Page 42 of In the Line of Ire

"Helooks good for it. He sent threatening texts and voice messages inthe days before she died and was seen in the mall that afternoonmaking a jerk out of himself. He also has no alibi for the windowduring which the ME says she was killed. My captain thinks it's aslam-dunk."

"Andyou?"

Garrettsighed. "I guess it is. It ties it up rather neatly. He's got themotive and the means."

I raisedmy eyebrows. "You found the gun?"

"No, buthe has a license and he's a regular client at a shooting range. Hisregistered weapons are accounted for but it's not hard to pick oneup off the street, if you know where to look."

"Couldhe have after hour access to Heavenly Handbags?" Iasked.

"It'sprobable. We think she might have taken him back there if hereturned to pull another scene at closing time. He killed her andpanicked and threw a bag over her head so he didn't have to see histerrible crime. She could have told him the code any time in thepast few months to close the gates after he left."

"Okay,"I said. "Any indication he's got something to do with thecounterfeit purses? Maybe I should take a look at thepurse?"

“No need. I had someone from the store take a look at the purseand they say it’s fake and not one of theirs.”

“Then how did it get there?”

"Beatsme. We're about to execute a warrant on Strickland’s house for theweapon. The purses aren't covered but I'll see what we find and getback to you on that."

"Iappreciate it." I hung up. Solomon waited expectantly. "Garrettsays it's a good arrest. The ex has the motive and the means butthey haven't found the weapon and he doesn't know if thecounterfeiting is connected yet. I'd still like to look deeper intoit. The ex-boyfriend thing could play out, but the bag over herhead still puzzles me."

"Youdon't trust Garrett's judgment?"

"It'snot that. I just can't get the image of that fake purse over herhead. Why do that?"

"Iagree. We'll check into it."

Wewaited ten more minutes for Delgado to finish the end of his mallcop shift before the three of us took off, everyone full ofquestions without any answers.

Chapter Ten

I leftSolomon and Delgado at the agency and sped over to Natalie Morgan'shouse. Lacking the opportunity to ponder the details of her case, Idid so now, and had to admit I was puzzled. Rationally, I couldn'tsubscribe to the idea that she was being haunted. It just wasn'tpossible. It had to be a real person playing tricks on her but Icouldn't think what their motive would be other than to irritateher, and to what end? I also briefly entertained the possibilitythat perhaps her boss wanted to draw her closer to him by scaringher away from her home and into his empty guesthouse, but thatseemed too bizarre. Plus, Natalie gave no indication he ever showedher any unwanted interest, or any interest at all.

No,someone was either stalking her or trying to get her out of herhouse. If it were stalking, it was damn creepy and she had everyright to be afraid. If someone wanted her out of the house, I justneeded to find out why before I was sure I would know who it mightbe. Thinking about that was a refreshing change from beingpreoccupied with the counterfeit purses and Alison Shore's murder.As I pulled up outside Natalie’s house, I checked my phone. No newsfrom Garrett.

For amoment, I stared at the house but saw no signs of life. Everythinglooked the same as when Natalie and I left. With my cellphone stillin my hand, I called her.

"Haveyou been back to your house?" I asked.

"No.Why? Has something happened?"

"No!Nothing at all!" I reassured her quickly. "I wanted to ask if youhad any updates? Did you think someone might be following you orthe girls? Did you receive any strange messages? Perhaps someonetrying to get your temporary address?"

"No, Ihaven't told anyone except Hugo, my boss."

"Okay,that's good. I'm going to get a security camera installed in thenext day or two. Can I get a key so you don't have to go back therefor now?"

"Yes, Ican give you one of ours, but I'm worried about the costinvolved."

"It'sjust temporary until we find out what's really going on. Like Isaid before, it won't cost you anything. I'm going to take a walkaround the neighborhood and make a few inquiries. Can I come by theguesthouse later today? I'd like to ask you some more questions andmaybe speak to your daughters, if you don't mind."

"Not atall. They already figured out why we're not living at home and evenasked me if it were because of all the creepy things thathappened."

"How dothey feel about that?"

"Hugo'splace is pretty far from their school bus route but they're notcomplaining. Mostly, I think they're just angry that someone isdoing this to us."

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