Death Match

by Emma Rose Watts

  “Within reason.”

  He reached behind him and brought out a sheet of paper. “This outlines what is and isn’t allowed.”

  It seemed that Tom Reynolds was both right and wrong. He was telling the truth about it only being a massage but at the same time he perhaps misunderstood what LaSalle had meant by “anything.” Had he even read the fine print? Probably not because all he was interested in was getting a massage.

  Skylar forwarded past the rest of it and on to the moment Scot boarded the St. Catherines. The longer the video progressed the more she could tell that they didn’t have anything on LaSalle. It seemed that everything was aboveboard, and that he was running a different but legal based matchmaking service. It was painful to watch as she saw herself on video executing the search warrant. Scot had come out onto the deck. She grimaced and was about to turn it off when she spotted something, well, not something, someone. She hit stop and slid the slider back a few seconds, then zoomed in certain that it was a mistake. Nope, sure enough, that was him — Matthew Sorenson.

  Chapter 19

  The next morning, Harvey was in the middle of scoffing down a plate of pancakes when Skylar showed up. He hadn’t even taken a sip of coffee when he heard Elizabeth inviting her to join them. He was about to get up and protest but it was pointless. Once Elizabeth said it, it was written in stone. When Skylar came into view with a grin on her face, and plunked herself down in a chair and then began helping herself to his second helpings, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

  “Do you meditate, Reid?”

  She filled up her plate and squirted a healthy dose of syrup all over it before grabbing a handful of berries and sprinkling them over the top.

  “Meditate? Who has the time for that nonsense?” she asked.

  “I do, and mornings are a sacred part of my day, you know why?”

  She shook her head as she speared a pancake and shoveled it away.

  “Because I get to enjoy peace and quiet.”

  She chomped and slopped her food, reaching over to grab some orange juice oblivious to what he’d just said. She had a complete disregard for boundaries or any such lines in the sand.

  “Elizabeth, this is out of this world. Top-notch!”

  “I didn’t cook it,” she said gesturing to Harv.

  “Harv? This was you? Dang, I learn something new every day about you. Next, I’ll find out that you crochet scarfs for the elderly and create balloon animals for kids.” She winked at him before polishing off another pancake.

  “Do you even chew?”

  “I try not,” she muttered while she buttered some toast.

  He sighed and put his fork down before leaning back and taking a swig of his coffee. “So you want to tell me why you are gracing us with your presence? I didn’t think you would be rolling into work until at least noon.”

  “No?”

  “No, I figured you would be sprawled out with Scot somewhere between Riley’s bar and the dock.”

  “And you would have been wrong. Which brings me to why I’m here. We’ve got something!” she said stabbing the air with her knife.

  Harvey wiped the corner of his lips with a napkin; utterly unconvinced that anything that she would have to say was going to top what he’d already learned that morning.

  “I went over the footage from the micro camera attached to Scot.” She swallowed, cleared her throat and chugged down some orange juice.

  “Let me just stop you right there, Reid. If this is going to involve some joke, I don’t want to know.”

  “Matthew Sorenson was on board the St. Catherines last night.”

  “Who?”

  She leaned forward. “You know, Sorenson. Taylor Hall’s fiancé.”

  “And that means what?”

  “Well that’s the part I’m still trying to establish but here’s what I know. Taylor said that she hadn’t ever been on the St. Catherines until two nights ago. I specifically recall her saying it was her first time. That was also the same night she got those whip marks on her back. Now I’m going to go out on a limb here but think about it. Here’s a man that’s engaged to her, rubbing shoulders with other women last night. Why? I’ll get to that in a second but here’s what you need to know. Now according to my conversation with Matt two nights again, he didn’t know she was onboard. He was under the impression that Taylor was down in Miami at a photo shoot when really she was entertaining our dirty little pervert, Tom Reynolds.” Skylar speared another chunk of pancake and was about to take a bite when she continued. “What if Matt has been attending these VIP nights when Taylor isn’t around? Except that night she went onboard.”

  “So what, you think he’s responsible for those whip marks on her?”

  Skylar didn’t reply but downed more juice.

  “I’m not sure what he’s responsible for, but it raises some questions. Like what the hell was he doing on that boat last night? The only way you get on is if you are a VIP member. So at the bare minimum we know he hasn’t been truthful with her. Which brings me to my next point. What if he’d been seeing Teresa? I mean, what if Matt was her client?”

  Harvey scrutinized her, thinking about what motive Matt would have for killing Teresa, Nancy and Tyron.

  “I’ll give you that it’s a little odd.”

  “It’s not odd. It’s common, Harv. The video footage shows several men in attendance with wedding bands on their fingers and we all know what the outcome was of that data breach with the mega popular Ashley Madison website. These matchmaking services don’t just cater to single people. It got me thinking about what Tom Reynolds said. You remember him using the word ‘anything,’ right?”

  He nodded.

  “At first I thought that was related to sexual favors. You know, money being exchanged for…”

  “I get it, Reid. Go on.”

  “But I’m thinking it relates to their service catering to singles and married folk. I mean don’t hold me to that, but it seems that’s what we’re dealing with here. It also falls in line with what Tyron said about it all being smoke and mirrors. Usually these kinds of things are frowned upon. After the scrutiny that Ashley Madison came under, and the facts that came out in that case regarding how many married men used their site. It was staggering. And you know what all that adds up to?”

  “Spit it out.”

  “Money. If you aren’t feeding both the dark and the light, you’re leaving money on the table and have you ever seen Callum Jackson get behind an operation unless there was real money to be made?”

  Harvey got up and went over to the dishwasher and placed his plate and cup inside.

  “So what do you think?” she asked looking all pleased with herself.

  “I think we need to get to work.”

  She got up and dabbed the corners of her mouth and tossed the napkin down. Harvey went over and scooped up her plate, and Skylar swiped the last pancake off the top before he could take it away.

  “No I mean, this is good.”

  “Yeah, it’s good,” he said in the most unenthusiastic tone.

  She frowned. “I thought you would be elated. It means the search wasn’t for nothing.”

  He gripped the sides of the counter and stared out the window. “But none of that can be used to incriminate LaSalle or Callum.”

  “No, I know that. It’s legal, aboveboard even if it is questionable and morally wrong but…” She trailed off. “But you wanted Callum, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t even need to answer that, she clued in. Although he wanted to find the one responsible for the killings, he had his hopes set high on nabbing Callum with his hand in the honey.

  “Look,” his brow furrowed. “Tallahassee police caught up with Alvaro last night. He was transferred down to us. So we need to go in and speak with him.”

  “But what about Matt?”

  “We’ll get to that today but right now all we have on him is unfaithfulness.”

  She nodded.

  “By the way, did you ge
t that money back?”

  “Yeah,” she said. She headed over to her bag and pulled out a small package.

  “What did LaSalle say to Scot?”

  “He didn’t like it but Scot can be very convincing, especially after he’s had a few drinks.”

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later they arrived at the department. The eyes of officers scrutinized them as they walked in the door. Through the blinds of Davenport’s office, Skylar could see Hanson having a conversation with the captain.

  “I’ll get this money back, you find out about Alvaro,” Harvey said veering off through a door that led down to the evidence room. Davenport glanced out his window, and she tried to not make eye contact.

  “Jimmy, is Alvaro in the holding cell?” she asked.

  “No, he’s in the interview room with Reznik.”

  She hurried off down the corridor and entered the interview room without knocking. Alvaro didn’t have the same smug look on his face this time.

  “Reznik, I’ll take it from here,” she said.

  “Actually, we’re the ones doing the interviewing today.”

  “Not after what happened, you’re not.”

  “Take it up with Davenport. He’s the one that made the decision.”

  She glared at him, and her eyes met Alvaro’s for a second. He was sporting some new gnarly cuts on his face, and a shiner around his eye since she’d last seen him. Tyron had given him a good beating, but those were fresh. There was a good chance he’d resisted arrest. She didn’t like the fact that Reznik was dealing with him, especially in light of all that had happened, so she headed for Davenport’s office. The last guy in the department she wanted to see today.

  The door was already slightly ajar because Hanson was coming out.

  “Oh, just the woman I was waiting to speak to. Come in, Reid, take a seat.”

  Hanson glared at her on the way out.

  “Close the door behind you.”

  She pushed it shut, and he got up and closed the blinds.

  “Sir.”

  “I don’t want to hear it. Not only did you break protocol last night, but you moved in without my authorization.”

  “You’d already given it.”

  “You told me it would go down today.”

  “There was a change of plans.”

  “I’d like to hear the reason behind that.” He walked back to his seat eying her. “I’ve already had Callum Jackson’s lawyers on the phone this morning.” He tapped his forehead as if a migraine was beginning to come on.

  “Sir, I don’t think having Reznik in with Alvaro is a good idea.”

  “Because what? He intervened and saved your life while you fired your handgun in a residential area? What was going through your mind?”

  “He was attempting to run me down.”

  “So you move out of the way. You don’t pull your service weapon and squeeze off two rounds. I don’t need to tell you what would have happened if one of those had hit a civilian.”

  “I felt my life was in jeopardy.”

  “He didn’t wield a weapon.”

  “So if he had, I would have been within my rights to use it?” Davenport didn’t respond. He could already see the stupidity in what he was trying to say. Of course it wasn’t entirely without merit. But like any officer in a similar situation, it was down to them to determine the use of force. That’s where the line blurred. “I assessed the situation and responded. He was using the car as a weapon.”

  He threw a hand up. “It doesn’t matter now. No harm. No foul.”

  “Reznik had information that could have led to the early capture of Alvaro and he didn’t make that known to us.”

  “No. He might not have made it known to you, but he made it known to other officers. Perhaps you weren’t on the radio, but he called it in.” She stared at him. “What are you trying to say about Reznik? What, because he didn’t immediately share the information with you or your partner, he’s somehow in cahoots with him?” He scoffed. “I think you might be up for a psych evaluation if you continue on this path.”

  “Sir.”

  “No. Now back to the matter at hand. Forty thousand dollars was removed from evidence yesterday. Now I’m guessing that’s where Harvey is, right? He’s putting it back?”

  She glanced at the ground and cleared her throat and nodded.

  He ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know what your problem is, Reid. Maybe I was rash in choosing to hire you and thinking that you had anything to offer this department.”

  “Sir.”

  “I’m the one doing the speaking. You’re listening.” He bellowed. He jabbed his finger and got all red in the face. “Your mouth and actions have repercussions that affect the entire department. Now maybe they were overlooked with the U.S. Marshals. Who knows what kind of protocols you were allowed to break. But here in Franklin County, we do things by the book. You do not make decisions without consulting me. Is that clear?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “IS THAT CLEAR!”

  The entire department must have heard it.

  “Crystal, sir.”

  He leaned back and took a swig of his coffee and was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Harvey poked his head in. “Hanson said you wanted to see me?”

  “Yes. Come in.” He waved toward Skylar. “Join your other half.”

  He closed the door and took a seat looking all sheepish.

  “Now, I gather every dollar has been accounted for in the money you returned.”

  The blood in Harvey’s face disappeared as he nodded. He glanced at Skylar but she remained silent. Right now they were walking on eggshells and history had taught her that it was best to say nothing.

  “You are aware I could place both of you under investigation and that I could suspend you?”

  “I’m sorry, captain,” Harvey blurted out. “It won’t happen again.”

  “No, you are damn right it won’t. But I would like to know what it was used for and why you felt it was necessary to not have the courtesy to tell me.”

  “I did—” Skylar said before he shut her down.

  “I’m speaking.” He glared at her then looked at Harvey for the answer. She could tell he was coming down heavy on her. And that even though he was throwing Harvey into the frying pan, his history with him gave him a little more grace.

  “We wanted to get a man inside, someone who could record what was going on before we arrived, just in case someone tipped them off.”

  “Tipped them off?” he lingered in the question. “You’re suggesting there is a leak in the department?”

  “I don’t suggest it. I know there is,” Harvey replied.

  Davenport studied his face before tapping his fingers on the table. “Are we back to that again, Harvey?”

  “Sir, I know someone tipped off Callum Jackson.”

  “That was years ago. So what? Because Callum Jackson is connected to Elite Matchmaking, you immediately jump to the conclusion that someone here in the department is going to alert him to a search warrant?”

  He nodded. Davenport chuckled and ran a hand around the back of his neck. “I could expect this from Reid but not you. I thought we were done with the Callum Jackson witch hunt. No, let me rephrase that. We are done with it. I don’t want either of you two to muddy the waters of this department with your asinine theories or accusations. And if I find out that you are accusing other officers, I will have both of your badges. You’ll be gone and there will be no coming back. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes sir,” they both said in unison.

  “Right. Now that’s out of the way, did you uncover anything that might work in our favor?”

  “Actually, yes,” Skylar said testing to see if it was okay to speak again. When he didn’t jump all over her she continued, bringing him up to speed on everything she’d told Harvey that morning.

  “You’re reaching, Reid. All that tells us is that this guy has been dishones
t with his fiancée. And if you’re right about Elite being like the company Ashley Madison, this kind of behavior is common. It’s not good, but it’s common. That doesn’t mean he killed them.”

  “But think about it, captain. The surveillance footage shows LaSalle entering and leaving the complex the night before. It then shows Teresa leaving that night with Tyron and returning the next morning. There is no other way someone could have got up to that apartment. But Matt lives a few doors down. Now if Teresa was a client, she wouldn’t think twice about letting him in, or even if she wasn’t his client, perhaps she learned about the way he was treating Taylor or Nancy. He gets into a dispute, and tosses her off the balcony.”

  “And Tyron?”

  “Clean-up. Like I said, I don’t exactly know why but I think Taylor does. I was planning on going over and speaking with her again today. If I can get her to open up about those marks on her back, which appears to be the major thing that ties these women together, maybe, we’ll get some solid answers.”

  He nodded and glanced at Harvey. “Any luck with the ME?”

  “I’m going to speak with her this morning,” Harvey added.

  He cleared his throat. “Right, well I don’t want you going over there and accusing her fiancé of murder until we have credible evidence. Let Reznik speak with Alvaro and see what he has to say about where he was when Tyron died, and in the meantime follow up with the ME. And please, keep me in the loop. Okay?”

  Harvey got up. “Will do, captain.”

  Chapter 20

  Death brought out the worst in people and accusations only added fuel to the fire. Reznik was in the thick of conversation when she looked through the one-way mirror. She’d contemplated going in but after hearing that he’d informed dispatch, she thought she’d stepped on enough people’s toes. Besides, he seemed to be doing a fine job as it was. She was beginning to regret going at him and started to realize that she’d bought into Harvey’s paranoia and probably owed Reznik an apology. She stood there with her arms folded listening in on the interview. He was grilling him hard and working him from every angle like a pro.