“Don’t waste my time,” Dolan interrupted, completely unfazed. “I think we both know that Kane is more than available. So stop screwing around.”

After a long pause, Darian replied.

“Hold for a moment, please.”

There were fifteen seconds of Muzak, after which another female voice came on the line.

“This is Kane Sanders. How may I help you?”

Jessie looked up at Dolan, who was smiling. She realized what he must have known all along. Kane was Darian, sans the crappy accent.

“Hi, Kane,” he replied, making no mention of what he knew. “Thanks for making the time. Here’s the deal. As I’m sure Darian informed you, I’m an FBI agent. My partner and I are investigating the death of a young woman who used your site. You’re going to give us full access to all your data today.”

“Why on Earth would I do that?” she demanded.

“Because if you don’t, me and some reporters from a few of my favorite local news stations will be outside your address for a press conference that will detail all the sordid particulars of how the Look of Love dating site works. We’ll wrap up just in time for the six o’clock news. Or, if you prefer, you can give us the information we need and I can postpone the press conference. How would you like to proceed, Darian, er, I mean Kane?”

There were several moments of silence. When Kane responded she sounded a little bit broken.

“Do you have a pen?” she asked.

“I do,” Dolan replied gleefully.

“Here’s her login information.”

“Nope,” he said. “I need administrator access.”

“But that would reveal the real names of our clients,” she protested.

“I’m not looking to shut you down, Kane,” he assured her with something close to sympathy. “My understanding is that your business, while reprehensible, isn’t illegal. I don’t intend to arrest anyone for simply using it, only for murdering Claire Stanton.”

“Do I have your word?” Kane pleaded.

“Sure,” Dolan said. “It’s not worth much. But if that’s what gets you over the hump, I give you my solemn word.”

As Kane dictated the login information and Jessie wrote it down, Dolan walked out of the conference room into the hall, where his laughing was less likely to be heard.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The website was a treasure trove.

It was full of salacious material on the predilections of their clients, many of whose names Jessie recognized. They included a well-known criminal defense attorney, several CEOs, a prominent local politician, and multiple major Hollywood players, including some executives, a couple of directors, and one extremely well-known movie star. According to the site data, Claire had been involved with almost a dozen of them over the last two years.

The website’s setup was actually quite clever. Almost all communication after initially signing up was done through the associated app. That way messaging was maintained in one discreet location, surely a selling point for these high-profile men. Even within the messaging portion of the app, clients and their potential dates were identified by numbers rather than names. It was a pretty impressive, secure operation. That is, unless it ran up against a pushy FBI agent.