“If Stanley Grant wasn’t lying to Max, Victoria was working on something with Harrison Monroe. When she was murdered, who took over that job? Mitch Corta? But none of that connects to Denise Albright, not yet. Last night I went through her client list again and none of them are associated with MCG or Monroe or his business or his wife or her law firm. So until I get a thread that I can take to Rachel and have a damn good reason to insert myself in an SAPD investigation, I can’t pursue it.”

“Yeah, SAPD doesn’t like us right now.”

“Why?”

“After last year? When they were forced to clean house because of a couple corrupt cops? The FBI is the one that cleaned their clock.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that. Tia and I are still friends.”

“I have friends over there, too, but the atmosphere is definitely colder.” He paused. “I’m glad you filled Laura in on the situation, though. Now that she knows what we’re looking for, she’s better positioned to find it. Also, did you get my email last night?”

“Read it this morning. No security video of Denise Albright going into the bank the day she disappeared.”

“Just a screen shot from a video. And it could be anyone, the quality was awful. As is all the video and photo evidence that Kerr County sent to us three years ago.”

“The manager said he spoke to her.”

“Maybe,” Nate said. “The manager doesn’t have a record, but that’s all we know about him. I asked Zach to run him, everything we can get without a warrant.”

“Is that excessive before we even talk to him?” Lucy said.

“All we have is his word that Denise Albright went into the bank with a signed authorization from Kiefer to make her the sole signatory on the escrow account. He went on about how it was just to move the funds from the escrow account to the payroll account because Kiefer was leaving town, and because he knew her he didn’t think twice about it.”

“Yet it’s suspicious. Laura didn’t think it was three years ago.”

“She said it made sense at the time because they believed that Albright embezzled three million dollars and left the country. On the surface, that’s what she did—photos, evidence of packing, the whole nine yards. Which is also suspicious, because why? She had three kids, a husband, a good job—why would she take the money and leave? And if you listen to Max, it was because she didn’t want to turn in her best friend so she decided to commit a major felony and put her kids on the run for the rest of their lives?”

Nate had a good point.