Night Watch (Kendra Michaels #4)(9)

“He had your Pepperdine seminar page still up on his laptop, and we found your name and number in his telephone address book. Google told me a bit more about your medical history together.”

She raised her eyebrows in approval. “Wow. Good cop.”

“Now it’s my turn. He was a long way from home. What brought him to California?”

“He was fund-raising for a project. He’s a research scientist.”

The detectives shared a quick glance.

Kendra caught that look of doubt between them. “Now what?”

“We’ve been in touch with his colleagues in England,” Halderman said. “They didn’t even know he’d left the country. They had no idea why he would have come here.”

Kendra let that sink in for a moment. “Are you absolutely certain?”

Ortiz nodded. “As far as they knew, he was just taking a few personal days. What did he say to you?”

“Just what I said. He told me he was raising money for a medical-research project.”

“And yet none of his colleagues knew anything about it.”

“It doesn’t sound right to me, either. But a lot of what he said didn’t sound right.”

“Like what?”

Kendra told them about Waldridge’s evasiveness, general uneasiness, and cryptic statement about wanting to protect her.

Ortiz jotted down some notes in a notebook as she spoke. He glanced up. “Protect you? Were you under the impression that he felt he was in any kind of physical danger?”

“No, I didn’t get that vibe from him. I’m not sure what he meant, and he wasn’t in any mood to explain himself. I was planning to call him today.”

“And you had no idea what he was working on?”

“No.” She leaned back in her chair, wishing desperately that she’d pressed Waldridge to talk to her. Then maybe whatever mess he’d managed to get himself into wouldn’t have escalated to this degree.

Ortiz pushed a legal pad across the table. “We need a list of Dr. Waldridge’s friends and associates in the area.”

Kendra pushed the pad back. “There’s only one. Me. At least, as far as I know. Waldridge doesn’t like California. It’s too laid-back for him. The few times he’s come here since I’ve known him, he did his business and got away as quickly as he could. There may be some professional contacts here, but you’d have to ask his colleagues about that.”

“We have. They said you were the only one.”

“Well, there you go. Have you been to Waldridge’s hotel room yourself?”

“No. Santa Monica PD is working the scene.”

“Don’t let them break it down. I’m going down there right now.”

Halderman scowled. “Why? You think you’ll see something all those cops missed?”

Ortiz shrugged. “Actually … she might. I’ll tell you about Dr. Michaels later.” He turned back to her, and offered, “I can make a call.”

Kendra stood. “Thanks, Ortiz. It might make things easier when I get there.”

“You’re not even going to wait and see if they’re willing to let you in?”

“I’ll keep my phone on while I’m driving down. Let me know what they say.” She was heading for the door. “But, one way or another, I’m going to take a look at that room.”

*

SHE DIDN’T WAIT TO HEAR from Ortiz whether he’d been able to get her into the crime scene. She decided it was time to take out insurance.

Before she was even on the I-5 freeway, Kendra voice-dialed a number she hadn’t called in months. She had hoped it would be a good while longer. After hurdling the jittery receptionist, she was finally patched through.

“Special Agent Griffin.”

“Hello, Griffin.”

“Kendra, will you please go easy on my assistant,” he said testily. “She’s already terrified of you for telling her that her sister married a guy just so he could get a green card.”

“Did she disagree? Call me a liar?”

“She’s not talking, and to tell you the truth, I don’t want to know anything more about it.”

“Then tell your assistant she should remove the photo in the lower-right side of her cubicle. I’ll leave it at that.”

“The lower-right side…?” His voice trailed off. “Never mind. Surely you have something more pertinent to talk to me about.”

“I’m on my way to Santa Monica. It’s a case the FBI may have some interest in.”

He paused for a long moment. “Okaay … In that case, perhaps you should be talking to the Bureau’s Los Angeles office.”

“Not yet. It’s about someone I know, Griffin.” She told him about Waldridge and his disappearance.

Griffin clicked his tongue. “So what do you want from me?”

“Access. I want to get in there and look around.”

“And you want me to grease the wheels for you.”

“Yes. Tell them I’m a consultant.”

“But you’re not. At least not on this case.”

“Not yet.”

Silence. “Does that mean you’re ready to come back and do some more work for us?”