CHAPTER 5
PHOENIX SCRUBBED HIS palm over his chin. “From what I have gathered so far, someone had hired the killers, a man they call “boss”. The same person who knew enough about Ria Portman that he could pass on the information to the intruders with specific instructions. She was lucky, if there is any luck to have in this horrible situation, because these men are ruthless and without compassion, obviously.” Phoenix dropped the local newspaper onto his desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The headline read, “Sole survivor in double murder.” His heart slammed against his ribs. “Leave it to the media. Once the killers get wind that they’d screwed up, they won’t stop until they finish what they started.”
“It was only a matter of time before they leaked the information. Well, what are you going to do?”
Phoenix looked across his cluttered desk at Deputy Connor Gelder. He was focused and made one hell of a detective. After Phoenix hired him, they’d become instant friends and he could rely on the man to get the job done. “I’m going to take Miss Portman to the Cade cabin. She’ll be safe there. It’s not even on a GPS.”
Connor blinked. “You’re taking a witness to your family’s cabin deep in the woods?”
“Don’t look at me like that, Gelder. My job is to keep her safe and that’s all this is.”
“Oh, and what about solving the case?” he chuckled.
“That’s a given.” He sat back into his chair and stretched his legs.
“Look, I get it. I do. Here in Abbie you won’t find many places to hide a valuable witness, but this wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you find her attractive, would it?”
“How do you know that?”
Connor laughed. “I didn’t, but I do now.”
How had Phoenix walked straight into that trap? He was usually on his game and one step ahead of everyone, but lately he’d been off kilter. “No. Can we get back to the case?”
“Okay,” Connor said while nodding.
Reaching into the top drawer of his desk, Phoenix withdrew a folder and dropped it in front of the other man. “Take a look.”
He withdrew the contents and skimmed the document. “What’s this?”
“A list of names. Recognize any of them?”
“A few. Some are political figures. A couple of cops in the next county over. Some I have no clue. Are they clients at the massage studio?”
“No. I had our tech look at Ria’s computer. Cox had installed a service program to help her access her files easier. What was found is surprising, or maybe not at all. He had this list hidden on her desktop. He created a file disguised as a utility folder, the recycle bin. It took our tech minutes to find it, but she’s a techno wiz. Ria, well, she would have never found the file. Anyone else on the outside looking at the computer screen wouldn’t have seen anything out of the ordinary.”
“Clever. So, what about the assistant? She managed all the administrative duties.”
“True. She would have had to click on the icon and the system folder would have opened. Cox was a scam artist and intelligent. A talent like this worked for him in being a con artist.”
“He wanted to hide the file there? For safe keeping? In case a hard copy was lost or grabbed? Yet, it’s just a list, far from being discriminatory.”
“Right, and I feel this is only part of what the killers were looking for.” He propped his elbows on the desk. “It seems logical that Cox would scatter the incriminating information for safekeeping. If he was blackmailing someone on that list,” Phoenix stabbed the folder with his finger, “I could see one of them hiring Snake and his partner to eliminate the risk. They searched Ria’s office, but unless they were computer savvy, they wouldn’t have found the file. They were looking for a hard copy, but the question is, what exactly was the implicating evidence that was worth killing for?”
“It makes no sense to someone outside of Cox, unless the other evidence is found.”
“I was right about one thing. Leandra Watson did know Cox outside of the studio. I visited the apartment building she was living in. What graduate student living on a part time assistant’s salary can afford a place over in Harmony District? The place is for the rich. That’s beside the point though. The neighbors said she wasn’t home very often, although she did have a man visiting and spending the night. Guess who?”
“Mason Cox.”
Phoenix nodded. “The plot thickens. One of the neighbors also stated that here recently a young girl was staying too, about the same time Tammy, Willow’s daughter, disappeared. Just so happened I had her picture tucked in my jacket, and bingo... the neighbor recognized her.” He reached into the open drawer and took out Tammy’s diary, opened it to the dog-eared page and pushed it over to Connor. “This is her diary. Look at what she wrote inside.”
“How’d you get this?”
“Willow gave it to me.”
Connor read the page and blew out a long breath. “She has several of these names from the list written down in her diary, along with dates and times. Was the girl prostituting?”
“I don’t know, but I want you to speak to a few of Tammy’s friends and see what you can find out. If we find her, we might get some answers.”
“Great thing you’re a great detective, Sheriff. We didn’t find one fingerprint or clue to who these men are who broke into Miss Portman’s place. We found lots of men nicknamed Snake with records in our database, but none from this area or up north who aren’t in prison right now.”
“I didn’t think we would. I have a feeling he isn’t known as Snake, but maybe only with his boss. Find Tammy, Connor. We need her.”
“What about any clues in the assistants’ condo? Did you find anything?”
“It appeared Miss Watson not only liked comfortable living accommodations, she also had a taste for expensive clothing and jewelry. Deputy Holloway pointed out the designer brands. That isn’t all. Holloway called the med school Miss Watson was attending. She hadn’t taken out one loan for tuition.”
“Fuck. What med school student can pull that kind of cash out of their pocket? She either had a rich benefactor or a hidden talent. How well do you know Ria Portman?”
“What are you saying?”
“Hell, man, you don’t need me to tell you this but everyone’s a suspect until you have absolute reason to check them off the list. Sure, she might seem innocent, but how could all this be going on right under her nose without her suspecting?”
Phoenix didn’t like the direction of this conversation. “I know her well enough. She’s been upfront.”
“Or so it seems.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Maybe, but keep your eyes wide open.”
“You mean like I didn’t with Katy?” He reached for the folder and closed it, dropping it back into the drawer.
“Come on, you know that’s not what I meant.”
He wasn’t sure why he was agitated. “Yeah, I know. Maybe I need a good night’s sleep. I want to find the bastards who did this and put them away.”
“We will.” He and Connor had a lot in common. Both were committed to wiping bad people off the face of Wyoming. “What about talking to the men on the list?”
“We can’t bank on getting any of them to talk, even if they know anything like who the “boss” is. If I was a betting man I’d say we’re looking at a list of future divorces if their names get out. Maybe it’s just a matter of finding the weakest link. I want you and Deputy Holloway to give it a shot. Start with the bottom of the list and work your way up.”