PART III Chapter Thirteen
Kate continued interviewing the employees at the advertising agency. No one was any closer than Bryntley had been but a few of them confirmed there was some man that Shannon was seeing and they also believed he was married but none of the people who worked with Shannon knew his name. Kate hoped they could find his name in Shannon’s phone.
When Kate finished interviewing the employees at the agency, she still had one more interview to conduct. She had to go to the home of Shannon’s older sister. Kate called and made an appointment to speak with Shannon’s sister at home. Kate took her notes and headed over to Diane’s house to ask the questions she needed answers to.
Kate knocked at the front door and Diane Webber quickly invited her in. They sat in chairs across from each other in Diane’s den. She told Kate she would answer anything Kate thought would get her closer to finding her sister’s killer.
Kate asked, “What can you tell me about any men in your sister’s life?”
Diane answered, “That is a tricky question. Shannon didn’t date at all. She told me she didn’t have time for relationships because she was too focused on her career. She did have a male friend, what she called a friend with benefits arrangement. She told me there were no emotional ties at all.”
Kate asked, “Did she ever mention his name?”
Diane replied, “She never mentioned his name. She confirmed he was married and she preferred that. She said that made him unavailable so it would never lead to anything more.”
Kate asked, “Do you think either of them may have changed their mind?
Diane responded, “Shannon wouldn’t have changed her mind at all and if he changed his mind and pursued more of a relationship, Shannon would have broken things off. Maybe that happened and he got angry over it and that was the motive. Shannon just wanted things to be casual with no strings.”
Kate said, “Maybe you should be the detective. I need to figure out who the man was but it looks like that is going to depend on what we find in her phone records. No one knows the man’s name. I guess she kept that private to protect him and prevent his wife from finding out.”
Diane responded, “Maybe she just wanted it to stay quiet and it had nothing to do with the man she has been seeing.”
Kate didn’t gather much information about Shannon, other than she was probably seeing a married man and he may have several possible motives for Shannon’s murder. It was possible they could figure out who the man was from Shannon’s phone records but Kate didn’t have any other leads.
Kate had barely entered her office when she found a note to call Paula at the coroner’s office. Kate couldn’t imagine what was so important but she would call Paula and find out what she wanted.
Paula answered on the first ring and Kate said hello.
Paula said, “First thing, are you sitting down? I finished the autopsy and found one more thing. Shannon was pregnant. Not too far along but just less than three months.”
Kate responded, “Wow, another possible motive.”
Paula replied, “I took a DNA sample from the fetus and we can use it to match to a possible father.”
Kate said, “Thanks, this information will help a lot. If her male friend was married and Shannon broke it to him she was pregnant there is another possible murder motive. We will hopefully find him in her phone call log. There shouldn’t be that many males there except her friend.”
Kate hung up and called Megan to see if they had extracted her phone call log yet. Megan told her they hadn’t got to the phone yet. Kate told her they really needed to find the man Shannon was seeing. It should be the number of a male she called the most often.
Kate felt positive with the new developments and had hopes of actually finding the killer. She only wished she felt the same way about Susan’s killer. Kate hated when a case ran out of leads but Susan’s case had done just that, at least for the time being. She had to follow the leads of the moment so Susan’s case had to be put on the back burner for the time being.
Kate wrestled with the decision to tell Shannon’s parents about her pregnancy. Although she didn’t think the news would be very warmly received, they still had a right to know. Kate knew finding the man who fathered Shannon’s child would most likely be the same as finding her killer.
Kate met with Cindy to update her on all of the recent evidence and the lack of it. Cindy hadn’t been involved with the cases as much as in the past since Megan joined the force. Kate and Megan had formed a solid partnership but Kate wanted Cindy to continue to be a part of it.
Megan promised to let Kate know as soon as they had isolated all of the males from Shannon’s phone. In the meantime it had been a long day for Kate and she was ready to head home. She stopped by to see if Megan had finished for the day. Kate and Megan rode together to work most of the time unless one of them had something to do after work.
Cindy felt left out often because she knew Kate and Megan discussed cases a lot at home after work. Megan could always bring a forensic point of view to her discussions with Kate about a case. They each brought a different look to a case and together they made a powerful team. It was a much different dynamic than the one between Kate and Cindy.
Kate and Megan went straight home after work. They had discussed going out for dinner somewhere but decided together they could cook together in the kitchen for a successful completion of an evening meal. It was fifteen to twenty minutes from the station to their home. They split duties in the kitchen with Megan chopping and slicing and Kate putting ingredients together and doing the final cooking.
When the cooking was complete Kate and Megan sat at the table across from each other and discussed the case while they picked at the meal they had set in front of them. Kate relayed the fact that Shannon didn’t want to be in a serious relationship and was seeing a married friend with benefits. The revelation that she was pregnant was most likely not welcomed by that friend and was very possibly a motive. Kate told Megan that DNA had been extracted from the fetus and they would be able to use it to determine paternity when they did find the likely male.
Kate and Megan agreed that if they found the man Shannon was seeing they would have their prime suspect. Figuring out which number was the man they sought would be a very important task. Kate knew Megan would make it her priority and they would have that name soon enough. Kate also knew that proof of paternity was not proof of murder and more work would be needed to tie the murder to the baby’s father.
If they could figure out who the man was, Kate could get a search warrant to look for other evidence that could connect the father to the shooting. Kate didn’t know what that evidence might be but she would know it when she saw it. Kate knew she had to have patience and the truth would eventually come out.
Kate and Megan woke the next day ready to pursue the killer of Shannon Graves. Megan had a hard day ahead. She knew how important tracking the right phone number would be. It may well be the most important set of digits she had ever worked on. Kate still had some interviews to do but she didn’t expect any revelations that would be any more important than what she had already learned.
Kate went back to the advertising agency and finished interviewing the remaining employees on her list. One by one she asked questions about what they knew of Shannon’s personal life and who the man may have been. Most of the people questioned didn’t know very much about her. It was clear that Shannon was the boss and most of the employees didn’t cross the line to friendship. Shannon had gone to great links to keep her personal life separate from her work life. It was clear that Shannon’s pregnancy was an accident and not at all planned.
No one had much to add except one lady who was a secretary for Shannon. Her name was Ginger Waters. Kate knew there was a lot of information that secretaries had access to and if you knew how to approach them you could learn a lot about Shannon’s personal life. Kate hoped that Ginger would prove that would still be true.
Kate sat across the desk from Ginger and asked about Shannon’s personal life. Ginger was reluctant at first but after Kate reminded her that Shannon was no longer among the living there wouldn’t be any breach of trust. Kate played on Ginger’s desire to help find Shannon’s killer and Kate knew how to work the guilt angle.
Ginger confirmed Shannon was seeing a married man, she didn’t know his name but she knew he drove a silver BMW X1. She said he picked Shannon up in that car several times. He was some kind of high end boss somewhere. Ginger knew he was the president of something, but she didn’t know what.
Kate had confirmation for the facts she already knew. She couldn’t figure out why Shannon would spend time with a married man. She was intelligent and attractive in her own right, it didn’t matter how successful the man was. Ginger elaborated on that subject by explaining what Shannon had told her.
Ginger said, “Shannon told me that being successful had taken a toll on her personal life and there was little time available for dating. She sought a married man on purpose to eliminate any emotional connection.” Shannon thought taking care of her physical needs was all she needed.
Kate had begun to develop a theory after becoming more acquainted with the facts she had recently received. It was clear that neither Shannon nor her Mr. X wanted a commitment but when she discovered she was pregnant things went into a tailspin. It was clear Mr. X didn’t want any kids but Shannon may have altered her wants and that was something he didn’t want. It was possible that Shannon didn’t want the pregnancy either since it would interfere with her career.
Kate talked with everyone at the agency, some had information about Shannon’s private life but most knew nothing at all. Finding out who the man was that Shannon was seeing would provide her with the answers she sought.
The people Kate finished interviewing were all subordinate to Shannon. They were secretaries, clerks and assistants who all worked for Shannon. Kate gave them all her card with the instructions to call if they thought of something they had not remembered. Kate gathered her papers and notes before saying goodbye to those who had at least tried to help.