A dreamy, surreal quality had taken control of Avery Black.
There was no memory of her final words with Jessica Givens, or when she'd hung up or where she'd put her phone.
She stood in the dark of the Brandeis campus. Ahead of her were a rolling green field and a line of trees and the stars. Behind her were red brick buildings illuminated by lower lights.
Calm down, she told herself.
You've been down this road before.
The memory of her near-assault on John Lang from Art for Life was still fresh in her mind, along with the captain's reprimand and the extended weekend she'd been given to think about her actions.
You were taken off the case, remember?
Not anymore, she answered.
Cindy Jenkins had been hired by Devante. Molly Green had been hired by Devante. What about Tabitha Mitchell?
On the way to her car, Avery dialed Finley. The phone rang numerous times before his voicemail picked up. He's avoiding me, she thought. Five more calls were placed. The results were the same. Every time, Avery left the same message, only with more urgency:
"Finley. We've got a connection. Jenkins and Green were both hired by the same firm in Boston. You have to get back to me. Did Tabitha Mitchell have any kind of job lined up for her senior year? Call me back as soon as you get this."
Avery sat in her BMW and logged onto her dashboard computer.
Devante was a private company based in Boston.
General information was all she could find online: the founder of the company, chairman of the board, the CEO, and the statewide structure.
A quick search revealed the vast number of jobs within an actual accounting firm: staff accountant, junior and senior level accountants, tax manager, tax auditor, CPA…. The list was seemingly endless.
Who hires college girls? she wondered. It has to be some kind of human resources head that scouts out colleges and finds likely applicants. That person would most likely then take resumes and distribute the promising ones to the people in charge of whatever positions happened to be open within the company.
How would I find out who scouted and saw the resumes of those two girls?
The answer was obvious, and tricky given her currently diminished status within the Homicide division. You have to get to the Chairman or the CEO, she realized. Only they can give you access to the right people. She laughed. OK, how do I do that?
A warrant, she thought.
You're going to need a warrant.
Warrants were difficult to get. Probable cause was necessary. In this case, Avery was confident that the connection between the girls and the company that planned to hire them was enough probable cause for a warrant. However, a judge would also want to know that items connected to the crime might be found at the offices of Devante. That might be a problem, she thought, unless the affidavit included computer information. If the killer has anything related to the case on his computer, I can use that to bolster a warrant.
Sleep on it tonight, she thought. Don't make a mistake. Wait for Finley to call. Get everything in place before you go to the captain.
Her mind blared back: Not on your life.
She put the car in gear and headed out.
