Carter listened to Special Agent Donnelly and looked around the house where Peter and Jessica Arndt lived in New Rochelle. The bloody crime scene photographs didn't look like John's work, a man trained to kill quietly and carefully. There had to be something that Donnelly was missing.
Joss looked at Jessica Arndt's x-rays and asked all the right questions, but she had to agree with the medical examiner. Sometimes things were just what they looked like; car accidents were car accidents and spiral fractures weren't the result of systematic spousal abuse. On the other hand she knew that money was the number one cause of marital unhappiness and often the cause of fatal fall outs between people. A real estate developer with angry investors, a gambling problem and a loan shark on speed dial wasn't likely to be the best husband.
Joss listened carefully to Jessica Arndt's mother. Jessica loved Peter, Peter loved her. Peter was successful; a good catch. Maybe Jessica had told her mother the truth. Maybe they really were working things out. Joss sipped the iced tea and listened as Jessica's mother spoke, sifting through everything she was hearing and everything she knew.
What was the connection between Peter Arndt and John Reese? She wondered again. If this was murder for hire, why move the body? Why not leave it as a warning for others who might fail to fulfill their financial obligations? She was no closer to solving the puzzle than before.
But there was something here, something Harold thought she should see. Maybe he was having second thoughts about John. Maybe that's why he encouraged her to come. Maybe he didn't want her to cover up evidence; perhaps he was counting on her to make sure that John Reese was apprehended. All these things were running through her head as she stood and began to say good-bye to Jessica's mother. There were so many scenarios that she almost missed the piece that unlocked the puzzle.
"A solider?"** Joss repeated hearing motherly disapproval.
"Yes, it was a fling, but I sometimes wonder . . ."** She described the man who did his duty.
"Do you know his name or have a photo?"** Joss tried not to let her rising interest show. This might be the connection. If John and Jessica had a relationship, this might explain John's visit to New Rochelle.
"No, but you could look at Jessica's things." Jessica's mother waved her hands over the boxes. I don't know why I've kept all of this." Her eyes filled with tears. "Let me know when you're finished."
"Will do," Joss waited for her to retreat before she opened the first carton.
When the jewelry box revealed its secret, a photo of Jessica and John together, Carter finally understood John's connection to New Rochelle. Perhaps he knew Jessica was being abused, or suspected it or was simply angry that Peter drove the car the night she died. Whatever the motive, this wasn't murder for hire. This was an eye for an eye. This was Old Testament retribution. John held Peter Arndt responsible for Jessica's death.
Carter put the photo in her pocket and finished rifling through Jessica's boxes with a new perspective and a new problem. The photo linked John to a uniform which she could trace to a time and location. With that information and the right contacts she could get a name, an identity. The problem was whether or not to share her new-found information with Special Agent Donnelly or follow the lead herself. Ultimately, she decided to see what her own back channels would yield.
"Gene?" She said, "Joss Carter, I need a favour."** In a matter of days she might have John Reese's service record in her hand. She wasn't sure what she'd do with it, but it was one more piece of the puzzle.