“I realize we haven’t known each other very long, Dolan. But I’m kind of shocked that you’re even asking me that question. Are you still drunk?”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for you. You don’t have to be so mean about it,” he said, his head still hidden under the blanket. “Can I at least hit the head first?”

“You bet, Double Bourbon,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you in the conference room.”

By the time he joined her a half hour later with a muffin on one hand and a massive coffee in the other, she’d already read the ME report on Claire, which didn’t have anything new. They also thought keys were the likely murder weapon. But her throat was so mangled that they couldn’t make any determination about their style, make, or age. In addition, all the blood had flushed out the area around the skin, so there wasn’t enough leftover bacteria to test for clues. They were back at square one on forensic evidence.

She tossed Dolan the file as he sat down and was about to open the overnight search reports on Crutchfield and Thurman when Decker walked in.

“I’ve got some updates,” he said, his voice suggesting they ought not to get too excited.

“Good news, I gather,” Dolan said sarcastically.

Decker launched in, ignoring the comment.

“Our CSU went back and checked the manhole and sewers near the bar. Sure enough, Crutchfield’s prints were on the cover. We found the clothes Hunt referenced about ten yards down the tunnel, partially submerged in the sewer water. There was no way to get useful samples from them. We checked subsequent prints on every manhole cover for the next quarter mile and found one that led to an alley near a metro station. Camera footage shows him entering the station and then a bathroom. There was no footage of him leaving, but we sent a team there and found a maintenance worker unconscious in the bathroom storage closet. He was naked.”

“Kinky,” Dolan said, his mouth full.

“At least he wasn’t killed,” Jessie noted, relieved.

“That is good news,” Decker agreed. “But that’s about the only good news we have. When we checked the footage for a maintenance worker leaving the bathroom, we found one we think was Crutchfield. But he joined a group of others in an employee lounge. When our people arrived, they found the lounge had a back exit without working surveillance cameras. He got away.”

“You think he deactivated the camera beforehand?” Jessie asked.

“No. It had been inoperable for a week before he escaped from NRD. He just got lucky.”

There was a brief silence that was interrupted by Murph stepping into the room and tapping the lead overnight marshal on the shoulder. The other man left and Murph took his place without a word. His eyes were a bit puffy but otherwise, he looked fine.

Jessie was about to make a crack at his expense but Dolan spoke first.