“And the congressman,” added Detective Aguinaldo. “Kent Duer is a war hero who checks out clean. So far, Captain, his only transgression seems to be a display of throwback notions about women when you saw him at The Greenwich.”
Nikki was right there with them all. Additionally, she was groping at a loose end of her own: Rook’s kidnapping and how that fit in. It was a phenomenon of contradiction she had experienced in many cases over the years. The closer they got to an answer, the further it took them from other elements of the case.
Rook said, “As long as we’re kicking things around, is anybody else seeing the obvious? That Lobbrecht got a job with the same company Levy worked for?”
“Before we found out Lobbrecht worked the accident, I never got bumped by it,” said Heat. “I assumed it was a natural progression. Work for the state troopers on the CRU and then, when you go private, consult for a collision forensics firm. DAs become defense litigators, politicians become lobbyists, quarterbacks move to the broadcast booth. It seemed normal.”
“Right, to me, too,” said Rook. “We all just sort of bought it. But now, there may be more to it. Like the job itself was a payoff, too.”
By instinct—and habit—Nikki paced in front of the Murder Board. “OK, moving forward. Here’s what we’ll do.” Not letting her zeal diminish the enthusiasm of her squad co-leaders on the phone, she halted and took a figurative step to the side. “Miguel, Sean. How do you want to deploy the rest of your squad?”
For a half breath, they were taken aback, but Ochoa jumped right in. “I’m feeling like the hot lead is Lobbrecht. What about you, homes?”
“Totally agree with Miguel,” said Raley. “Randall, you have prior contact with management at the forensic company Lobbrecht consulted for, right?”
“Affirm. Company’s called Forenetics.”
“Get his employment recs from HR. Look for basics: salary, whether he got a bonus for signing that might account for the sudden cash, any grievances against him, especially beefs on the job with Levy.”
Ochoa picked up without missing the cadence. “We also want to do a thorough vet of Lobbrecht before Forenetics, when he was a statie. If this guy was a dirty cop, I want the paper trail to prove it. Detective Aguinaldo, you reach out to New York State Police. Go for his job file, any IA paper, you get the idea.”
“I do,” said Inez.
Raley added, “Plus get hard copies of his accident report. Not just the MV-104s, but maps, statements, evidence pictures, the whole jacket.”
Detective Feller leaned close to the speakerphone. “What are you two going to do? Besides bark orders at us while you walk hand in hand through apple orchards up there?”
Detective Raley laughed. “Jealousy’s an ugly thing, Randall.”
“Which explains your face,” said Ochoa. As they all chuckled at that, Nikki enjoyed it most because it sounded like Roach was being Roach again. Then Miguel continued, “We’re going to have Mr. Dooley from Dunne Towing take us to the accident scene for an eyes-on.”
“Then a stop at the hospital on the way back to talk to the ER nurse and doc who treated Levy,” said Raley.
Heat moved closer to the phone. “I’m going to have another chat with Wilton Backhouse about all of the above. Meanwhile, nice work, guys. Don’t forget to stop and smell the apples.” She hung up before they could say anything.