“Where were you?” she asked, keeping all judgment out of her voice.

“I paid for the room for the night but left and drove back to LA to meet someone.”

“Who was that?” Jessie asked, trying to stay patient as she pulled the details out of him.

“I had another date with a different girl from the site.”

“You weren’t worried about additional blackmail threats?”

“A little. But the truth is, I was…lonely. Things were over with Claire and, as you can imagine, Gayle wasn’t going to be in an amorous mood. So I made a date.”

“We’ll need her name,” Jessie said.

“Of course,” he agreed. “I can give you her name, her member number, whatever you need. I spent the night at her place, where, by the way, she didn’t try to wring any money out of me.”

“How nice that you found someone who really appreciates you for you, sir,” Jessie said, unable to keep the sarcasm at bay.

“We’ll need to keep you here while we follow this up,” Dolan said quickly, now in the rare position of playing peacemaker.

“Whatever it takes,” Jerebko said plaintively.

They left him in the conference room with an officer standing guard over him and the three of them—Jessie, Dolan, and Murph—moved to a nearby supply closet, the only place nearby without constant foot traffic, to talk. Murph spoke before either of them could.

“Ms. Hunt, you have a call. Normally, I wouldn’t patch it through. But since it’s coming in through the station switchboard and your captain authorized it, I’m willing to let you take it, as long as you don’t reveal anything about your movements.”

“Okay,” Jessie said, her curiosity trumping her apprehension. “Who is it?”

“A Detective Ryan Hernandez.”

Despite her best efforts, Jessie felt her cheeks flush.

CHAPTER TEN

“Oh. Okay,” she said, trying to sound unruffled. “Where should I take it?”

“Take it here,” Dolan said, clearly noting her suddenly pink face but saying nothing about it. “I’ll check on Jerebko’s alibi. And I’ll follow up on his wife’s phone data too. Find me when you’re done.”

She nodded. Murph spoke into his phone.

“Patch him through,” he said, then handed it to her. “Not too long, okay? Even under secure conditions, this is a risk.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking the phone.

“I’ll be right outside,” he reminded her.

When he closed the door, she held the receiver up to her ear.

“Hello,” she said hesitantly.

“Jessie,” came the familiar voice of Ryan Hernandez, her friend, occasional case partner, and apparently now also the guy whose name made her blush involuntarily. “How are you?”

“I’m getting by,” she said, glad her voice wasn’t as out of control as her skin. “You know, solving cases, evading serial killers, that kind of thing.”

“Just a typical day at the office for you, right?” he asked playfully.

“Sometime it feels like that.”

“Well, I’m really sorry I haven’t been in touch of late. I know I promised to keep you updated on hospitals that your psycho father might have gone to for treatment.”