The Other Path
Chapter 71
"So Ryan and Esposito got their guy?" Rick queries Kate.
"They did, with the help you gave Ryan. But I don't know how much mention that will get in their report. Probably not much."
"Not a problem. I don't mind staying below Gates' radar. Is Espo still going to Canada?"
"Yeah, he is. Under that macho exterior beats a heart of pure mush. And I think he's been looking for a way to hang out with other vets. Seems like he's found one."
"That's great! So the boys can close their case. How are you doing on Mr. Robinson?" When Cronut barks at the mention of his late master, Rick gives him a reassuring scritch behind the ears. "Did you interview his sister?"
"Kelly, yeah, I did. She still called him Georgie. I think she'd like to remember him as the kid she grew up with. Apparently, in some ways, he hasn't changed much. She said he started keeping records when he was little and was still scrupulous about them. It reminded me a little of your stacks of composition books. Tori found his more recent transactions and some of his notes in the cloud. Kelly thought he might have suspected one of the authors of plagiarism. So I've been going through Robinson's files, trying to figure out who it was. So far, no luck."
"I'd be happy to take a gander if you'd like," Rick offers. "I have more than a passing familiarity with the editorial mindset."
"From some of the colorful language you've put out while reading your suggested revisions from Black Pawn, I'm sure you do. I have a sign-on for Robinson's account. You can look from here."
"Great. But what about Cronut? Did Kelly want to take him?"
"She can't, and she didn't know anyone who could. You're going to have to start thinking about alternatives."
"Well, he's not going to the pound!" Rick declares. "They'll put a countdown clock on him. They might give him a week, but it could be only 72 hours before he gets the needle. Serial killers get a better deal than that, Kate."
"There are private shelters that don't kill, Babe."
Rick's lips round in a pout. "I know. But that's not the same as having a family. And Cronut's happy here."
"And you want to keep him."
"Yeah, I do. What's wrong with a man having a dog?"
"Aren't things going to be complicated enough when the baby comes? What if he gets jealous?"
"Kate, he isn't the jealous type. He doesn't mind when we cuddle up. I think he likes watching."
"Given your porn collection, it's no wonder you two are kindred spirits."
"Well, maybe we are. So, can I keep him? Please?" Cronut stares longingly up at Kate. "How can you resist that face?"
"Yours or the dog's? All right. At least he'll keep you moving. And maybe I can train him to keep you on your PT regimen."
"You wouldn't! Cronut, you won't let her do that, will you?" Rick sighs as Cronut retreats to the floor with his paws over his eyes. "Man's best friend."
A mischievous smile lights Kate's face. "All right, we'll keep him. But you're in charge of feeding him and cleaning up any doggy accidents."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Kate," Rick calls from his office. "I think I found something in Robinson's notes."
Kate joins him, carrying a banana. "What have you got?"
"He copied and pasted several paragraphs from a manuscript he was working on. I recognize them from my days of haunting the public library. Every so often, they sold off novels no one read to make room for new books. The deal was everything you could shove in a paper grocery bag for a dollar. And I could shove in a lot. So I read a bunch of obscure authors. Many of them were obscure for a reason. But occasionally, I found a gem. One of those was a novel by Anna Zvich. Unfortunately, she only wrote one book before committing suicide at the age of 37. I kept my copy. So I compared it to the passages Robinson found. They were plagiarized, word for word. I checked. Anna's family retained the copyright. If Robinson's client hit the bestseller list, the Zvich estate could sue for a bundle."
"And thieves don't usually steal just once," Kate considers. "The author Robinson caught out might have done it before."
"And once it came out about Anna Zvich, people would have started looking. And even if the author ducked the suits, the chances of being on the roster of a reputable publisher would be zilch."
"Does this author have a name?" Kate asks.
"Robinson just marked the references in the notes with initials, JLT. But those should match with the billing records. Bringing those up now." Rick scrolls through the entries. "Here we go! Jolene Loesser-Timmons. And female killers tend to lean toward poison. Kate, I think we've got your suspect."
"I like her for the murder, but we need more than potential plagiarism. Kelly told me that her brother preferred to communicate by email. If Tori can track down the correspondence between Jolene and George, we may have what we need. I'll ask her to get on it in the morning." Cronut gets up from his spot under Rick's desk and trots into the great room. He returns a moment later with his leash in his mouth. "I think your new adoptee wants to go out," Kate observes.
"I told you he'd keep me moving. Care to accompany your still-weakened mate?" Rick inquires.
"I'll go along for support, but you're the one scooping the poop."
"You drive a hard bargain."
"Detective Beckett, George Robinson used his ISP's cloud storage for his emails," Tori reports, "but they want a court order to release them."
"Do they understand that Robinson is dead?" Kate asks.
"When I finally got a human being instead of a bot, I told her that. But with all the hacking incidents, the company is covering its butt."
Kate rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll call Judge Markway. It shouldn't take long to get an electronic order. So do you have a contact number for the person at the ISP who asked for it?"
"Just a name. We had an online chat. And I had to go through the whole decision tree on the website to reach her."
"They don't make it easy, do they?"
"That's deliberate. It's called queuing with discouragement," Tori explains. "If the ISP makes an inquiry difficult enough, most people give up. It keeps costs down because they need fewer live customer service agents. But since I've been through the gauntlet, I can help you short-stop it a little."
"I'd appreciate that, Tori. At least Markway's old-school enough to answer his phone or have his clerk do it. Damn! It's Wednesday. I hope he's not playing golf."
The building vibrates with a rumble of thunder.
"If he is," Tori replies, "He won't be playing long."
Rick stares out at the angry sky before turning back to Cronut, who's rapidly consuming one of his peanut-butter-glazed namesakes. "Good thing we went out when we did. Look's like it's going to come down hard. I hope it lets up later. Maybe I should have bought you a doggy raincoat, and I've seen doggy boots, too." Cronut stares up with canine disdain. "I take it that idea doesn't appeal to you. How do you feel about mud puddles?" Rick shakes his head as Cronut responds with an enthusiastic yip. "Mama Kate's going to love that."
