Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [46]
Lloyd loosened his tie and collar. The subject obviously made him uncomfortable.
“Well, they were living together at the time.”
“Wouldn’t that make them roommates?”
O’Dell was as tough and unflinching as she was beautiful. Nick found himself relieved that this time he wasn’t on the other side of her questions. Lloyd looked to him for help. Nick only shrugged.
“Is it possible to check if Rydell kept in touch with Jeffreys after he was sentenced?” O’Dell asked Lloyd, instead of dismissing his hunch.
“They may have some information at the penitentiary.”
“You might check out what other visitors Jeffreys had or who else he may have kept in touch with. See if there were any prisoners or even guards he befriended. On death row they don’t have much contact with other prisoners, but there may have been someone.”
Nick liked the way her mind processed information quickly, refusing to disregard even the slightest details. A lead that Nick had believed far-fetched materialized into something substantial. Even Lloyd, who proudly came from a generation of keeping women in their place, seemed satisfied. He had added more scratches to his notes while O’Dell had been talking. Now he nodded at both of them and wandered off to find a phone.
Nick was impressed once again. O’Dell caught him watching her, and he simply smiled.
“Hey, Nick. That woman called again,” Eddie Gillick called out from behind his desk, a phone cradled under his chin.
“Agent O’Dell, here’s a fax from Quantico for you.” Adam Preston handed her a roll of paper.
“What woman?” Nick asked Eddie.
“Sophie Krichek. Remember, she was the one who said she saw an old blue pickup in the area when the Alverez kid was snatched.”
“Let me guess. She saw the pickup again. This time with another little boy who happens to look like Matthew Tanner.”
“Wait a minute,” O’Dell interrupted, looking up from the trail of fax paper that stretched to the floor. “What makes you think she’s not serious?”
“She calls all the time,” Nick explained.
“Nick, here’s your messages.” Lucy handed over a stack of pink “while you were out” slips and waited in front of him. She was dressed in the usual tight sweater and tight skirt. It would be so much easier to stop her if she didn’t have such a voluptuous figure.
“Let me get this straight. You’re not going to check out this lead because this woman has surpassed her quota of phone calls?” O’Dell had that look in her eyes that told Nick she thought he was bordering on incompetent. He wondered whether it had anything to do with his slight distraction over Lucy’s stretched blue-and-green-knit stripes.
“Three weeks ago she called to tell us she saw Jesus in her backyard pushing a little girl on a swing set. She doesn’t even have a backyard. She lives in an apartment complex with a concrete parking lot. Lucy, are the transcripts from Jeffreys’ confession and trial here yet?”
“Max said she’d bring them over herself as soon as possible.” Lucy swayed on the spike heels, and he knew it was strictly for his benefit. “They need to make copies of everything. Max won’t let the originals out of the clerk’s office. Oh, Agent O’Dell, a Gregory Stewart called for you like three or four times. He said it was important and that you have his number.”
“Your boss checking up on you?” Nick smiled at O’Dell, who suddenly looked distraught.
“No, my husband. Is there a phone I can use?”
Nick’s smile disappeared. He glanced at her hand. No wedding ring. Yes, he was sure he had checked before, simply out of habit. She was waiting for an answer.
“You can use my office,” he said, trying to sound disinterested and shuffling through the stack of messages. “Down the hall, last door on the right.”
“Thanks.”
As soon as she disappeared around the corner, Eddie Gillick stopped beside Nick on his way to the fax machine. “Why do you look so surprised, Nick? She’s quite a catch. Why wouldn’t she be married?”
It was ridiculous. This morning at Michelle Tanner’s he had been ready to strangle her. But now he suddenly felt as if someone