Although Gabe had seemed so certain that his fiancée’s death was some kind of mob connection cover-up that Olivia had believed him enough to bring Dani’s case to the team.
And, maybe there was a little bit of Irish vindication running through her veins. If she could solve this case for her dad, it might make his forced retirement after a career-ending injury a little easier to enjoy.
“Are we a go on reopening Dani Reese’s murder?” Olivia asked, watching her supervisor’s gray-blue eyes for approval.
The lieutenant closed her laptop, signaling that the meeting was winding down. “Sounds like our type of investigation. Olivia, you take the lead. Reinterview any suspects and the men who found her, look at the crime scene, nail down the motive—you know the drill.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Olivia rose and pulled her jacket off the back of her chair. “I can follow up with Dad—see if he’s got any insights that might not be in the records.”
Jim jotted a line on his notepad and closed it. “I’ll go over to storage and pull the evidence box. We can look at everything with fresh eyes. If there are any trace samples, I’ll find out if there are new tests the lab can run on them.”
Ginny Rafferty-Taylor shrugged into her sky-blue blazer. “If this was a robbery, let’s prove it. If not, our best lead is to talk to the man who knew our victim best. See if we can put our hands on those notes she allegedly kept and find a motive there.”
“Best lead, as in Gabriel Knight?”
The lieutenant nodded. “You’ve already established a rapport. Talk to him. Let’s make him KCPD’s friend again. We need to get a look at the story Dani Reese was writing.”
Olivia adjusted her jacket over the white blouse she wore before answering. Her fingers hadn’t just started tingling at the mention of Gabe’s name, had they?
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her hesitation. There was a chorus of
yes
,
ma
’
am
s as they shut down computers and pushed away from the table.
“I expect regular updates,” Ginny reminded them. “Keep in touch.”
“Trent?” Katie set her laptop on the table and hurried past Olivia to reach the dark-haired muscle man before he left the room. “Tyler has Little League tryouts this weekend. I was wondering if you could help him with his swing? This is his first year playing regular ball instead of hitting off the tee. I’ll throw in a home-cooked meal for your trouble.”
“Baseball’s not my sport,” the big man conceded. But he smiled at the mention of Katie’s son. “You know how much I like hanging out with the little guy, though. I’ll give it a shot. Saturday okay?”
While the computer genius and the detective worked out the details of their weekend afternoon, Jim circled around the table to speak to Olivia. “I’ve picked up that Knight isn’t your favorite person. Want me to go with you?”
Adjusting the cuffs and collar of her blouse, Olivia frowned. “I thought you and Natalie had an appointment with a Realtor about making an offer on that house you two saw yesterday.”
“I’ll postpone the meeting.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can handle Gabe Knight on my own.” She tugged on the badge hanging around her neck. “The day I can’t conduct an interview is the day I need to turn this in.”
“You sure you’re not just trying to go solo without me again? You can’t break me in if we don’t spend time
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