Part 26 (1/2)
Lucy asked, ”What do you want us to do?”
”You know what Dr. Vigo needs. Give it to him.”
Sean wasn't happy. ”You want us to do your paperwork?”
”You created it.”
Lucy was elated. ”I'm happy to do it.”
Sean glanced at her and frowned. She ignored him. Sean was all action, but Lucy loved picking through reports for the gold nuggets that solved puzzles.
Suzanne said, ”This isn't a punishment. Dr. Vigo asked me to do this, and I'm trusting that you know what you're doing. Otherwise I'll be the one who looks bad.”
”I promise, you'll look good.” Lucy hesitated, then said, ”Sean might be more use to you outside the building.”
”That's okay,” Sean said. ”I'll help you.”
”No, you'll hinder me. I know what I'm doing.”
Suzanne said, ”I don't need a partner.”
Sean grinned. ”You got one.” He winked at Lucy and mouthed thank you.
After Suzanne and Sean left, Andie asked, ”Are you related to Dr. Dillon Kincaid?”
”He's my brother.”
”I worked on a case with him years ago when I was in the L.A. office. He's probably the best forensic psychiatrist I ever worked with.”
”He's good.”
”Tell him I said hi. Is he still in San Diego?”
”Was.h.i.+ngton. He's married now, to an agent, has a private consulting practice but works mostly for the Bureau of Prisons.” Lucy walked over to the whiteboard. ”This is Jessica Bell's autopsy report. I need all four. Do you know where they are?”
”Certainly. Suzanne might seem disorganized, but she's logical, if you know the way she thinks.”
”And you do.”
”I've been here seven years, and if I were murdered, she's the one I'd want investigating the crime.”
Sean gave Suzanne some s.p.a.ce. Even though she'd accepted their a.s.sistance-almost seemed to appreciate and want the help-she was irritated that the case was getting out of her control. Sean understood that feeling.
She parked near the coffeehouse where Erica Ripley had worked and wrapped up a phone conversation. ”If you can stay there for another hour, I'll be there.” She hung up. ”That was the cousin of the first victim. She works at an art gallery near Central Park.”
”Erica Ripley was the second victim, correct?”
Suzanne nodded. ”The only victim who didn't attend Columbia.”
”But she was on the Party Girl site,” Sean reminded her.
Suzanne shot him a glance. ”Right, the website I can't access.”
”I'm working on that.”
”How?”
”My partner, Patrick Kincaid, used to run the San Diego P.D. e-crimes division, before cybercrime was as big as it is. He's rebuilding the site from the cache on my computer in D.C., and through Google, which usually retains cache information only seventy-two hours, but if you know what you're doing you can pull out older data. We might not get everything, but it'll be good enough for court.”
”I don't know-the defense could argue that the data was manipulated when it was rebuilt.”
”Patrick is an expert witness. He has clearance up the wazoo; I'm not worried about the defense.”
”Kincaid, huh?”
”Lucy's brother.”
”She is well connected. You are, too. I checked your file. You have high clearance.”
”I have to. I've been hired by federal agencies to hack their security. I break in; my brother Duke plugs the holes.”
Suzanne was obviously surprised. ”What are you doing looking for a missing teenager?”
”Long story. But Kirsten's my cousin.”
”Why didn't you tell me?”
”She's a cousin by marriage. I haven't seen her since she was little, but Duke is very loyal to family, even family that we don't talk to. Kirsten's dad called, we jumped.”
”And you don't want to?”
”Of course I do. It's not what RCK usually works on, so I'm stumbling a bit in the dark.”
”Could have fooled me.”
Suzanne went up to the counter and spoke to the manager, then motioned for Sean to sit down near the back. ”The manager is sending over the two people closest to Erica.”
Less than a minute later, a pet.i.te girl with short, dyed red hair and a skinny guy, both in their early twenties, came over.
Suzanne glanced at their name tags. ”Jordan, Ken, thank you. I'm sorry about your friend.”
Jordan nodded soberly. ”It's just so awful.”
”I still miss her,” Ken said. ”Erica was always happy.”
Jordan agreed. ”Our manager said you needed to talk to us?”
”I just have a few follow-up questions. You told Detective Panetta that Erica didn't have a regular boyfriend.”
”Right.”