ENTANGLED PURSUITS - Brenda Jackson Page 0,73
something to look forward to.
This morning she’d made a pit stop at Starbucks, and still got to work minutes before Drew arrived. He had walked into the office with that Andrew Logan swagger that heated her blood. Greeting those he passed, it was quite obvious that he was in a good mood.
“Good morning, Drew,” she said, trying to keep the smile from her lips. “Did you have a nice weekend?”
His eyes held hers a second too long when he’d said, “The best I’ve had in a long time.”
She smiled. “Glad to hear it. By the way, we’ve got a meeting with Lieutenant McPherson at nine,” she told him. “I met him earlier this morning. You were right, he’s a nice guy.”
Drew nodded. “He was also a good detective.”
At nine o’clock, they met with McPherson in his office and gave him an update on the cases they were investigating. “Okay, let’s talk about the Maria Tindal case.” Using a remote, he proceeded to lower a huge screen in his office that showed a summary of what they’d uncovered.
Drew let Toni start things off. “Maria Tindal was killed in her home around 10:00 pm. There was no sign of forced entry, and no sign of a fight, either. It seemed as if she had showered less than an hour before.”
Lieutenant McPherson nodded. “Murder weapon?”
“Kitchen knife, which we’ve located. It was washed clean, but not clean enough. Residue of the victim’s blood was left behind.”
McPherson nodded again. “Suspects?”
“Everyone’s alibis checked out. All we have are persons of interest.”
“I understand one of the persons you interviewed, Fred Tatters, might be connected to a Federal case.”
“Yes. It was turned over to Detective Zinc in the Special Investigation Unit because of Tatter’s connection to Roger Shellpoint. Shellpoint has been on the FBI’s radar for a while for allegedly operating a ring that hauls stolen merchandise across state lines. Human trafficking is also under investigation.”
Lieutenant McPherson nodded. “I remember the name. If I’m not mistaken, a few years back they thought they had enough to put Shellpoint away, but he got out on a technicality.” He threw a paper clip on his desk. “Taking Shellpoint out could be big, and I’m sure the SIU appreciates that information.”
Lieutenant McPherson straightened up in his chair. “Okay, let’s go through the persons of interest. Having an alibi sometimes doesn’t mean anything more than that person has someone to cover for them. I’ve thrown the book at a lot of people who had verified alibis,” Lieutenant McPherson said.
Drew took over the narrative and went through the list of everyone they had interviewed, and their connection with the case.
“I see Jamia Roundtree’s face up there,” McPherson said.
Drew raised a brow. “You know her?”
“Not personally, but she’s well known around here. She was a terror when she was a teen, and her father was always buying someone off so they didn’t press charges. Tatum Roundtree knew the right people, and he wasn’t above using his influence to get his spoiled daughter out of trouble.”
Toni frowned. “What kind of trouble? I checked and couldn’t find a record—not even youth delinquent records.”
“You wouldn’t. Like I said, Tatum has friends in high places. If I remember correctly, she had a lot of speeding tickets, there were a few incidents reported where her bullying of other girls had gone too far, and she was once arrested for shoplifting. It was weird—her parents bought her anything she wanted. We all figured she did it for attention. Basically, everything the kid did was hushed up and never made the news.”
McPherson sighed. “Tatum was a beloved football star, and people often bent over backwards to make him happy...even if it meant looking the other way when his daughter broke the law.”
Toni could tell Lieutenant McPherson wasn’t impressed. She wasn’t either. “Jamia Roundtree and Johnnie Underwood’s alibis checked out. Cameras showed him arriving and leaving her residence—or should we say, her parents’ residence—at the times they stated,” she said.
McPherson frowned when he saw the words by the next three women’s names. “Rich bitches? What’s that about?”
Toni bit her lip to keep from grinning. “That’s what they call themselves, and it seems they have the money to prove it. Jennifer Evans’s father, Morey Evans, owned a slew of car dealerships in town. He and his wife were murdered one night during a home invasion. Jennifer Evans has her own thoughts about what really happened.”
McPherson nodded. “I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to her.” His expression revealed just what he thought of Maria’s