But she knew exactly where to start.
She thanked Grover and Judith for their time, then headed straight for the Kerr County Recorder’s Office.
Chapter Thirty-three
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Nate and JJ Young had left Mexico with Ricky before dawn and arrived at St. Catherine’s just after one in the afternoon. Lucy met them there.
She’d already talked to Father Mateo, who ran the boys home attached to the church, and he understood the situation. He had experience working with boys who had witnessed violence.
JJ Young planned to stay with Ricky for the afternoon, to make sure that he settled in. Nate pulled Lucy aside. “Ricky talked. He didn’t want to, but he talked about everything until about halfway through the trip, then slept for the last four hours. That kid is tough, but what he heard when he was nine scarred him. He’s not going to just assimilate back into a normal family. He’s still processing that we know that his family was killed and that he can trust us.”
“So much has happened in the last two days, Nate, and we have work to do. Do you think he’s going to stay put?”
“If there’s a chance that he’s going to bolt, JJ will stay here with him. If JJ thinks that he’s settled okay, he’s going to bring Joe and Ginny to visit tomorrow. Maybe seeing his friends will help him adjust to being back home.”
“Abigail isn’t happy and we might get in trouble for this. She’s calling CPS tomorrow but will try to keep him here or find him an FBI-controlled safe house. Because he’s a minor it’s a whole different set of rules. She also wants him to make a formal statement to a judge and then decide what’s in his best interests.”
“Not today. We have the information we need, he can talk to the damn judge on Monday.” Nate was heated, but he stood firm. “Let me tell the kid what we’re doing.”
While Nate went back inside the house, Lucy returned Max’s call. She’d left her three messages that morning.
“Hello,” Max said. “Busy, I see.”
“I’ve been working this case since dawn. We have some new intel and are acting on it.”
“Good. I met with Grover and Judith an hour ago. I’m up at the Kerr County Recorder’s Office going over some land deeds.”
“Tread carefully, Max. You heard that Detective Chavez shot his partner and is now on the run.”
“Yes, I know, so I’m not worried about him showing up here.”
“We don’t know who works for him—or if there are other cops involved. Be extra cautious.”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“The motive for shutting down the Kiefer operation three years ago. Albright’s embezzlement destroyed him, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“So I started looking at Harrison Monroe’s land purchases from three years ago and Simon Mills’s land purchases, which—surprisingly—ended three years ago.”
“You’ve already lost me.”
“Simon basically operated for the last ten years like Monroe has operated for the last three. Buying and selling property. So I’m thinking, Why did he stop buying and selling land? Simon’s operation was a bit different in that he generally improved the land and sold it for a profit. What changed three years ago? Denise Albright was murdered. Grover confirmed that she did a lot of work for Victoria back then, and I surmised she may have also done a lot of work for Simon Mills.”
“I have her client list and neither of them is on it.”
“Victoria was pro bono. But if I were you, I’d review any small businesses again.”
“The FBI talked to every business owner. They are all legitimate businesses.”
“Look at them again.”
Lucy really didn’t like Max telling her how to do her job—it was the tone, which was clearly not a suggestion. “The White Collar Crimes unit is already doing it, but—”
“We believe that there is a larger conspiracy, right?” Max interrupted. “That Denise’s murder was because she knew something or was going to turn in someone or maybe uncovered an illegal operation she wasn’t comfortable with or saw something she wasn’t supposed to see.”
“All theories with no substance.”
“Earlier that year, Harrison Monroe moved to Texas. After that, Simon didn’t buy or sell any more land—he had three properties at the time, other than his house, and he kept them, leased them out. Harrison started buying and selling through HFM.”
“Nothing on the surface is illegal.”
“Kiefer was working on a federal project, right? Well, what was that project and who would it have helped or hurt? What if Denise, who was helping Simon and Victoria on the side with their accounting issues—maybe she even knew they were doing something illegal but was willing to look the other way—maybe she was asked to do something against her biggest client? What if she said no? And then they held these other illegal things she did over her head and she felt she had to leave or be prosecuted. Maybe she did plan to run, but they caught up with her. I know it’s just a theory right now, but it’s something we can prove or disprove. So I’m here looking at the public works project that would have happened and who that impacted. If it had gone through, Monroe would have lost millions. And get this: The parcel was sold to him by Simon Mills.”
Lucy saw where Max was going with this, but she still warned her to be careful.
“Get what you can, but this isn’t proof that either Monroe or Mills was behind the murders.”
“But it’s motive.”
“I’ll take it to my people, Max, but watch your back. Why didn’t you bring Sean up there with you?”
“Sean’s pursuing his own lead. I’m fine, Lucy. I’m making copies of everything and will be back in San Antonio as soon as possible.”
Max ended the call, but Lucy couldn’t help but worry about the reporter.
Nate exited St. Catherine’s and said, “Ricky’s going to be okay, I think. Father Mateo showed him his room, and Mateo and JJ are both with him.”
“I have a lot to tell you.” She looked at her phone. “This is Detective Reed. I hope it’s good news.”
* * *
Robert Clemson was at his office in a building not far from the warehouse where his company sold remainders, on Guadalupe. It was a simple building, clean but old, and Clemson’s office was crowded with file cabinets and tile samples.
“I don’t know what else I can tell you,” Clemson said, pushing papers aside and stacking tiles that didn’t need to be stacked.
“I’ll get right to the point,” Lucy said. Nate stood in the doorway looking intimidating, which made Clemson even more nervous. “Detective Reed is in Chicago. She had a nice conversation with Melissa Randolph.”
Clemson sat down. He paled, visibly shaken.
“Ms. Randolph came clean. That happens when someone is facing a felony.”
“F-felony?”
“Accessory after the fact in a felony case is also a felony,” Lucy said. “I’m letting the Bexar County DA work out a plea arrangement with Ms. Randolph. She didn’t know that she was giving you an alibi for murder.”