Page 93 of The Lost Bones
“You see, we found some DVDs,” Nick said, like he was talking about the weather. “Filmed in your apartment. Women being coerced into having sex in exchange for contacts in the media industry.”
A nervous laugh bubbled out of Jennings as he took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “That’s rich.”
Cromwell was clearly bewildered, but being the savvy lawyer he was, he was quick on his feet. “Like my client said, he owns several properties. He doesn’t live at that address. What others do at his property isn’t his responsibility!”
“We thought you’d say that.” Mackenzie nodded. “We came prepared. You see, that building has a very good security system. They keep backups of their security logs from the last three years.”
“We have you going to the building on the same dates those videos were filmed,” Nick added.
Jennings gulped the Scotch in one go and looked away, letting his mouthpiece handle the situation.
“Do you see my client’s face in the videos?” Cromwell narrowed his eyes.
“No,” Mackenzie said. “But—”
“Well then. I’m sure if he searches his memory, he’ll remember entertaining some friends in that apartment, and of course he can’t have knowledge of what happens in every room.” He shrugged. Mackenzie knew that he had concocted this explanation on the spot. The way he kept licking his lips and shifting his weight from one foot to the other gave away how unprepared he was for this line of questioning.
“We have audio from those tapes,” Nick said. “I’m sure Mr. Jennings won’t mind volunteering a voice sample that our IT guy can analyze for comparison.”
Jennings opened his mouth to protest, but Cromwell placed a hand on his shoulder. “My client has to head out of state for an important matter. So if you don’t have a warrant, then—”
“Oh, actually we do have a warrant,” Mackenzie said. “A judge just signed it, and another detective will be here any minute to execute it.”
They had come prepared, after making sure to submit their affidavit to a judge who was known to lock horns with Hamilton and hence couldn’t be a part of his inner circle.
“This is a coup!” Cromwell yelled angrily. “This is harassment. I shouldn’t be surprised, considering your—”
“We also have an eyewitness placing Mr. Jennings at Judge Hamilton’s house late at night.” Mackenzie kept her eyes glued to Jennings. “With a prostitute.”
Jennings slammed his glass on the table and pressed a closed fist to his mouth.
“Of course, if you’re ready to give details, I’m sure the DA will cut you a deal,” Nick said to Cromwell.
“What kind of details?” Cromwell snapped.
“About this whole operation. In particular, where the girls are kept,” Mackenzie said.
When Jennings and Cromwell maintained a stoic silence, she tried to hide her growing frustration. They were impenetrable. And someone in their circle had Sterling.If he was still alive. But at least they had ruptured this bubble. She would hunt them all down one by one if she had to.
There was a sharp knock on the door. Jennings and Cromwell barreled out of the study and opened the door with Mackenzie and Nick on their tails. Austin stood there with a team of cops behind him. He read out the search warrant as the rest of the cops filtered inside the house. As soon as he was done reading, Cromwell snatched the warrant and read it with a keen eye.
“We’re confiscating all the electronics, anything that can store photos or videos, and any hard copies of photos,” Austin summarized to Mackenzie and Nick. “Basically, we can search every corner of this house, because you can hide a USB stick in the smallest of spaces.” He waggled his eyebrows insinuatingly.
Mackenzie pulled on latex gloves, ready to join the search. “Hopefully that will give us access to places he’s visited. I bet that’s where Sterling is being kept too—wherever they keep those girls.”
“I think that’s where Sophie was held captive too,” Austin said quietly. “Was Clint able to track where that video was filmed? The one with the women lying on the floor?”
Nick shook his head. “There were no identifying markers.”
They dispersed in different directions. Cromwell and Jennings seethed in a corner, watching Austin bag Jennings’ laptop and computer. There were cops opening drawers and kitchen cabinets, flipping mattresses in the bedrooms, going through his golfing equipment. Mackenzie went to his study, where there were people flipping through all the books on the shelves. She sat down at his expensive table and skimmed through the drawers and the paperwork, hoping to find something.
But Jennings’ empire was vast, which meant that whatever clue they were looking for could be a needle in a haystack.
Trailing her fingers over the dips and ridges of the carved wood, she recalled how Sterling had wanted a table like this when they were furnishing their house together.
“That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a lawyer, not some evil lord.”
“If I were an evil lord, I could have a secret compartment.” He tapped the table at the furniture store with his knuckles. “A table like this can have one.”
