Malevolent (Lieutenant Kane series Book 1) by E.H. Reinhard Read Free Book Online

the photo of the brand.
    “Do you have any idea what this represents?” I turned the picture and slid it toward him.
    He choked on his tears, shook his head, and slid the photo away.
    I slipped it back into the file. The next line of questioning would be the difficult part. We started by digging into their marriage and his whereabouts during the time she went missing. He claimed they were happy. There was never any adultery or any reasons to even let it cross his mind, he said. He claimed he had still been in Chicago when she went missing, which would be easy enough to confirm. We brought up their financial situation, as well as life insurance policies. Through tears, he discussed everything at length. He didn’t seem evasive on any of the questioning. The same held true when we discussed the rest of the couple’s friends and family. We asked him if she took any recreational drugs. He claimed she’d never taken anything, never even smoked as much as a cigarette her whole life. After another hour, we concluded the interview. We told him that we’d be in contact with any developments.
    I stopped by the captain to give him the highlights of the interview. I put Hank on checking into McMillian’s alibi and calling Nick Waterman. Waterman was the head of security at the airport. We needed to take a look at any video footage they had. I found my desk and hit the phones, starting with the hotel.
    “Thank you for calling Imperial Suites, This is Sandy. How can I help you?”
    “Hello, this is Lieutenant Kane with the TPD homicide division. Could I speak with a manager?”
    “I’m the manager on duty. What can I help you with?”
    “I wanted to see if you can confirm or deny a check-in from a few days back?”
    “Oh, we’re not supposed to give out that information.”
    “Sandy, I don’t want to go through the trouble of getting a subpoena for the registry, when you can just give me a yea or nay on the phone. I would consider it a personal favor to the TPD.”
    “Hold on.”
    I tapped my fingers across my desk as I listened to rummaging and whispering from the other end of the phone.
    “The guest name and date?”
    “Sarah McMillian. The check-in would have been Sunday evening.”
    “I have it here as booked, but she never checked in.”
    “Thank you.” I jotted it down as confirmed on my sheet. “Do you guys have video surveillance out front of the hotel?”
    “Yes, we do. Would you like me to transfer you over to someone in security?”
    “If you could, that would be great.”
    “Sure, no problem. Hold on.”
    I sat on hold for a few seconds before the music stopped and someone picked up.
    “This is Ralph.” The man’s voice sounded as though he was a heavy smoker.
    “Hi, Ralph. Are you in security there?”
    “Yes sir, what can I do for you?”
    “This is Lieutenant Kane with the TPD. I wanted to see if you had surveillance in front of the hotel?”
    “Three cameras. One faces straight out the front doors. One shoots east, and one shoots west off the top of the car port. What are you looking for?” A muffled coughing attack followed his question.
    I waited for him to finish before I continued. “I wanted to see if you caught a person of interest on video the other night. Think I could send someone by to look at your footage?”
    “Well, I guess that would be fine. I’m here until eight.”
    “Thanks, I’ll send a detective over. Should I just have him ask for you?”
    “Yup. Ralph in security.”
    I was ready to hang up when a note on my sheet caught my eye.
    “Hey Ralph, one more thing, and I’ll let you get back to work.”
    “Shoot.”
    “Do you guys run a shuttle back and forth to the airport?”
    “No. We used to but quit a few years ago.”
    “Thanks, I’ll send someone by.”
    “Glad to help.” He went back to coughing.
    I hung up and wrote everything he told me down. If no one from the ad agency had picked her up, she had to have taken a cab. Locating Ace Marketing and getting