“What did the techs find?” Finn asked.
“The boy witness was clean. No drugs in his system. No blood or gunshot residue on him.”
So Stitch had been telling the truth. But that didn’t warrant the somber tone from the captain that set Michael’s nerves on edge. “What else, then?”
“The blood you found at the scene is Gary Donner’s. Any progress on finding him?” The captain’s gaze bounced between them.
“No, sir. He’s got no next of kin beyond his ex-wife. And to be honest, we’ve been busy with the convenience store break-in from the other night.” Finn tapped his notebook on his leg.
“One of our own is missing. This jumps back to the top of your priority list. And I hope I don’t have to remind you, but retired cop or not, we follow the law, not rumors. Not feelings. I trust you will both be thorough and do your job. Let’s find Donner and figure out what happened. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Michael clenched his jaw as they walked back to their own desks. “This isn’t good. Why was Donner’s blood there? Why was he even working as a security guard? He had a good pension.”
Finn sat at his computer and typed something in. “Looks like the warrant for his financials came through along with the lab results.”
“Who signed off on it?”
“The new judge they found to fill Judge Fields’s spot.”
“Kate said they’re still building a case after learning how crooked he was, but they’re struggling to find witnesses who will come forward.”
Finn sighed. “I hope Donner wasn’t involved in this syndicate that Fields was a part of.” He pulled the documents up on his screen.
Michael looked at them over Finn’s shoulder. “I’m not going to jump to conclusions just because he’s missing.”
“I didn’t say he was involved, but we need to be clear-headed and consider all the angles.”
Michael didn’t respond at first. But he wanted his partner to understand. “Donner retired early. Right after Mom’s death. Said it didn’t have anything to do with her murder, but I doubted it. I mean, she had his work vehicle, and he was the last one to see her that night. Why else would he retire before his time was up?”
“Good question. You talked to him about your mom’s case quite a bit, but I didn’t know him. What’s your take?”
“Donner? He was a little sloppy as far as police work goes—you know, did the bare minimum on the reports and paperwork side of things—but he cared. He lost a partner a few years before he retired. They’d closed a lot of cases together. Seemed like he floundered a bit after that. Drank too much but always after hours, not on the job. He said my mom helped him get through the rough years and kept him on track. He really looked up to her. He was the only one, at first, who didn’t believe the corruption rumors and would talk to me. He helped track down the fingerprints that were on the envelope of cash found on her body.”
“Who did the prints belong to?”
“Sean Fletcher. High-level drug kingpin. Donner ended up taking him down in a drug raid a year later and was awarded a city medal. But unfortunately, Fletcher had an airtight alibi for the night of the murder. He wasn’t my mother’s killer.”
“Who was the alibi?” Finn asked.
“According to receipts and video surveillance, he was in Vegas. But it was Donner who quietly kept me in the loop throughout the investigation before he retired.”
“Let’s see what we can find in Donner’s finances.” Finn scrolled through banking statements. “Looks like he had quite a bit of debt. Maybe that’s why he took the security job.”
“Look at this.” Michael pointed to a line of numbers on the screen. “For a guy down on his luck, this is a pretty sizable deposit. Almost five grand. Where’s that from?”
Finn zoomed in. “Just says Contra Corporation.” He looked up at Michael. “Think it’s a payoff or something?”
He didn’t like to think about it but had to answer honestly. “It’s a possibility. Let’s go back further. Any other deposits like this?”
Finn scanned the statements. “Looks like there’s something from Contra Corp a few more times for different amounts. We’ll have to look deeper and see if there’s a pattern.”
Michael ran down the numbers in one column. “Not many other deposits listed. What was he spending his money on?”
“Bar tabs, mortgage, truck payment…nothing too unusual.” Finn clicked a few more buttons. “Paid alimony every month.” He whistled. “And a hefty one, at that. He was definitely paying out more than he was bringing in.”
Michael sighed. “Which would give someone leverage over him.”