Pacheco sighed and looked at his feet. “Gimme a sec. I feel like she mentioned it.”
Emmet waited, gazing down at Aubrey’s ex.
Adam looked at Emmet with a raised eyebrow, then shot a pointed look at the cigarette butt. Emmet nodded.
“Think, Sam,” Emmet told him. “Who was she seeing?”
He rubbed his chin, still staring at his feet. “It was like, Brian or Brandon?” His gaze jerked up. “Brenden. That was it. Some guy named Brenden.”
“Last name?”
“No idea.”
Emmet studied the man’s face. The guy had been credible until now, but Emmet’s gut told him that this part of his story was bullshit. Witnesses lied all the time, and the real question was why. Was this guy lying because he was guilty of something? Or because he wanted to get the police out of his face?
Emmet asked a few more questions that didn’t go anywhere and wrapped up the interview. Then he stopped by the director’s office for a minute before returning to the parking lot.
Adam was waiting by the unmarked police car.
“You get the cigarette?” Emmet asked.
“Yeah.” He held up a small brown evidence envelope. “You think we’ll need this?”
“You never know.”
They slid into the car.
“His alibi check out?” Adam asked as Emmet started the engine.
“He was admitted here on Saturday, like he said.” He glanced at Adam. “Nine a.m.”
“Shit.”
“I know.”
“So, now what? He was our only suspect.”
Emmet gritted his teeth and didn’t answer. They crossed the parking lot and exited through the electronic gate.
“Could be it’s this Brenden guy,” Adam continued. “Or maybe he just threw out a name so we’d shut up and go away. That sounded kind of made up to me. What do you think?”
Emmet looked at him. “I think you’re getting the hang of this.”
***
Nicole turned into the gas station on fumes and pulled up to a pump.
OUT OF ORDER, read the hand-printed sign.
Cursing, she checked her watch, then circled around and pulled up to wait behind a pickup truck. A text message from Owen landed on her phone.
DNA update?
She grabbed her phone from the cup holder and texted him the same message she’d texted Brady as she was leaving the crime lab.
Nothing new. DNA results Friday at the earliest. Also I just went by Cassandra’s to ask her abt vic’s number on her phone, but she wasn’t there.
Owen had agreed that Aubrey’s phone records showed an unusual number of calls to Cassandra if their relationship was limited to student and teacher. And if there was more to it, why hadn’t Cassandra said so from the beginning?