Page 60 of Tangled
“It was,” Ava confirmed. “The average tech in an evidence lab—even the above-average one—wouldn’t have noticed.”
“Do you know who his wife is?” Jessica asked.
“Her name is Carmen Calder,” Ava said.
“And her money comes from Calder Security,” Jessica said. “Her dad founded it.”
“What’s Calder Security?” Scarlett asked. Judging by the looks around the table, the name meant something.
“One of the original cybersecurity companies,” Sabina said. “They’ve been outpaced in the past decade or so, but they werethecybersecurity company for businesses for a long time.”
“You wouldn’t have heard of them since they don’t do anything in the consumer space,” Ava added.
“Don’t you think that’s a stretch, though, to assume Rathwell has the technical skills because he’s married to the daughter of the founder?” Scarlett said.
“Normally, yes,” Jessica replied. “But his brother works for Calder, and the two are close.”
Scarlett considered this. “Is he a good guy? The brother?”
“By all accounts, yes. He’s not high up in the company. He likes being in the weeds too much for a leadership role. He’s well respected, though,” Jessica answered.
“Is he the kind of guy who would be willing to teach his brother a few things if he thought it was for a good reason? Like, if his brother told him he’d accidentally used his own phone to video a crime scene and needed to permanently delete the files?” Scarlett posited.
All three women frowned in thought.
“I don’t know him,” Jessica said slowly. “But from what I’ve gathered, yeah, I could see him doing that. Especially if he thought he was helping. He volunteers a shit ton and really seems committed to a lot of good causes. Not that I’m taken in by that. But in his case, I think he’s genuine. Unlike his brother and his protect-and-serve bullshit.”
“So we’re saying that it’spossibleRathwell learned to purge a phone from his brother, then used that new skill to purge Gracie’s?” Ava asked.
“And in getting rid of the evidence against him, he also got rid of the files linked to Sussurri and Simms,” Scarlett added.
“Which now makes sense as to why he’s the only one who, to date,hasn’tbeen after either Scarlett or Gracie’s things,” Sabina said. “Because he already knows—or believes—you don’t have it.”
It was all conjecture, but it made sense. Although, how he got the fentanyl into Gracie’s sleeping pills was still an open question. As was how he could do what he’d done and still pretend to serve the law. Sometimes, she hated cops. Intellectually, she knew they weren’t all bad. Maybe even most were good people. People like Ryan and Mari and their team. But her life had been filled with more Rathwells than Ryans, men and women who took the oath and wore the badge for power rather than protection. In some ways, she preferred the rebels and insurgents she and Kara had encountered over their years abroad. More vicious by far, but at least with them, she knew what she was getting. They didn’t hide behind the veneer of a uniform, and they made no bones about the type of power they sought and held.
“What are you thinking over there?” Jessica asked.
Scarlett made a face. “You don’t want to know.”
Jessica raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “On the contrary, you were looking a little bloodthirsty, which makes mereallywant to know.”
That pulled a laugh from her. “I was thinking how much I hate people like Rathwell. People who abuse the trust of a community, people who are hired into positions of authority then do the kind of things Rathwell did. People who can sexually assault and kill a woman and then, in the next breath, turn around and help an old lady across the street. It’s a particular kind of psychopathy that seems to get off on the duality of it. Not just the actions, but in fooling everyone. And I hate it. I hate him.”
“You want him to pay,” Jessica said, no hint of censure in her voice.
“I do,” Scarlett said. “In the worst possible way. I don’t want the LAPD to be able to brush this under the rug. And I think we all know that if he did this to Gracie, she wasn’t the only one. Nor will she be the last. How many other people has he hurt or betrayed? People who don’t have anyone to fight for them?”
The question hung in the room, then Sabina smiled. “Well, Gracie does. She’s got a team of the best.”
“And you can be sure that as part ofmywork, I’ll be looking for other victims, too,” Jessica said.
A sudden rush of tears flooded Scarlett’s eyes, and Ava reached into her purse, then handed her a tissue.
“Pregnancy hormones,” Scarlett said. “After being on my own for so long and being one of the only people who really cared about Gracie, this is, well, it’s a lot. You have no idea how grateful I am.”
Jessica set a hand on top of hers. “I had a friend that no one would speak for either, until I did. This is what I do. This is who I am. Wewillfind justice for Gracie. I can promise you that.”
Scarlett sniffed, then sent them all a watery smile. “Okay, I like the sound of that. How do we do it?”
