Brandee licked her lips. Her internal struggle lasted about two more seconds.
“What do you want to know?” she asked.
Jessie saw Ryan, who was standing behind Brandee, smile and stifle a laugh with a cough.
“Where was Barney this afternoon?”
“Work, I assume,” Brandee replied.
“Where’s work?” Jessie asked.
“Down on Highland, just off Thirteenth Street. His office is right across from Cousin Willy’s Waffle Hut.”
“When did he get home?”
“I don’t know. I was out at the nail salon until six. He was there when I got back.”
“What about yesterday evening? Do you remember where he was between eight thirty and ten p.m.?”
“Last night?” she said, straining to recall the details. “Oh yeah, I went out with some girlfriends for dinner and drinks. I left around seven. He was still at work. I got home after midnight and he was asleep on the couch with the TV on. I woke him up and we went to bed.”
“What about Monday, late afternoon to early evening?”
“Oh, come on. That was so long ago. How am I supposed to remember?”
“Try, Brandee,” Jessie pushed. “It’s important.”
The woman scrunched up her face. It looked like the effort of remembering was physically painful.
“I know we ordered takeout for dinner that night—Thai food. I don’t remember the time but it was dark when I opened the door to get it so it had to be pretty late. But before that, I don’t know. Most days he works until six or seven. I assume he did the same on Monday. Can I have the cupcake now?”
“Yes,” Jessie told her, passing it over.
Brandee immediately began scarfing it down. While she ate, Jessie and Ryan stepped into the hall.
“We ought to be able to verify his location using his phone,” Jessie said.
“Yeah,” Ryan conceded. “But his office is within walking distance of both crime scenes. He could have left the phone at work intentionally while he committed the crimes.”
“Possible,” Jessie agreed. “But the attack on Priscilla felt like a crime of passion. I wouldn’t think he’d leave his phone back at the office if this happened on the spur of the moment.”
“Maybe the killing itself wasn’t part of the plan but sneaking into someone’s house was? Maybe he wanted to spy on her as part of some other personal fetish he had. Then he might try to hide any digital evidence that he was there.”
Jessie wasn’t as convinced. But something Ryan said reminded her of one of Garland’s notes.
“Hey,” she said suddenly. “Based on what Brandee said to me, Barney is into handcuffs. Let’s ask her if he has any other fetishes.”
Ryan’s eyes lit up as he got what she was hinting at. They returned to the room, where Brandee was licking the remaining cupcake crumbs off her lips.
“Does Barney like pantyhose, Brandee?” Jessie asked without warning.
“Huh?”
“Pantyhose, stockings—does he like to wear them, or use them during kinky sex games?”
Brandee’s expression changed quickly from confused to delighted.
“Not that I know of,” she said with a devilish smile. “But I’d be open to it. I have enough pairs.”
“You do?” Jessie asked. “Why is that?”
“I like this one kind, their shop is based here in Manhattan Beach. They’re super popular, or at least they were for a while. I used to always try to make Barney buy me a pair whenever we walked by there. I have to have at least half a dozen. Only the best for the best, right?”
“Sure,” Jessie replied uncertainly.
Before they could continue, her phone rang. It was Hannah.
“I’ve got to take this,” she said, stepping outside.
“Can I get another cupcake?” Brandee asked as Jessie moved down the hall. Ryan would have to deal with that request.
“How’s it going?” she asked when she was outside and out of anyone’s earshot.
“It’s getting late and I hadn’t heard anything from you,” Hannah said. “So I wanted to check in.”
“I’m sorry. Ryan and I are working this case in Manhattan Beach. It’s all mixed up with Garland’s death. I guess I lost track of time. Are you okay? Do you think you can handle dinner on your own tonight?
“Sure,” Hannah said, sounding less peeved than expected. “Do you have any leads on the case?”
Jessie felt a pang of guilt for having assumed that Hannah would be focused only on herself. She was clearly still thinking about Garland.
“We do have leads,” Jessie said. “But I’m not sure how great they are. I’ll let you know if we nail someone though.”
“Is there going to be a funeral?” Hannah asked.
Jessie was embarrassed to admit she had no idea. Garland, widowed young and without children, had never talked about family. She wasn’t sure who would organize the event.
“I assume so,” she finally said. “I’ll have to check around. Do you want to go if there is one?”
“I might,” Hannah said quietly.
“Let me look into it,” Jessie said. “How was your day?”
“Okay, all things considered,” she answered, though Jessie could hear hesitation in her voice.
“What’s wrong?”
Hannah paused and Jessie could sense her debating whether to come clean. She finally did.
“I don’t want to make a big deal of this. But all day I’ve felt like someone was watching me. I’ll look back, but I never see anyone suspicious. It could just be that I’m on edge. But considering everything that’s been happening lately, and with your ex-husband getting out of prison, I didn’t want to totally dismiss it. You said he’s been systematically trying to destroy your life. And I guess I’m part of your life. So I thought I should mention it.”
Jessie was the last person to disregard generalized suspicions about being shadowed and she considered Hannah more than justified in her concerns.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said. “I’m going to have a team of officers sent over there right now to do a welfare check. I might even have a few of them stick around until we get back. Okay?”
“Yeah,” Hannah agreed. The fact that she didn’t complain about Jessie overreacting or having a bunch of cops in her personal space was the strongest proof that he sister was truly worried.
“Text me when they get there and give you an all clear, all right?”
“I will,” Hannah promised, “as long as you keep me updated on Garland’s case.”
“It’s a deal,” Jessie said.
After hanging up, she immediately called Captain Decker and requested a security detail for her place. He didn’t need much convincing.
“I’ll have a unit over there in fifteen minutes,” he assured her.
“Thanks, Captain,” she said, relieved that she didn’t need to work to convince him.
“Not a problem. How’s it going down there?”
As she was about to answer, Jamil Winslow, who was frowning in concentration, hurried past her on the way to the room where Ryan and Brandee were.