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“Yes, it’s fine.”
She doubted Locke knew he was doing so, but he was short-circuiting her mind and scrambling her brain in an unsettling way because such a thing had never happened to her before. Why was she getting such a harsh reality check about being a woman tonight? One with needs that hadn’t been met in a while. Why was that quiet, restless hunger for male and female mating, that she could usually ignore, fighting like hell to be released?
She knew his rules. He laid them out when she got hired, and she was too entrenched in this investigation to risk getting fired. Yet that didn’t stop her from watching his every movement when he went to pour his own coffee before coming to sit back at his desk.
“It’s police officer Jason Adkins,” he said.
“What about him?” She recalled that Adkins was one of the officers to arrive at the abandoned warehouse after the shooting.
“A large amount of money was deposited into his bank account a few days after Barcos’ death.”
She took a sip of her coffee and leaned forward slightly, definitely interested in that. “How large are we talking?”
“Nearly a half million.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“It wasn’t placed in his personal bank account but that of a woman named Lottie Skinner.”
“A girlfriend?”
“No, a distant cousin. However, his name is on the account.”
Hollis took time to let that sink in before asking. “Do you think Detectives Connors and Tomlin are aware of it?”
“I doubt it. They would have no reason to suspect an officer on their own force. Someone called in an anonymous tip, and cops were dispatched to the scene. Adkins wasn’t supposed to be working that night. He covered for an officer whose wife went into labor. So, unless that officer’s wife’s labor pains were part of the plan, there would be no reason to suspect him of anything.”
“Did the woman give birth that night?” she asked.
“No, it was a false alarm.”
“How convenient,” Hollis mused aloud.
“The report stated officer Alton Biggins called in that he couldn’t make it to work because he was rushing his wife to the hospital. Adkins was about to leave for the day and volunteered to stay.”
“And work another full shift?” she asked.
“No more than five hours of it. Union rules.”
“But it made him on duty during the time Barcos was killed.”
“Yes.” He paused and then said, “So you’re thinking the two cops were in cahoots together?”
Hollis shrugged. “That’s a possibility. Call me cynical, but at this point, I wouldn’t discount the pregnant wife either. I suggest we look into that couple’s bank accounts, too.”
“I have. So far there’s nothing. They’re barely getting by on one paycheck.”
“Give it a few days. They might be waiting things out. Playing it safe. I would keep a check on Adkins’ aunt’s account to see if there’s any movement. I have a feeling there will be at some time and point.”
“I had no reason to request a report on Biggins. Now I do.”
She took another sip of her coffee, then asked. “Any complaints have been filed on Adkins?”
“No. Clean record. Model employee. Been on the force ten years. Received Officer of the Year three years ago. He’s active in the police athletic league and seems to enjoy working with children.”
“And usually those are the ones to watch,” she said.
“Trust me, I know.”
