Last Seen Alive

Chapter Sixteen

@Khiaras_o won this round! Thanks for playing :) 

"I've gotta say, my respect for Lydia just went to 1,000%. Even though she and her son were in danger, she found a way to help us solve the case," Kelsey commented as Michael re-read the medical report confirming Jane Doe's identity as Amanda Desser.

"Told you she's dedicated to her job," he mumbled.

She watched him quietly as he read before speaking up again. "That was your dad, right? You look a lot alike."

Michael frowned. "I don't want to talk about that."

She carried on, regardless. "I didn't know he was a cop too. His uniform looks a little different from the one I saw you wearing a couple of days ago. What's his rank exactly?" 

He looked up from the paper in his hands with a stern look. "We have more important things to talk about than police fashion."

"Okay," she giggled. "But--"

"Enough, Harris," he said in a tired voice. "I really don't want to talk about him."

She let it go with a sigh. "I should have brought Kiki's confetti. Might have worked better than the card."

He gave her a confused look but she waved it off and moved on.

"Now that we know our victim's identity, what do we do next?"

"Figure out who might have wanted her dead. You and Lydia had some good hunches on that. And I got some information from Nathan on Amanda Desser that could help too."

"Wow. Cheating on me with your ex-partner already," she teased, coaxing a wry smile from him.

He pulled open a drawer and took some papers out, placing them side by side on his desk. "Nathan sent these over yesterday. Amanda's marriage and divorce certificate, and her credit card records."

She dropped her backpack on the visitor's chair, carefully stepping over the stationery Michael had thrown down, and went to stand next to him so they could look through the papers together. 

"So, based on Lydia's assesments and my theories, our first suspect is the ex-husband, James Murdock?" she said after a quick look at the first two documents.

Michael nodded, acutely aware of her presence, the scent of her perfume, and every breath she took while they stood almost shoulder to shoulder. He took a subtle step away from her and cleared his throat before turning his focus back to the conversation.

"Her credit card info also shows that she, or someone who had her card, made a purchase in Pinehive about a week before her estimated time of death. I only mention this because the purchase was small, which was at odds with the rest of her records. What's your take on that?"

She drummed her fingers on the table, taking a moment to put her thoughts together. "Maybe she's someone who usually sticks to cash purchases for everyday things but was desperate on that day and used her card," she suggested. 

"I thought so too," he agreed with a nod.

"That pattern is typical of someone on the run or in hiding," she continued. "If we're right about her having an abusive partner, she might have been running from him. And if she was so careful about using her credit card, it means he or whoever she was running away from had some way of tracking her down through financial records. That would suggest someone in a position of power with the ability to access something as private as financial records. My guess would be someone who works in a bank or law enforcement. Might even be a lawyer, someone who can find a way around the legal red tape. Or if we're keeping things simple, someone with mad IT skills who can hack her accounts. I suggest finding out if anyone she knew fits that bill if nothing pans out on the ex."