“That could be a link,” Shana said.
“I agree,” Bruce said, nodding. “It’s worth checking out. We might not be able to put a trace on the person who tampered with the computer, but we can speak with the woman in question.”
“Let’s not be so quick to put all our apples in one basket,” Marcel warned. “I wouldn’t just check on what we can find out about Ms. Oakley, but on every single person in that department.”
Shana nodded. “Consider it done.”
*
Jules glanced up from the document she’d been reading and smiled up at Manning. “Ivan Greene’s alibi isn’t as tight as he thinks it is. According to this, he might have been in court that day, but the judge granted a long recess. And it was during that block of time that Sylvia Granger was murdered.”
She paused a moment and then asked, “Did we ever hear anything back from that cruise line on whether Michael and Yolanda Greene were actually on the ship the entire week in question? I know Sheppard Granger’s attorney at the time supposedly checked it out, but I can’t guarantee he did a good job, or that he checked it out at all. We’re not taking anyone’s word for anything.”
“We haven’t heard anything yet. The woman I spoke with indicated records that far back were in storage and they would need time to retrieve them.”
“Well, stay on top of them. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“Will do.” Manning stood there for a minute and stared at Jules.
She frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“You tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Is anything wrong?”
Jules leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
“For starters, for the past three nights, you’ve practically slept here. Like you’re afraid to go home or something.”
“Why would I be afraid to go home?”
“You tell me.”
“Emanuel.” Whenever she called him by his full name, she let him know she meant business. “There is nothing to tell you. I had a lot of reading to do and I decided to stay here and do it. Last night, I fell asleep while reading, which is why you came in early and found me asleep on the couch over there.”
“You’ve never done that before.”
“I’ve never had a case like this one before. Usually, on criminal cases, I’m called in to either keep people out of jail or to help put them there. I’ve never handled an investigation in which someone is already in jail and I’m trying to prove he’s innocent. And what’s so sad is that if Sheppard Granger is indeed innocent, fifteen years were taken from his life.”
Manning didn’t say anything as he continued to stare at her. “Are you sure that’s all it is?”
She broke eye contact with Manning and gathered the papers on her desk into a neat stack. “Yes, I’m sure that’s all it is. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get some more work done. I lost time when I left to go home to shower and change clothes.”
“Hey, you’re the boss. You can do whatever you want to do.”
She glanced back up at him. “Including firing you.”
He chuckled. “Now, that’s something you can’t do. But I’ll leave you alone so you won’t be tempted to try.”
When Jules heard the door close behind Manning, she released a long, deep sigh. Manning had hit too close to home to suit her. It wasn’t that she was afraid to go home—she just didn’t want to risk Dalton showing up unannounced again. It had been over a week since she’d seen or talked to him, and at first she’d been fine. But now she was feeling pressure, and of what she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that if he were to show up, she wouldn’t ask him to leave. And the thought of her being that weak had her frustrated as hell, deeply annoyed with herself.