Carter Harrington came out to meet them. In his late forties, with salt and pepper hair and a fit physique that suggested he had lots of time to work out, Harrington was dressed casually in a polo shirt, tan slacks, and sandals. He smiled but it was clear from his red, bleary eyes that he’d been up all night.

“Carter Harrington,” he said, extending his hand to Jessie first and then Dolan. “Sorry to meet you under these circumstances.”

“Of course,” Jessie said. “I’m Jessie Hunt with the LAPD and this is Jack Dolan of the FBI. Thanks for agreeing to see us so quickly.”

“The FBI?” Harrington repeated, clearly surprised. “What about the detectives I talked to back at the house?”

“Oh, they’re still the primary team on the investigation,” Dolan said offhandedly. “But we’re treating this as a multi-jurisdictional case. It’s not that unusual.”

Harrington seemed to accept that answer, though to Jessie’s mind, it was a completely meaningless response, which was likely why Dolan said it.

“Where’s Ms. Cantu?” she asked.

“Oh, right,” he said, as if remembering why they were there in the first place. “Gabby’s in the den, watching TV. She took a dose of Zoloft to settle her nerves but she’s awake. You may have come at the ideal time. She’s conscious but not agitated.”

“Great,” Dolan said. “Maybe you can give us your version of events on the way to see her.”

“Sure,” Harrington agreed, before noticing that only Murph was joining them as Toomey stood by the car.

“Um, what’s up with your friend there?” he asked.

“Oh, he’s here for moral support,” Dolan said, straight-faced. “Don’t pay him or this other fella any mind. Hunt and I are handling the particulars.”

“Okay,” Harrington said, leading them into the house without following up, though he was obviously perplexed by the whole thing.

“So,” Jessie said, trying to move them past that bump in the road. “What were you doing at the house last night?”

“Right. That,” he said, suddenly sounding uncomfortable as he walked along the wood-paneled hallway in front of them. “Gabby and I had been out that night. It was our first date and we went dancing at a few clubs. She invited me back to her place and I said sure. I was…settling into her bedroom while she went to the bathroom for a minute. Suddenly I heard her screaming and ran in. I found what your colleagues found. Her roommate was lying in the tub. I called nine-one-one right away. We went out to the living room and stayed there until help arrived.”

“You’d never met Claire before?” Dolan asked.

Harrington came to a stop at the entrance to a large room Jessie assumed was the den. She could hear the sound of the TV in the background.

“No. I didn’t even know Gabby had a housemate. Like I said, it was our first date. We’d only texted and talked on the phone before that.”

“How did you meet Gabby?” Jessie asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.