Aiden crossed his arms. “Well, I assume the fact that we’re having this conversation means he did find something, right?”
She could tell he was a little ticked off at her, but he was so even-tempered that he didn’t really show it. And for that she was appreciative. “Here’s the deal. The PI examined the sergeant’s entire social media presence and went even deeper than that, following up on all his connections and interactions. Even though the sergeant had a lot of privacy settings on some sites, some of his connections did not, which allowed the PI to get to them.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Don’t leave me in suspense.”
“The PI believes the sergeant had relationships with a couple of women who were quite a bit younger than he was. I’ve gotten both of their names, and I’m going to go talk to them.”
Aiden’s expression softened. “Izzy, has it occurred to you that you might not find the answers you want? Maybe these relationships were purely consensual.”
Yes, she had thought about it, but she at least had to check it out. “We have to run down every lead. If it’s as you say, then fine, I’ll move on. But given the conversation I had with Alicia, I think there’s going to be a pattern here. Powerful men like this don’t normally have just one victim. If my hunch is right, there might be a whole host of people who had a motive to hurt the sergeant.”
Aiden nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. What can I do to help?”
“This is something I need to do on my own. I’m actually going to meet one of the ladies in a few minutes. It’ll be better if it’s one-on-one, just like I did with Alicia.”
He hung his head. “I feel so useless right now, but there’s nothing I can do to help you.”
That was the furthest thing from the truth. “Aiden, you just being you helps me more than you know. You’re always there for me, and you’re my rock during this difficult time.”
“I just wish I could be more useful. Do you need a ride to wherever you’re going?”
“No. I’m good. I’ll give you a call when I’m done, and maybe we can meet up for dinner and talk about it. That sound like a plan?”
He pulled her into a big hug. “Sounds good to me.”
She lingered for a moment in his arms, just enjoying being with him, but she needed to get her head in the game. The conversation she was about to have was going to be a tough one, and she didn’t know any good way to lightly jump into the topic, especially with a total stranger. Talking to Alicia had been one thing, but they had common ground, and they knew each other. This woman might not even be willing to talk to her, but Izzy was going to try.
She gave Aiden a kiss good-bye and left to meet Kim Conway. After getting Kim’s information from the PI, she’d had a quick introductory phone call with her, although she hadn’t been completely forthcoming about the topic she wanted to discuss. When Izzy had said she was from NCIS, Kim didn’t even give her a chance to explain before accepting the invitation. Izzy planned to make it clear from the beginning that this was not official NCIS business. She’d gotten her foot in the front door, but there was no way she was going to lie about the purpose of the meeting.
About half an hour later, she walked up to a bakery in Alexandria and saw the woman she thought was Kim sitting at one of the outside tables. She took a deep breath and then walked over to her.
“Kim?”
Kim stood up. She was below average height, with light brown hair and pretty brown eyes. Izzy guessed Kim was only a few years older than her. She also noted that Kim was small-framed like her. It made her wonder if the sergeant had a special thing for petite brunettes.
Izzy extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Isabella Cole. Thanks for meeting with me. Please have a seat.”
“What can I do to help NCIS? The only time I ever hear anything about NCIS is from watching TV. I can’t see how I could be involved in any of that.”
Izzy prayed Kim wouldn’t get up and walk out after she heard the truth. “Well, actually, while it’s true that I’m an NCIS agent, what I want to talk to you about today is of a much more personal nature. It’s not official NCIS business. Is that okay?”
Kim bit her bottom lip but nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“I want to talk to you about a man named Henry Tybee.”
Kim’s demeanor instantly shifted. She gripped her coffee cup tightly in her hands. “Why are you asking about him?”
“Are you aware that the sergeant was murdered?”
Kim diverted her eyes before reconnecting. “I saw it on the local news, yes. What does that have to do with me?”
Izzy had to tread carefully. She didn’t want Kim to scamper away. She needed this information, and Kim’s initial reaction was already telling Izzy that she knew something. “You knew the sergeant, right?”
Kim nodded. “Yeah. We dated briefly.”
“How did you meet him?”
“I worked part-time at a diner in Arlington during college. He came in almost every day. We struck up a conversation, and it just went from there. I knew he was a cop, so I was willing to take a chance on him, unlike the other random guys who hit on me.”
And wasn’t that a huge travesty. One of the things that bothered Izzy so much about what the sergeant had done was
