‘Addis’s phone – which, by the way, showed fingerprints, but from their placement, I’m guessing probably belong to her – had a lock screen, but Grace easily guessed the passcode. It was her – Addis’s – birthday, so not at all difficult or original. So, to answer your question, we can verify that around the same time that Emerson sent a text to her mom asking if Addis could stay with them, Addis sent one to her father asking the same thing. He responded with a yes, so, we know at a few minutes after eight last night, Gabriel Kensington was still alive. We also noted the phone call to Grace and the numerous missed calls from Grace to Addis.’

Alyssa’s gaze traveled the room, connecting with each of her teammates. ‘So, between the call logs and tracking the girls’ movements, I think we can safely assume the murders occurred after eight but before nine-forty when Addis and Emerson arrived at the Kensington house. Does everyone agree?’

An echo of yeses filled the room, so she continued. ‘One of the things bothering me is that neither Gabriel nor Lydia’s phones turned up either in a search of the house or in their vehicles, despite both of them pinging the Kensington residence as their last known location. Let’s assume the killer took both phones. If that’s the case, it’s possible – probable, even – that he was knowledgeable enough to know he needed to power off the phones so that the GPS couldn’t track them.’

Hal shrugged. ‘All he’d have to do to know that is watch any true or fictional crime show on television. Doesn’t really help us narrow down the field of suspects.’

‘That’s true. There’s something else, though. Last night, Cord noted there were no signs of a forced entry, making us wonder if either Gabriel or Lydia knew their killer and allowed him inside. Add that to the fact that just before we left, we learned the Kensingtons’ security system had been tinkered with – or hacked, to be more specific – so whoever we’re after is clearly tech savvy.’

The team grew quiet, the only noise coming from Hal’s drumming fingers until he finally broke the silence with, ‘If the Kensingtons allowed their attacker entry into their home, maybe it was someone who knew them well enough to know they needed to disable the security system beforehand? So, we could be looking at someone close to the family, perhaps?’

‘It’s definitely one angle we need to consider,’ Alyssa agreed. Joe raised his hand as if he were in a classroom, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Yes, Officer Roe.’