“Ah. And she wants you to entertain her.”
He shrugged. “I don’t think entertain is quite it. But I told her I’d drive her over to Marfa tomorrow and we’d eat at the Food Shark for lunch. I’ll show her some sights.”
Josie found herself nodding, not sure what to say.
“You okay with that?”
“Sure. Yeah. Thanks for offering to do that.”
“If something breaks and you have a minute to get away—”
Josie dipped her head and said, “Come on. In the middle of a murder investigation?”
He drained the rest of his bourbon and didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry. I’m not being very grateful. I do appreciate you offering to take her out. It’s really nice of you.”
“But?”
“I just never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. And I won’t be there to intervene or explain.” She paused and finished her thought. “Or hear what kind of BS she’s feeding you.” She tipped her own glass back and let the burn slip down her throat.
“Josie. I’ve heard enough stories about your mom to take it all in stride.” He stood from the swing and put a hand out for her, taking her glass and placing it on the table before turning back to her. “I love you. I want to make your life better, not more stressful. If you don’t want me to take her, I’ll make up an excuse.”
She put her fingertips on his lips. “I want you to do what you planned. You’re a good man, and I’m glad you’re here with me. Right now I just want you to blow those candles out and take me to bed.”
*
Josie started the morning at the office following up on phone calls and media requests for information regarding the murder and the displaced women. Otto had two domestic calls he had to respond to, and Marta wasn’t scheduled in until three that afternoon.
At eleven o’clock, Josie received warrant approval from the judge and called a customer service specialist employed by the Web hosting company, Host Post & Go. Josie spoke with a woman who introduced herself as Linda Spellman. Josie briefly explained the purpose for the warrant.
“I specialize in liability and law enforcement issues,” Linda said. “While we make it clear to our clients that their information is protected and secure, we also state clearly that we’re bound by law enforcement and government regulations. And we state that illegal content will be removed immediately under the penalty of law.”
“I appreciate your cooperation,” Josie said.
“Absolutely. We don’t want criminals on our books any more than you do. Let me put you on hold while I take a look at your paperwork.”
Josie listened to recorded music for over ten minutes and was then greeted again by Linda.
“I’ve confirmed your warrant for information and have the requested documents ready to email at this time. I’ll email as confidential documents, accessible with the encryption code I’ll provide you at this time.”
Josie wrapped up the conversation thoroughly impressed with the woman’s professionalism, and a little surprised at how smooth the transaction had gone. Fortunately, Josie had found that criminals tended to believe the Internet was more anonymous than it actually was.
Thirty minutes later, Josie opened the encrypted email to reveal the payment history for the Internet Web site owned by John Davis. Her pulse quickened as she reviewed the information. She called Otto.
“You have a minute?” she asked.
“I’m in my car, headed back to the department. What’s up?”
Josie explained her conversation with Linda Spellman. “Get this. The initial payment to set up the Web site four years ago was charged to a Visa credit card owned by Caroline Moss.”
“Why would she do that?” he said.
“That was four years ago. Maybe back then she was still trying to convince herself this was a humanitarian effort. The renewal payment a year later was an automatic withdraw from a bank account in Guatemala. That’s probably when she got worried and decided to cover her tracks.”
“Little late for that,” he said. “Any idea who John Davis is?”
“The woman I spoke to said it was probably just a fake name to set up the Web site. She said the person registering the Web site, and the person paying for the account, don’t have to be the same.”
“Good enough. I’ll see you in ten.”
The new information sealed the case for Josie. It was no longer one kid’s word against a well-respected woman. Josie forced herself to step away from her desk. She headed next door to the Artemis City Office to visit Mayor Moss. She was ready to talk to Holder, and contrary to Otto’s beliefs she felt strongly that she owed Moss an explanation before going to the prosecutor about his wife. She would expect the same professional courtesy if the situation were reversed.
*