Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

B ack at the station, the atmosphere buzzed with the urgency of piecing together Alex Sheridan’s last night. Sam leaned against one of the desks, arms folded, as Jo perched on the corner with a furrowed brow.

Jo handed around the donut bag, and Wyatt, Kevin, and Reese pulled chairs into the middle of the room.

“So Alex was seen arguing with Marnie in her office.” Reese nibbled on a chocolate cruller. “And then he ends up at the Moose later on?”

“Yep.” Jo nodded and took a sip of coffee.

Kevin chimed in, scrolling through notes on his tablet. “And these two mystery men had to carry him out because he couldn’t walk straight.”

“Pete didn’t actually see him leave, but he said they were holding him up. John said there were drugs in the tox report, but the question is did Alex take them on his own, or did someone spike his drink?”

“And then the next question is who would do that and why,” Jo added.

Above them, Major watched with unblinking eyes from atop the filing cabinet.

“What did Alex do that made someone want him dead?” Kevin glanced at Major and broke off a piece of his donut. He walked cautiously to the cabinet and offered the piece to Major. “Do cats like donuts?”

Major hissed and swatted at the morsel dismissively. It arced through the air and landed on the floor. Lucy gobbled it up. She chuffed at Major as if they had planned it.

“Guess not,” Kevin muttered.

Sam shifted his gaze from Major’s high perch to his team, each member locked into the rhythm of the investigation. “We need to pin down where Alex went into the water. That’s our primary crime scene.”

Kevin, his face lit by the screen’s glow, looked up. “Currents could have carried him from anywhere. We need to trace it back.”

Reese perked up, a spark in her eyes. “I know someone from the academy who’s an expert in currents and hydrology. She could probably give us an idea about where to start looking based on where Alex ended up.”

“Do it,” Sam said, his voice steady and commanding. “Get her on it as soon as possible.”

Jo stood, brushing crumbs off her jacket. “We also need to find out who Alex was drinking with at the Moose.”

“There was a camera over the front door,” Sam said, remembering the placement from their visit. “Give Judy Glover a call and see if she’ll send us the tapes.”

Jo made a face, a slight twist of her lips betraying her thoughts about the owner of the bar. “Judy’s not exactly a friend of the force, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Kevin leaned back in his chair. “We need to dig into Alex’s finances too. Was he spending more than usual? Did he give anyone a large sum of money?”

Wyatt tapped away at his keyboard. “I’ll look into that. If he was throwing around cash, that might have put a target on his back.”

Sam nodded at Wyatt. “Keep me updated on what you find.”

“I thought of another thing,” Wyatt said. “We’ve checked Alex’s cell phone record, but what about his phone at campaign headquarters? They have landlines there that go through a central switchboard.”

Sam frowned. He hadn’t even thought of that. “That’s a good idea. Can you look into it?”

“I’m on it.” Wyatt’s fingers danced across the keys.

“I’ll talk to Marnie about the argument with Alex,” Sam said, thinking about Marnie Wilson’s calculated demeanor.

“Why wouldn’t she mention something like that?” Reese wondered aloud, frowning.

Sam pursed his lips, weighing the possible reasons. “She might not want to tarnish Alex’s reputation. Or maybe?—”

“She’s hiding something,” Kevin interjected, leaning forward. His chair creaked beneath his shifting weight.

Reese swiveled her head between them. “You think she had something to do with it?”

Before anyone could respond, the squad room door swung open. All eyes snapped toward the sound, conversation halted.

Reese hopped off her chair. “Can I help you?”

A gruff male voice answered. “Detective Dominic Hartman. I heard you folks have new evidence on an old case I worked.”

Sam’s brow furrowed as Reese ushered the man inside. Hartman was broad-shouldered, his face creased from years on the force.

“This is Detective Hartman,” Reese said, introducing him. “He’s here about an old case he worked.”

Sam rose from his desk, extending his hand. “Chief Sam Mason. What case are you referring to?”

Hartman’s grip was firm as they shook. “The helicopter bank job. Heard some of the stolen cash resurfaced.”

A hush fell over the room. Sam studied the older man, unable to read his expression. Harry thought Hartman had done a shoddy job investigating the case in the first place, so why would he care now? The silence lingered as Sam contemplated Hartman’s motives. Was the detective’s sudden interest an attempt to obscure his mishandling of the original investigation? Sam didn’t want to share too much information with Hartman but thought he might have valuable insights into the case.

“We did recover a large sum,” Sam said carefully. “But we’re still piecing together the details.”

“Mind if I ask where the money turned up?” Hartman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Sorry, I can’t say. It’s tied to an ongoing investigation.” Sam’s tone remained even, unyielding.

Hartman nodded slowly, lips pressed into a thin line. “Fair enough.” His gruff voice carried a hint of respect for police protocol.

An uncomfortable silence lingered for a beat before Sam spoke again. “Since you were the lead on the original investigation, is there anything that might help us now? Any loose ends or suspicions you had back then?”

Hartman stroked his jaw, brow furrowed in thought. The team watched him intently, the only sound the ticking of the wall clock.

Finally, Hartman grunted. “There was this guy, Eric Feldman. Worked at the bank.”

Jo perked up at the name. “What about him?”

“We looked into him hard but could never get enough to charge him.” Hartman shook his head slowly. “Just had a feeling about that one, you know?”

Sam nodded, knowing that detective’s gut instinct well. “What made you suspicious of him?”

“Little things, really.” Hartman’s gaze grew distant, drifting back decades. “He acted nervous whenever we brought up the case. Kept changing his story about where he was that day.”

Kevin made a note, pen scratching against paper. “Anything else?”

Hartman snorted humorlessly. “We put a tap on his line for a while, but he must’ve figured it out. Never said anything incriminating on the phone after that.”

The room hung on Hartman’s words, everyone picturing the investigation unfolding in their minds.

“So you had him pegged as being involved?” Sam pressed.

Hartman’s jaw tightened, a muscle twitching. “Like I said, we could never prove anything concrete.”

Reese frowned. “What happened to this Feldman guy?”

A grim look passed over Hartman’s weathered face. “Killed himself. Before we could even wrap up the case.”

The words settled over the room like a heavy pall. Even if Feldman had been involved with the bank job, he couldn’t have anything to do with the Alex Sheridan case.

Hartman turned back toward the door. “I’d appreciate it if you could keep me in the loop if you turn up anything new on that robbery case.”

“I’ll try,” Sam said.

Hartman glanced around the squad room. “Looks a lot better than that dungeon we were in when I was a cop. You guys have a good day.”

“Well, that was unexpected,” Jo said, leaning back in her chair.

“You think he’s just curious about an old case?” Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sam shook his head. “I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?” Reese asked, her brow furrowed.

“Why show up now?” Sam mused, pacing the room. “After all these years?”

“Maybe he just wants closure,” Wyatt suggested, shrugging.

“Or maybe he’s trying to cover his tracks,” Kevin countered, tapping his pen on the desk.

“We need to look into this Feldman guy,” Sam said, his voice firm. “See if there’s anything there.”

“I’ll dig into his background,” Wyatt offered, already typing again.

“Don’t spend too much time on that. Feldman can’t be connected to the Sheridan case. Jo, you and Kevin follow up on those leads from the Moose.”

“On it.” Jo nodded, grabbing her jacket.

“Reese, keep working on those currents and hydrology with your academy friend.”

“You got it, Chief,” Reese said, picking up the phone.

Sam snapped his fingers, and Lucy trotted over to his side. “While you guys are doing that, Lucy and I are going to have a little chat with Marnie Wilson.”