Revenge Read Free

evidence was recovered.
    The timing of the call from dispatch, not fifteen minutes after Frances whispered her stunning announcement in Jess’s ear, would have been freaky bizarre except that impeccable timing had always been another of her favorite teacher’s notable attributes. The man Frances suspected she would be accused of murdering was indeed dead. Which was no coincidence since Frances had found him that way before rushing across town to pay Jess an impromptu visit.
    Further proof that Jess drew killers like bees to honey, except Frances Wallace was no killer. Her explanation of tonight’s events was a little scattered and a lot thin but Jess had gotten the gist of things. Even at seventy-five, the woman wasn’t going to be hoodwinked by some whippersnapper – said whippersnapper was, unfortunately, the murder victim.
    Since her options were limited, Jess had brought Frances to the crime scene with her. She was ensconced in the library in the company of one of Birmingham PD’s finest. Not that she was going anywhere, but Jess had no intention of letting her talk to anyone else until she got to the bottom of exactly what had transpired.
    The janitors who found the victim and called 911 were sequestered to a staff lounge on the east end of the building where Detective Lori Wells was taking statements. The crime scene unit techs had arrived and were documenting and gathering evidence in and around the primary scene. Lieutenant Valerie Prescott was monitoring that activity while Officer Chad Cook wandered amid the residents in the dining hall. His job was to take note of anyone who appeared nervous or visibly out of sorts. BPD uniforms were searching the grounds. The deputy administrator of the senior living facility had arrived and was waiting to give his statement as well. Jess had given him a few minutes to get the residents settled.
    Someone from the coroner’s office was en route. Wouldn’t bother Jess one bit if Sylvia Baron got the case. The snarky doctor was spot on in her assessments, and . . . Jess was curious about her – or more precisely her sister, a former Mrs Daniel Burnett. And, if she were completely honest with herself, Jess kind of liked Sylvia. They were friends . . . sort of.
    ‘Chief,’ Sergeant Chet Harper said, drawing her attention back to the reason she was here. ‘According to his personal secretary, the victim, Scott Baker, remained in his office last night after she and the rest of the staff left for the evening. No meetings were scheduled and, to her knowledge, he wasn’t expecting any visitors. She says it’s not unusual for him to work late.’
    ‘So,’ Jess said, following Harper along the corridor that led back to the administrator’s office, ‘between half past five and quarter to eleven, Baker was here alone except for a visit from the Grim Reaper. The janitors came in to clean the office and found his body. Called nine-one-one. And here we are. Anything on the surveillance cameras?’
    The question she kept to herself was: Is a little gray-haired lady showcased in any of the footage?
    Harper shook his head. ‘The surveillance system is digital and motion activated. It generally runs twenty-four-seven, which would’ve shown anyone entering or exiting the facility. But the system was turned off just before six last night. Pete Clemmons, the deputy administrator, insists that only Baker could have done that. Not even Clemmons has the code. And no one outside the security company has the ability to delete stored data in the system.’
    Jess crossed the threshold into the administrator’s office for the second time since her arrival. The forensic folks wouldn’t start in here until after she’d had her look and the coroner’s office had done their thing.
    The body lay on the floor in front of the broad mahogany desk. That he was in front of the desk rather than behind it suggested to Jess that he’d been engaged in intimate conversation with his visitor.