out without being seen? That reminded me: how did Shelley escape from the locked room where I was trapped inside?
"You've got a look," said Fletcher. "I don't know what it means, but I know one when I see one."
"How could someone get in and out of a room without being seen?" I asked.
"What kind of a room? Katya's suite?" he guessed, correctly.
I nodded. "Lauren was seen leaving, but she denies being the killer."
"They all say that," interrupted Delgado, waving for me to continue.
"Let's say she didn't do it. How does someone else get in and out without being seen?"
"More than one exit," said Fletcher.
I put my palm on my forehead. Could it really be that simple? "I didn't see one."
"Doesn't mean it isn't there."
I picked up my desk phone and dialed Solomon.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said, and I guessed he was alone.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"At home. What's up?"
"Can you get blueprints for the hotel?"
"I have them already. Why?"
"Does Katya's suite show any extra exits aside from the main door leading onto the hallway that connects all the suites?"
"Not that I recall."
"I'm playing devil's advocate for Lauren. I think there might be another exit. Assuming Lauren didn't kill Katya, that's why no one saw the murderer enter or exit their suite."
There was a long silence. I was about to say Solomon's name when he said, "I'll get on it. Anything else?"
"No. That's it."
"Dinner later?"
I turned away slightly, dropping my voice to whisper into the phone. It was unprofessional to arrange a date with the boss, but I had an important question to ask: "Are you cooking?"
"Yes. Be here at seven."
"I'll bring wine. Any preference?"
"Victoria's Secret."
"I don't think they do... oh!" I smiled. "Okay. Later, John." I hung up, swinging around. Delgado and Fletcher stared at me with their arms crossed and silly smiles on their faces. "Oh, shut up," I said, but I didn't mean it.
Opening up my laptop, I set up four new files, one for each member of B4U. I needed to find out about their pasts, and not just the squeaky clean stories they fed to the media. What I needed were their real histories, the parts of their lives that would reveal the secrets the blackmailer already knew. At the moment, however, I was several steps behind that mystery player. I needed to get ahead. Even more pressing, I needed to find out if the murderer and blackmailer were the same person. Second, I had to pare down my suspect pool.
Somehow, I didn't think the band would agree to having their personal lives so closely scrutinized in order to find the blackmailer, but I tried to ignore the mild discomfort I felt at poking through their pasts. After all, I was doing it in order to help them. Since no one except Shelley would tell me any secrets, I had to find them out for myself.
The question was: whom to start with? I decided on Katya. Could her secret have been the reason for her murder? I wondered, as I started with simple searches. To save time, I put in requests for Shelley, Lauren, and Amelia's birth records, as well as their financials, DMV licenses, and details of their former residences. Some of those I could get by legal means; some of them Lucas could access. I never asked how he got them either. While I waited on those, I printed the photos I took the previous day of the blackmail letters and spread them out across my desk.
On a large pad of paper, I wrote Katya - Russia? Under that, I added: Shelley - ten years ago . I added sex tape to that since Shelley readily admitted what her blackmail secret was. Then I added Amelia and secret , the only clue offered in the letters. Finally, I added Lauren - Michael?
Calling up an internet browser, I began to type Katya's full name, but auto fill suggested "found dead", "murdered", and "tragic death" as the first three possible options. Clearly, her death had leaked to the press. I clicked the top option and scrolled through the news reports. All the national papers mentioned it as well
"You've got a look," said Fletcher. "I don't know what it means, but I know one when I see one."
"How could someone get in and out of a room without being seen?" I asked.
"What kind of a room? Katya's suite?" he guessed, correctly.
I nodded. "Lauren was seen leaving, but she denies being the killer."
"They all say that," interrupted Delgado, waving for me to continue.
"Let's say she didn't do it. How does someone else get in and out without being seen?"
"More than one exit," said Fletcher.
I put my palm on my forehead. Could it really be that simple? "I didn't see one."
"Doesn't mean it isn't there."
I picked up my desk phone and dialed Solomon.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said, and I guessed he was alone.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"At home. What's up?"
"Can you get blueprints for the hotel?"
"I have them already. Why?"
"Does Katya's suite show any extra exits aside from the main door leading onto the hallway that connects all the suites?"
"Not that I recall."
"I'm playing devil's advocate for Lauren. I think there might be another exit. Assuming Lauren didn't kill Katya, that's why no one saw the murderer enter or exit their suite."
There was a long silence. I was about to say Solomon's name when he said, "I'll get on it. Anything else?"
"No. That's it."
"Dinner later?"
I turned away slightly, dropping my voice to whisper into the phone. It was unprofessional to arrange a date with the boss, but I had an important question to ask: "Are you cooking?"
"Yes. Be here at seven."
"I'll bring wine. Any preference?"
"Victoria's Secret."
"I don't think they do... oh!" I smiled. "Okay. Later, John." I hung up, swinging around. Delgado and Fletcher stared at me with their arms crossed and silly smiles on their faces. "Oh, shut up," I said, but I didn't mean it.
Opening up my laptop, I set up four new files, one for each member of B4U. I needed to find out about their pasts, and not just the squeaky clean stories they fed to the media. What I needed were their real histories, the parts of their lives that would reveal the secrets the blackmailer already knew. At the moment, however, I was several steps behind that mystery player. I needed to get ahead. Even more pressing, I needed to find out if the murderer and blackmailer were the same person. Second, I had to pare down my suspect pool.
Somehow, I didn't think the band would agree to having their personal lives so closely scrutinized in order to find the blackmailer, but I tried to ignore the mild discomfort I felt at poking through their pasts. After all, I was doing it in order to help them. Since no one except Shelley would tell me any secrets, I had to find them out for myself.
The question was: whom to start with? I decided on Katya. Could her secret have been the reason for her murder? I wondered, as I started with simple searches. To save time, I put in requests for Shelley, Lauren, and Amelia's birth records, as well as their financials, DMV licenses, and details of their former residences. Some of those I could get by legal means; some of them Lucas could access. I never asked how he got them either. While I waited on those, I printed the photos I took the previous day of the blackmail letters and spread them out across my desk.
On a large pad of paper, I wrote Katya - Russia? Under that, I added: Shelley - ten years ago . I added sex tape to that since Shelley readily admitted what her blackmail secret was. Then I added Amelia and secret , the only clue offered in the letters. Finally, I added Lauren - Michael?
Calling up an internet browser, I began to type Katya's full name, but auto fill suggested "found dead", "murdered", and "tragic death" as the first three possible options. Clearly, her death had leaked to the press. I clicked the top option and scrolled through the news reports. All the national papers mentioned it as well
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