Thrill Kill (Matt Sinclair #2) - Brian Thiem Page 0,49
be influenced by it,” Braddock said. “But that was no act. That lady is seriously hot and she wants you in a big way.”
The lieutenant looked up from the papers scattered across his desk when Sinclair entered his office. Sinclair advised him of their decision to release Helena in exchange for her cooperation and asked, “What happened with the chief?”
“Everything’s okay,” Maloney said. “Sergeant Roberts had been keeping him abreast of everything. It seemed I was the only one not in the loop.”
“Sorry, boss. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“It wasn’t crime-wise, but politically is a different story. The chief wants to be informed of the names of any clients you discover.”
Sinclair agreed, but was worried that if the escort service clients were politically connected, the chief would be tempted to run interference to protect them. It was beginning to sound like politics might trump his murder investigation.
“The chief also said you’re to see Mr. Normart at the DA’s office for charging or any legal advice on this case,” Maloney said.
Normart was the chief assistant district attorney, the number two person in the DA’s office. Seeing him to get a mere pimping case charged was completely out of the ordinary. The only time Sinclair even went to the main courthouse, the old, grand building on the east side of downtown, was when one of his murder cases was in trial. OPD investigators did most of their business at the Oakland branch office, which was right across the street from the PAB.
“He’s referring to the escort service case, right?” Sinclair asked.
“The homicide, too, since it’s connected.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as pretty fuckin’ weird, lieutenant?”
Maloney leaned into his desk. “It makes sense if they want to control what could be a politically charged trial and coordinate jurisdiction with the Feds.”
“Well, there’s nothing for me to see Normart about because I don’t want to charge Helena Decker with anything.”
“You might want to give him a call and tell him that.”
“When the hell did we start conferring with the DA before we’re ready to charge the case? I thought the police investigate and lawyers prosecute. There’s no one to prosecute until I solve the case.”
“I don’t need a lesson about roles and responsibilities in the criminal justice system from a sergeant,” Maloney said. “I’m just trying to keep everybody happy.”
“I’m just trying to solve a murder and could care less about everybody’s happiness.” Once he said it, Sinclair regretted the way it came out. Lieutenant Maloney was one of the few people he did care about keeping happy, not only because it made his life easier, but also because Maloney was a good guy who had put his career on the line more than once to protect his investigators and the integrity of their cases.
“Fine,” Sinclair said, backtracking. “I’ll call him.” Maloney picked up his phone, signaling the conversation was over.
When Sinclair got back to his desk, Braddock was online. “Ms. Fadell, or Bianca to you, is an interesting lady,” she said. “Born in London to Syrian and Persian parents, she got her undergrad in poli sci from Princeton and graduated from Yale Law School eighteen years ago, which would make her at least forty-three. The girl looks damn good for that age. There’s an article from the society page of the Chronicle a few years back saying that after she ended an eight-year marriage, she became romantically involved with Brett Green.”
“The financier who made a run for mayor in San Francisco?” Sinclair asked.
“That’s the guy. She was listed in the twenty most eligible bachelorettes in San Francisco last year and the hundred most influential women in the Bay Area. Here’s a photo of her with some state senator at a fundraiser for the United Way, which she’s on the Bay Area board of.”
Sinclair looked at the photo on Braddock’s monitor of a fiftyish man in a tux next to Bianca, dressed in a black gown with a plunging neckline that extended to her navel.
“Anything about her legal work?”
“She’s been with Carter, Peterson, and Shapiro for ten years, and a partner for the last eight. It’s one of the top firms in the city. They do everything. She’s listed as specializing in international business and global human rights.”
“Global human rights,” said Sinclair. “That sounds ominous.”
“Actually, it’s huge. Wealthy people pump big money into international nonprofits that work to improve women’s lives in third world countries. Bianca’s page on the law firm’s website lists some she’s associated with.”