Theyd spent the last half hour reviewing alibis and she decided it was time for everyone to give an update on the suspect theyd been looking into. Karen was investigating Paul Hilliard because she had the most insight into the Hollywood community. Jamil was following up Sultan Salah because it involved technical understanding of flight patterns and airport footage. That left Jessie with Senator Johnson, who had the most public schedule. She started first.

I think we can officially rule the senator out, she said. He didnt have any formal events over the weekend. But an on the town item for the Post mentions a brunch sighting of him on Saturday afternoon in D.C., and he posted footage of himself from his kids soccer game on Sunday afternoon, also in D.C. That doesnt leave him much time to fly to L.A. for an all-night party and still get back.

The sultan may be a dead end too, Jamil told them. I found security footage of him in a Paris jewelry store on Saturday three hours before he was scheduled to fly home. I also pulled video from the airport where he landed. Its grainy but facial recognition has the guy exiting the plane as a seventy-four-percent match to Sultan Salah.

So that just leaves our Oscar winner, Jessie said. What did you find, Karen?

Its a little weird, actually, the detective said.

Jessie perked up. Weird was better than nothing.

Weird how? she asked.

First of all, Gilliard has been on location in Santa Fe for the last month shooting a western. But I checked the production bulletin. According to the call sheets, his last shooting day was Friday. I called the production office and they said theyre in the middle of shooting an extended gunfight. Hes not a part of it so hes off until tomorrow.

Did they say where he was? Jessie asked.

Nope. As long as he shows up on set when hes needed, they dont keep tabs on him.

So he could have come back to L.A.? Jessie pressed.

Possibly, Karen said. Unfortunately, it will take a while to check flight manifests to see if his name comes up.

There might be another way, Jamil said, pulling up a new screen.

Whats that? Jessie asked.

On the right is the archived footage from the South House main entrance, he said, pointing. On the left is the live feed of the entrance right now.

How do you have the live video feed from a place we cant even get a search warrant for? Jessie asked, astounded.

Jamil smiled gleefully. Jessie could tell that these were the moments he lived for.