Rio nodded. “All the staff who work at the resort are accounted for, including the teams of builders constructing the new chalets. From what I understand, they left in a hurry when they heard the blizzard forecast and were all gone by six last night, so we can take them off the list of suspects as well.” He pointed back to List A. “We also have a team of media who are staying in a suite together and can account for their whereabouts. The media are listed under the heading ‘Media’ to keep them separate from the publishing industry or the readers.”
“That all sounds good.” Kane chewed on a sandwich. “And as we’re all trapped here with the killer, who might strike again, who should be considered as possible victims? We’ll have to take every possibility into consideration.”
Rio smiled. He could see it all clearly, as if each group were lit up in different colored bright lights, but explaining it would be
difficult. He sighed. “Okay, so going on the information about Dakota Storm from the author Jenna spoke to when she arrived, and if the pen found at the murder scene is symbolic, we can assume jealousy or revenge as a possible motive. Using this data, I’ve compiled a list of possible victims: List C. But there’s too many for us to watch twenty-four/seven.”
“So, you figure all the agents and publishers are possible victims?” Jenna stared at a list. “Okay too many to watch, but you have agents and authors on the suspects’ list. How are you differentiating between them?”
Rio leaned back in his chair. “I asked Bobby Kalo if he could access the pitching schedules from the last two years’ crime writers’ conferences. He used the list of guests staying here and cross-checked them against the authors who pitched to Dakota Storm.” He poked one finger at a list. “Those she rejected and have no alibi are on the list of possible suspects.”
“But there’s published authors on here as well.” Jenna frowned. “Why would they be pitching at a conference?”
Rio’s enjoyment of the arts had put him in contact with playwrights, authors, and many people in the industry, so he had insider information. “It’s all about the golden ring.”
“The what?” Jenna scanned the list and looked at him skeptically.
Rio opened his hands wide. “There are millions of authors published and unpublished but few reach the ‘golden ring,’ the career they’ve dream of, like being a New York Times bestseller, for instance, or having their books turned into screenplays.” He smiled. “This is a place for unrepresented authors to avoid the slush pile and go straight to the top of the list. Deals are made and dreams realized at conferences. Reaching the golden ring is what every author wants in life.”
“Slush pile?” Jenna raised both eyebrows. “Okay, I’m gathering that’s where the unsolicited manuscripts go that don’t make the cut?”
“Exactly.” Rio tapped a list. “So, on this list is a group of rejected authors and I’ve added the names of two agents and an editor who lost clients to Dakota Storm and weren’t too happy about it. I figure it has to be one of the people on List D and this method is our best chance of finding the killer.”
“Okay.” Kane reached for another sandwich. “This was a brutal murder and no one has taken for the hills. Everyone is still here, so either our killer is hiding in plain sight or we have a wounded vigilante out to get revenge on more than one person.”
Rio nodded. “Yeah. So, are we all on the same page? The A-list people are in the clear, the B list are possible victims, the C list contains the bus people, and finally the D list are our suspects, without alibies and with probable motive.”
“So, from this you’ve narrowed it down to a possible six suspects?” Jenna scanned the page. “That’s impressive. So, we have:
August Bradford, an author out of Eagle Ridge Glen, Colorado
September March, an author, out of Spirit Lake Montana
Bexley Grayson, an author out of Lyons Bay, California
Murphy Finnian, a literary agent out of Black Canyon, North Dakota
Parker Rain, a literary agent out of Twisted Forest, Montana
Ike Turnage, an acquiring editor out of Devils Bend, Colorado.
Rio nodded. “They’re the most probable, yeah. I’ve emailed you all their details and driver’s licenses. Kalo is running background checks on them now. He’ll send the info along as soon as possible.”
“Great work.” Jenna smiled at him. “You and Kalo have saved us hours of grunt work.”
Suddenly feeling part of the team, Rio smiled. “Collecting the data and having Kalo to run things for us made all the difference.”
“Okay, people.” Jenna swept her gaze over the room. “Let’s get to work. Kane, you can start by interviewing the staff members. Call the desk and have them send them up.” She looked at Wolfe. “Can you and Emily go and find August Bradford?” She turned to Rio. “You can take September March. I’ll find Bexley Grayson.”
“Just a minute.” Kane looked dubious. “Anyone we interview must be here voluntarily. We can’t Mirandize anyone and hold them. For one, we don’t have anywhere to keep them, and two, we’ll be denying them legal representation. We’ve one lawyer in town and if he’s not snowed in, I figure he’ll be flat out getting up the mountain in this weather. If he did get here, would he be able to represent a ton of suspects? There’s no chance in hell of anyone from Louan or Blackwater making it through in this blizzard.”
“Then we make sure they know it’s voluntary at the get-go. I could suggest they talk to a lawyer over the phone, but the law does state they must have a lawyer present during questioning if requested. If this weather keeps up and we find a solid suspect, I’ll call the DA and get advice, but I figure we’d have to get the killer off the mountain—somehow.” Jenna’s mouth was set in concentration. “Your profiling skills will tell you the killer will come forward to have his say. He wouldn’t risk standing out by avoiding us in a crowd of cooperative people.” She sighed. “We’ll be as nice as pie. With luck, the guests will think it’s part of a conference mystery game.”
“Yeah, that idea is floating around already.” Kane smiled. “It might just work.”
“Okay, go find the possible suspects.” Jenna waved them away.
“Wait up, Jenna. We’ll be chasing our tails.” Wolfe pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “I figure the best way to locate these people is to call them to the reception over the loudspeaker. We can meet them there, explain why we need to speak to them, and escort them up here.”