“You need to tread carefully here,” Garrett warned.
As far as Lucy was concerned, this wasn’t a topic open to discussion, but she didn’t see the point in belaboring the matter. “When can I see my husband?”
“First things first. JT informs me that there is a safe on the premises. They’ll need access to the safe. You know how warrants work. They can look for what’s on the warrant, but if they see anything else during the search, such as drugs, if they are in a place that is reasonable for them to search, they can add those charges or get an expanded warrant.”
Lucy wasn’t worried about drugs.
“JT also tells me that you have a top-notch security system that can record everything.”
“Everything in the house and on the grounds, except in the master bedroom and Jesse’s room.”
“We’re going to record the search but I’m not telling them. By law we don’t have to tell them that we’re recording because this is your private property. But you can’t lie if asked, understand? You can choose not to volunteer information, but if they ask you if they are being recorded, you have to tell them that they are.”
She doubted they would ask. “Of course. I’m not going to lie about anything.”
“And they’ll likely send a cop to chat you up. Don’t engage. Even if you know them—even if it’s a friend, like Tia Mancini.”
Brad spoke up. “Do you know what they have on Sean?”
“Not much more than you know, I’m sure. Mona Hill was killed between seven thirty and eight thirty P.M. on Monday.”
“That precise?” Lucy asked. “Based on the autopsy?”
“She made a call to a pizza delivery place at seven thirty P.M. At eight thirty he entered the building to deliver the pizza but she didn’t answer the door. He called the apartment and there was no answer. He left and ran into a man identified as Christian Porter in the lobby. Porter was in Ms. Hill’s employ as a bodyguard and general … handyman, shall we say. According to his statement, she called him shortly before seven thirty and asked him to come over because there was a threat to her life. Porter heard a male voice in the background and they were arguing about something, but he couldn’t hear what was said. He asked who was there, and she told him Rogan, but he was leaving.”
“The police told you that?” Lucy was surprised.
Garrett smiled for the first time—a slight smile, almost sly, but he didn’t answer her question.
“Porter paid for the pizza, went upstairs, and found Ms. Hill’s body. She’d been shot twice, in the back.”
Lucy involuntarily shivered.
“You are aware of Ms. Hill’s business?”
“Yes.”
“The police will use that against Sean. That he was meeting with a known prostitute. That he had a relationship with her or one of her girls, that perhaps she was blackmailing him. They know Mona Hill’s reputation, and that she had been in San Antonio and was associated with Tobias Hunt’s operation before she disappeared and showed up in Houston.”
“That’s … no. No.”
“You have to be prepared. They will bait you. They’ll say things that will make you want to defend Sean. You might think you’re helping, but anything you say could be used against him.”
“You have to believe that Sean was not in a relationship with Mona Hill or anyone else.”
“You’re a cop, Lucy,” he said. “Often, a spouse has a secret life, or things they keep from their significant other.”
Like Sean not telling her he was going to Houston.
“I’m not blind, Mr. Lee. I’m specifically saying that Sean wasn’t having an affair, nor was he paying for a prostitute. The police must have something more than Porter’s statement.”
“They know that Sean flew into Houston Monday evening and arrived back at the small airfield at eight thirty-five P.M. He used an Uber, based on security footage. It takes about thirty minutes to get from Mona’s apartment to the airstrip. They have Sean entering her building at six fifty and leaving just after eight that evening. And thus Porter’s statement that he heard them arguing over the phone becomes more compelling. Houston PD is putting together facts and evidence, and his statement is part of that. The murder weapon is key—they need to find it or everything else is circumstantial.”
Lucy’s stomach fell.
Brad said, “If they don’t have the murder weapon, why did they arrest him?”
“They feel they have enough evidence to go to a judge. I don’t know their