Marc was a viable suspect only because he had motive—he wanted to sell the company, Ellen didn’t. Or Steven Decker, the man who wanted to buy the company. Maybe he suspected she wouldn’t sell . . . or went to talk to her after Marc left. Either of them could have attacked her, thought they had killed her . . .
Or had Marc attempted to kill her because she wouldn’t get back together with him? Could he have taken the drone to throw off suspicion? Would he have left her breathing, especially if she would then identify him as her attacker?
Certainly possible. Greed was a common motive. Love turned easily to hate. But Ellen wasn’t dead; she would be able to testify. If she survived
Then why the elaborate explanation that he wanted to get back together with her? Was it true? Or a convenient lie?
Or was it a truth that she rejected? Maybe greed wasn’t the motive, but lust. Anger at being rejected.
That didn’t feel right to her—clearly, they had been married, divorced, worked together. Why kill her now, five years after the divorce?
She’s not dead. She could regain consciousness and tell the police everything. Including who attacked her.
She saw John walking toward her, talking on his phone, his face impassive. He ended the call and said to her, “That was the attorney general’s office. He’s supposed to speak this afternoon to the conference, and they want a threat assessment. His security wants to cancel, the AG doesn’t.”
“What’s the likelihood that Ellen was attacked because of the AG?”
“My opinion, it has nothing to do with it, but I can’t completely discount it. Political assassinations are rare in this country, so I think the AG’s office is just being cautious—in case there’s a personal reason for someone to come after the AG. He used to be a prosecutor, so that’s possible.”
“You want to talk to her ex-husband again.”
“Yes, but he’s at the hospital waiting to see her. I talked to Gabriel—Dr. Storm—a few minutes ago. Ellen has not regained consciousness. She was hit by something hard and likely metal.”
“Coldcocked?”
“Distinct possibility. With enough force to crack her skull. She has a serious brain bleed, and fragments of her skull have moved into her brain. Gabriel is sending X-rays and photos to our crime lab for assessment as well, but if he says she was coldcocked, she was. He’s called in the top neurosurgeon in Northern California for an assessment, and she’ll likely be in surgery within the hour.”
“So we talk to Dupre at the hospital.”
John nodded. “He’s there now. Megan is with him. I don’t see him for this, but maybe a spur-of-the-moment attack, he panicked, put her in the Dumpster.” He frowned.
“I can picture it—but if he wanted her dead wouldn’t he have ensured she was dead?” Lucy said.
“He could have thought she was dead.”
“Maybe she saw something, a crime in progress, a drug deal. Random attack.”
“Then why dump her body? If it was spontaneous, wouldn’t the attacker leave her where she fell? Robinson, the tech leading the forensic investigation, says that there was a small amount of blood outside the van, that it is likely Ellen’s and that she was attacked there—near the rear of the van. She’ll have it confirmed by the end of the day. Why move the body?”
Good question.
“Maybe whoever attacked her thought she was dead and panicked. Moved her to delay discovery.”
“At this point, I’d believe almost anything,” John said. He glanced at his watch. “Once we talk to Marc, we’ll talk to her staff. I’m told you have a presentation this afternoon—I’ll get you back here in time for that.”
“I can skip it.”
“No—it’s hard to get on panels like this, and Megan says it’s the reason San Antonio sent you here—something about a particular successful interrogation. The suspect thanked you for sending him to prison or something?”
She laughed. “Not exactly, but close. I’ve had success with interrogations, but I attribute that to my criminal psychology background. When you understand what your suspect fears the most, it’s easier to get them to talk.”
“Hmm. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but I see how that works.”
“I haven’t always been successful, but since I’ve gone through hostage rescue training, I’ve adapted some of those techniques to interrogation.” She hadn’t wanted to ask about Sean, but she knew that he had assessed the van and Ellen’s equipment, so she asked casually, “Was Sean helpful?”
“Yes. Laptop and backup drive are missing. Keys were in the back of the van. Sean’s going to Pride headquarters with one of my officers to go through data—he says everything that the drone recorded should have been sent to their server. I’m not tech-savvy, but it makes sense. Once we get that data, maybe we’ll have answers.”
They walked to John’s car. Lucy texted her brother that she was going with John to the hospital and would be back for her presentation at three that afternoon.
Mercy Hospital was only a few minutes away, on J Street, on the east side of the freeway. John knew exactly where he was going when he entered; he showed his badge and said, “Dr. Storm is expecting us,” and no one stopped him.
He turned into an office with DR. GABRIEL STORM on the door. Marc was sitting in one of the two chairs across from the doctor’s desk; Megan was next to him. There wasn’t much room for them, and Gabriel wasn’t in the room.
Marc jumped up. “Do you know what happened? Who did this? She’s in a coma—that’s what the doctor said. She hasn’t woken up. She may never wake up. Who would do this? For a drone?”
“Mr. Dupre, please sit back down. I know this is a difficult time, but I have a few more questions.”
Megan nodded to Marc, and he sat. Megan put her hand on his arm, consoling him.
“We’re just beginning our investigation,” John said. He walked around to the doctor’s desk and sat down. Lucy saw two photos on the narrow credenza behind the immaculate desk. The first was of two people she didn’t recognize on their wedding day—presumably Dr. Storm and his wife, John’s sister. Then another with the bride and groom along with John Black in a tuxedo and the maid of honor. Clearly John had no problem taking over his brother-in-law’s space.
Lucy remained standing, observing more than participating. She focused on Marc Dupre and his mannerisms, the way he spoke, the way he answered questions. Sometimes detecting a lie was as much about observation as listening.
“The drone and the backup drive are missing,” John said. “Sean Rogan is at Pride headquarters downloading data now—he believes he can retrieve anything the drone recorded last night. That may give us something to follow up on.”
“Sean. Okay. He’s good. I trust him. But—I don’t understand what happened. She’d fight back. Is that why they hit her so hard? Because she fought them? There must be evidence. You’ll find them. Right?”
“I talked to Dr. Storm. There are no signs of defensive wounds,” John said, “but the doctors are focused right now on her brain scan. Did he come in and talk to you?”
Marc nodded. Megan said, “He explained the situation, but is waiting for a consult. They x-rayed her body and found no other injuries.”
“So what happened?” Marc said. “You don’t know Ellen like I do. She would have fought. She was in the army, for chrissakes. She was smart and disciplined and she would never be caught by surprise like that.”
“Again, we’ll know more soon. If she regains consciousness, Dr. Storm is going to ask her if she recognized the person who hit her. I want to interview her as soon as possible, but that’s a no-go until after her surgery. But Gabriel agreed to find out what he could.”
Sometimes, there was an antagonistic relationship between doctors and cops, mostly because of the doctor’s need to take care of the patient’s health, and the cop’s need to solve a crime. But clearly John and Gabriel had a good working relationship.
Suddenly Marc broke down. The sob was lon
g and painful and he put his head in his hands.
“She has to live. She just has to,” he sobbed.
Megan said, “Marc, John is the best detective in Sacramento PD. He’ll find out who attacked Ellen. You need to focus on being strong for Ellen.”
“She may never regain consciousness. That means a coma . . . forever? I can’t—I need her, Megan. I should never have agreed to the divorce! What was I doing? I love her so much.”
“I know,” Megan said. “If you can answer John’s questions, it’ll help.”
“I did. I told you both everything. I—I have to find out what’s going on. I have to see her.”
“Gabriel will come talk to you when he knows something,” John said. “Steven Decker told us that he made an offer for your company last night, that you were going to discuss it with Ellen. Did you?”
“Yes.”
“What did Ellen say?”
“She doesn’t want to sell. She just puts in so many hours . . . and she needs a break.”
“But you wanted to sell.”
“I wanted to sell because Ellen threw herself into the business after . . . well, it doesn’t matter.”
“It might.”
“It doesn’t. You wouldn’t understand!”
Megan prompted, “It was after her last miscarriage.”
“It wasn’t a miscarriage! Em died in her arms. She was sixty-three minutes old. She lived sixty-three minutes. It—well, it’s complicated. Ellen just . . . it’s not important. That was over five years ago.”
“You divorced after your baby died?” John asked.
“You weren’t there,” Marc snapped, angry. “You don’t know how it affected Ellen, me, us, what we had, what we could have had back if we could work through the grief! I would never sell my half of the company without her blessing. Steven wanted to incorporate Pride into NorCal, as the elite tactical line. Ellen would still develop for the company, but we’d have more time to . . . find a way to be happy. That’s all I wanted, and we were talking. That’s why we were having breakfast today. It was another step toward getting back together and now she might die. If she dies . . . I can’t think. I—I—I can’t—can’t . . .” He got up and walked out.
Megan looked from John to Lucy. “I’ve known Marc and Ellen for years. Since before the divorce. I don’t see how he could be involved in this.”
Lucy said, “Maybe he hired someone. Didn’t expect her to be attacked. Maybe he just wanted to—I don’t know, take the equipment, do something that would encourage her to sell.”
“You don’t know them. Ellen wasn’t going to sell the company. I know you have to look at the ex-husband, I would do the same thing, but I know these people . . . it wasn’t just losing the baby that tore them apart. Ellen had multiple miscarriages and she was in a very dark place. She and Marc hurt each other, they divorced, but they became friends again. I don’t know how, but they did. Maybe because they never lost the deeper feelings they had? I don’t know.”
“I’m going to have to talk to him again,” John said. “About any threats or enemies.”
“I’ll stick with him today, at least until we know how Ellen is doing.”
“Thank you, Megan.”
She left and Lucy sat down in the chair she vacated. “Motive.”
“You think he has one?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he was faking the grief. I won’t say never—I’ve interviewed too many sociopaths. But motive? If it’s the sale of the company, yes, that’s a strong motive. Maybe she said no, she’d never sell the company, and he hit her without thinking. But in the back of the head? Dumping her body in garbage? No. He loved her. Love and hate are opposite sides of the same coin, and I can see people snapping. But then cleaning up after the fact? Talking to us here? I didn’t get the sense that he was lying about anything. His emotions were too raw.”
“I don’t think he’s involved. Hiring someone?” John shook his head. “Still, I need to look into his finances to see if he’s in some serious trouble where he needs her to sell the company. It’s going to take a little time. I’m hoping she regains consciousness and can point to a suspect. At this point—considering we have no video yet, unless there’s something on the drone footage—we don’t have any other evidence.”
“What about Steven Decker?” Lucy asked.
“What about him?”
“He also has motive. He knew where Ellen was. He wanted to buy the company. Maybe he called Marc last night, after Marc left Ellen, and asked about it, and Marc said Ellen doesn’t want to sell. Maybe Steven went there to talk to her about it . . . convince her . . . and then attacked. Because he can convince Marc to sell with Ellen out of the way.”
“Except he didn’t kill her.”
“Maybe he thought he did.”
“That makes a lot more sense than Marc Dupre, but I don’t want to be persuaded by his emotions right now.”
“I watched him while he answered your questions. He’s partly in shock, he’s definitely worried about her health, and I don’t see in his personality that he’s violent. I mean—I do believe anyone, under the right circumstances, can turn violent. But under these circumstances?” She didn’t see it, and she didn’t think that John did, either.
John got on his phone and called his department. Lucy looked at her own phone, not for the first time. Sean hadn’t called or texted her, and she was feeling a bit lost on how to handle this situation with her husband. She was angry with him for not coming home last night . . . but she was more worried than mad at him. Sean wasn’t himself, and she didn’t know what to do. Tough love, as Jack suggested? Maybe . . . because she couldn’t ignore it. Could she? Could she actually just forget that he didn’t come home last night, that she had no idea where he’d been or what he’d been doing?
John came back five minutes later. “I have someone pulling all the financial records and corporate filings for Pride Tactical as well as Decker’s company. They’re both incorporated, so it’s just a matter of requesting the information. I’m also working with the DA on getting warrants where necessary.”
A female doctor of about forty walked in. “I’m Dr. Grace Hotchkiss,” she said. “I’ve been with Dr. Storm and the neurosurgeon from UC Davis he called in. Dr. Storm would have come here himself, but they’re prepping for surgery and he asked me to fill you in, since I’m close to Ellen. I’m just—” She took a deep breath. “I love Ellen like a sister, and this is difficult. I know you want to ask me questions, but I need to be with Marc right now. Dr. Storm just told him that Ellen will die without immediate surgery, and even with the surgery her chances are not good. If someone had found her last night, the prognosis would have been much better. But Ellen is strong, and two of the best surgeons in the country are working on her.”
“Did she regain consciousness?” John asked.
She shook her head.
“Sit down, please—we won’t keep you long,” Lucy said.
Grace took Dr. Storm’s chair, looked at the photo on the desk. “I forgot, you’re Selena’s brother. You know Gabriel. You know that he’ll move heaven and earth to save Ellen.”
“Yes, he will,” John said. “I’ll keep this brief, I know you want to get back, but I have some questions that will help us. Did Ellen talk to you about anyone stalking her? Anyone who made her uncomfortable, someone wanting her drone technology? Anything that had her worried or scared?”
“No. Ellen and I talk every week, sometimes more. After she lost her baby—it wasn’t her first loss—she was, I believe, clinically depressed. I wanted her to get professional help, but she’s stubborn. She finally saw a therapist after her divorce, and that helped a little, but she always had this deep guilt inside about Em. The baby who lived an hour. It haunted her. Grief is a complicated process, especially for someone like Ellen who is as strong as anyone I’ve met. But the last year or so? She’s been back to her old self. She works a lot, but so do I.”
“Did she tell you that Marc
wanted to get back together?”
“She texted me last night.” She handed John her phone.
He read the text out loud: “Marc and I are talking about reconciling. I still love him, even after everything. We’re going to breakfast tomorrow. I’ll call you later.”
Grace nodded. “And I responded to her. It’s about time. Marc and Ellen are both stubborn, but they were good together.”
“They divorced over losing the baby?” Lucy asked.
“It was more complicated than that. It was the catalyst. But after that Ellen didn’t like herself. She blamed herself. She had an affair. Marc was furious, and he had an affair, too. They divorced, it was too fast and they should have seen a counselor, but neither of them listened to me.”
“Were either of them involved with anyone recently?” John asked.
“Marc lived with a woman for the last year or so, but I knew they split several months ago. I don’t know if Ellen knew—we didn’t talk about it. I only met Marc’s girlfriend a couple times, she’s a teacher or something. A little young for Marc, but smart. Ellen hasn’t seen anyone since Steven.”
“Steven Decker?” John asked, surprised.
Grace nodded. “They were involved both before and after the divorce. There’s a double standard in affairs. Marc cheats, he expects Ellen to forgive him. Ellen cheats, and Marc lost it.”
“Yet Marc said that he and Decker are friends.”
“They are. Look, I’m a pediatrician. Kids are simple and honest. Adults are far more complex, and I don’t really understand them as well. As far as I know, the three of them were still friends. Now, I really need to get back to the waiting room—if that’s okay? You have my contact information, you can call me anytime if you have more questions.”
A Deeper Fear Page 6