The refrigerator door was covered with recipes and cartoons, affixed to the smooth surface with magnets, but there was no note.
There were two coffee cups on the kitchen table, and the remains of a piece of coffee cake on a cake dish.
"Must have gone off with a friend," he said to himself, but he was still bothered by the TV. He cut a piece of coffee cake and took a bite, then he walked to Lisa's room. There was nothing out of place, nothing that aroused his suspicion. Still, justice Ryder felt very uneasy. He was about to go to his room to change when he heard the doorbell. Two men were huddled under an umbrella on the front steps.
"justice Ryder? I'm Randy Highsmith with the Multnomah County district attorney's office. This is Detective Ross Barrow, Portland Police. is your daughter in?"
"Is this about Martin?"
"Yes, sir."
"Lisa's been staying with me, but she's not here now."
"When did you see her last?"
"At breakfast. Why?"
"We have some questions we wanted to ask her. Do you know where she can be reached?"
"I'm afraid not. She didn't leave a note and I just got in."
"Could she be with a friend?" Highsmith asked casually, so Ryder would not see his concern.
"I really don't know."
Ryder remembered the TV and frowned.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Barrow asked, keeping his tone neutral.
"No. Not really. it's just that there were two coffee cups on the kitchen table, so I thought she was entertaining a friend. They'd been eating a piece of coffee cake, too. But the TV was on."
"I don't understand," Barrow said.
"It was on when I came home. I couldn't figure out why she'd leave it running if she was talking with a friend in the kitchen or leaving the house."
"Is it normal for her to go out without leaving a note?" Barrow asked.
"She hasn't lived at home for some time and she's been staying in the house at night since Martin got out.
But she knows I worry about her."
"Is there something you're not telling us, sir?" justice Ryder hesitated.
"Lisa's been very frightened since Martin was re leased. She talked about leaving the state until he's back behind bars."
"Wouldn't she have told you where she was going?"
"I assume so." Ryder paused, as if he just remembered something. "Martin called Lisa the night he was released. He said there was nowhere in Portland she would be safe. Maybe he called again and she panicked."
"Was he threatening her?" Barrow asked.
"I thought so, but Lisa wasn't certain. It was an odd conversation. I only heard Lisa's end of it and what she told me he said."
Highsmith handed the judge his business card.
"Please ask Mrs. Darius to give me a ring the minute you hear from her.
It's important."
"Certainly."
Barrow and Highsmith shook hands with the judge and left.
"I don't like this," Barrow said as soon as the front door closed. "It's too much like the other crime scenes.
Especially the TV. She'd have turned that off if she was going out with a friend."
"There was no note or rose."
"Yeah, but Darius isn't stupid. If he's got his wife, he's not going to broadcast the fact. He could have changed his m.o. to put us off the track. Any suggestions?"
"None at all, unless you think we've got enough to pick up Darius."
"We don't."
"Then we wait, and hope Lisa Darius is out with a friend."
Part Seven
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Chapter Twenty-three
Betsy heard a car pull into the carport and looked out the kitchen window.
"It's Daddy!" Kathy yelled. She had been waiting in the living room all afternoon, giving only half-hearted attention to the television, since Betsy told her she was going to Rick's for the weekend.
"Get your things," Betsy told Kathy as she opened the door.
"They're all here, Mom," Kathy said, pointing to her backpack, book bag, small valise and Oliver, the stuffed skunk.
The door opened and Kathy jumped into Rick's arms.
"How you doin', Tiger?" Rick asked with a laugh.
"I packed myself," Kathy said, pointing at her things.
"Did you pack your toothbrush?" Betsy asked suddenly.
"uh oh," Kathy said.
"I thought so. Run and get it right now, young lady."
Rick put Kathy down and she raced down the hall for the bathroom.
"She's very excited," Betsy told Rick. He looked uncomfortable.
"I thought I'd take her to the Spaghetti Factory."
"She likes that."
They stood without talking for a moment.
"You look good, Bets."
"You should see how I look when I haven't had to spend the day in judge Spencer's court," Betsy joked self-consciously, sidestepping the compliment. Rick started to say something, but Kathy was back with her toothbrush and the moment passed.
"See you Monday," Betsy said, giving Kathy a big hug and kiss. Rick gathered up everything but Oliver.
Betsy watched from the doorway until they drove away.
Alan Page looked up from his desk. Randy Highsmith and Ross Barrow were standing in the doorway. He glanced at his watch. It was six twenty-five.
"I just got off the phone with justice Ryder. She's still missing," Ross said.
Page put down his pen.
"WHAT can we do? There's not a shred of evidence pointing toward Darius," Page said. He looked pale and sounded exhausted and defeated.
"We have a motive, Al," Barrow said. "Lisa Darius is the only person who can connect Martin to Sam Oberhurst. He couldn't get to her when he was in jail. I say we have at least probable cause. No sooner is he out than she's missing."
And there was that phone call," Highsmith added.
"Ryder can't be certain there was a threat. The call can even be interpreted as a warning to Lisa to be careful of someone else." Page shook his head. "I'm not making the same mistake twice. Unless I'm certain we have probable cause, I'm not asking for a search warrant."
"Don't get gun-shy, Al," Highsmith warned. "We're talking about a life here."
"I know that," Page answered angrily. "But where do we search? His house? He's not going to be stupid enough to keep her there. Some property he owns?
Which one? I'm as frustrated as you are, but we have to be patient."
Highsmith was about to say something when the intercom buzzed.
"I know you didn't want to be disturbed," his secretary said, "but Nancy Gordon is on the line."
Page felt cold. Highsmith and Barrow straightened.
Page put the call on the speaker phone.
"Detective Gordon?"
"I'm sorry I disappeared on you, Mr. Page," a woman said. Page tried to remember what Gordon sounded like. He remembered a throaty quality to her voice, but their connection was bad and the woman's voice was distorted.
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you that now," Gordon said. Page thought she sounded sluggish and uncertain.
"Have you read the news? Do you know Darius is out, because we didn't have your testimony at his bail hearing?"
"It couldn't be helped. You'll understand everything in a while."
"I'd like to understand it now, Detective. We have a situation here.
Darius's wife has disappeared."
"I know. That's why I'm calling. I know where she is and you have to act quickly."
Darius Construction was in trouble. When Darius was arrested, the company was on the verge of bringing in two lucrative projects. Both jobs were now with other construction companies and no new projects would appear while Darius was indictment. Darius had been counting on the income the projects would generate to help him with the company's financial problems. Without the new income, bankruptcy was a real possibility.
Darius spent the day closeted with hi
s accountant, his attorney and his vice presidents working on a plan to save the company, but he had trouble keeping his mind on business. He needed Betsy Tannenbaum, and she had dropped him. At first he'd wanted her to represent him simply because he thought a feminist attorney would give him an edge with the jury. Then Betsy won the bail hearing and convinced him that she had the skills to save him.
Their recent meeting had increased his respect. Tannenbaum was tough.
Most women would have been too frightened to confront him alone. They would have brought a man for protection. Darius believed Betsy would never break the pressure of a trial and he knew she would fight to the end for a client in whom she believed.
When the meeting ended at six p.m. Darius drove home. He punched in the alarm code for his gate and it swung open with a metallic creak. Darius glanced in the rearview mirror. He saw the gleam of headlights as a car drove past the gate, then the driveway turned and he lost his angle.
Darius entered the house through the garage and deactivated the alarm.
The house was cool and quiet.
While Lisa was living with him, there was always an undercurrent of noise in the background. Darius was learning to live without the murmur of kitchen appliances, the muted chatter from the television and the sounds Lisa made passing from room to room.
The living room looked sterile when he turned on the light. Darius took off his jacket and tie and poured himself a scotch. He wondered if there was a way to talk Betsy into coming back. Her anger was evident, but anger could cool. It was her fear that was keeping Betsy from him. He could not blame her for thinking him a monster after what she learned from Colby. Normally a woman's fear would excite Darius, but Betsy's fear was driving her from him and he could not think of a way to allay it.
Darius draped his tie and jacket over his arm and walked upstairs to his bedroom. He had barely eaten all day and his stomach growled. He switched on the bedroom light and set his glass on his dresser. As he turned toward the closet, a flash of color caught his eye. There was a black rose on his pillow. Beneath the rose was a sheet of stationery.
Darius stared at the note. His stomach turned. He spun toward the doorway, but there was no one there. He strained for the slightest noise but heard only the normal house sounds.
Darius kept a gun in his dresser. He took it out. His heart was beating wildly. How could someone get into his house without setting off the alarm? Only he and Lisa knew the alarm code and… Darius froze. His mind made the logical connection and he headed for the basement, switching on the house lights as he went.
Darius paused at the top of the cellar stairs, knowing what he would see when he turned on the light. He heard the first siren when he was halfway down. He thought about going back, but he had to know. A police car skidded to a halt in front of the house as Darius reached the bottom of the stairs. He put his gun down, because he did not want to risk being shot. Besides, he would not need it. There was no one in the house with him. He knew that when he saw the way the body was arranged.
Lisa Darius lay on her back in the center of the basement. She was naked. Her stomach had been sliced open and her entrails poked through a gaping, bloodsoaked hole. The body of Patricia Cross had been left in Henry Waters's basement in exactly this way.
As soon as Rick and Kathy drove away, Betsy went back to the kitchen and fixed herself something to eat. She had toyed with the idea of going out for dinner or calling a friend, but the idea of spending a quiet night alone was too appealing.
When she was finished with dinner, Betsy went into the living room and glanced at the television listings.
Nothing looked interesting, so she settled into an easy chair with an Updike novel. She was just starting to get into it when the phone rang.
Betsy sighed and ran into the kitchen to answer it.
"Mrs. Tannenbaum?"
"Yes."
"This is Alan Page." He sounded angry. "I'm at Martin Darius's estate.
We've rearrested him."
"On what grounds?"
"He just murdered his wife."
"My God! What happened?"
"Your client gutted Lisa Darius in his basement."
"Oh, no."
"You did her a real favor when you convinced Norwood to release Darius on bail," Page said bitterly. "Your client wants to talk to you."
"Do you believe me now, Tannenbaum?" Darius asked. "Do you see what's going on?"
"Don't say anything. The police are listening, Martin. I'll see you in the morning."
"Then you're sticking with me?"
"I didn't say that."
"You've got to. Ask yourself how the police found out about Lisa and you'll know I'm innocent."
Was Darius really innocent? It didn't make sense that he would kill his wife and leave her body to decompose in his own basement. Betsy thought over what she knew about the Hunter's Point case. Betsy imagined Henry Waters answering the door, Nancy Gordon walking down the steps to Waters's basement, the shocked look on Waters's face when he saw Patricia Cross sprawled in her own blood, disemboweled. It was Patricia Cross all over again. Darius had asked her to find out how the police knew Lisa Darius was in his basement.
She tried to remember how the police had found out about Patricia Cross.
"Put Page back on," she told Darius.
"I don't want anyone talking to Darius," she told the district attorney.
"I wouldn't think of it," Page replied rudely.
"You're wasting your anger on me, Alan. I knew Lisa Darius better than you did. This hurts, believe me."
Page was silent for a moment. He sounded subdued when he spoke.
"You're right. I had no business biting your head off.
I'm as mad at myself for screwing up at the bail hearing as I am at you for doing such a good job. But he's staying in this time. Norwood won't make another mistake."
"Alan, how did you know you'd find Lisa's body in the basement?"
Betsy held her breath while Page decided if he would answer.
"Ah, you'll find out anyway. It was a tip."
"Who told you?"
"I can't tell you that, now."
A tip, just like the anonymous tip that led the Hunter's Point police to Henry Waters's basement. Betsy hung up the phone. Her doubts about Darius's guilt were starting to grow. Martin Darius had murdered the women in Hunter's Point, but was he innocent of the Portland murders?
Chapter Twenty-four
The door to the jail interview room opened and Darius walked in. He was dressed in the shirt and suit pants he had been wearing when he was arrested. His eyes were bloodshot and he seemed less self-assured than he looked during their other meetings.
"I knew you'd be here, Tannenbaum," Darius said, trying to appear calm but sounding a little desperate.
"I don't want to be. I'm required to represent you until another attorney relieves me of my obligation."
"You can't leave me in the lurch."
"I haven't changed my mind, Martin. I meant everything I said the other day."
"Even though you know I'm innocent?"
"I don't know that for certain. And even if you are innocent, it doesn't change what you did in Hunter's Point."
Darius leaned forward slightly and locked his eyes on hers.
"You do know I'm innocent, unless you think I'm stupid enough to murder my wife in my basement, then call Alan Page and tell him where to find the corpse."
Darius was right, of course. The case against him was too pat and the timing of this new killing too opportune. Doubts had kept Betsy up for most of the night, but they had not changed the way she felt about Darius.
"We'll be going up to court in a few minutes. Page will arraign you on a complaint charging you with Lisa's murder. He'll ask for a no-bail hold and ask Norwood to revoke your bail on the other charges. I can't see any way of convincing the judge to let you out on bail."
"Tell the judge what we know about Gordon. Tell him I'm being framed."
"
We have no proof of that."
"So this is how it's going to be. I guess I figured you wrong, Tannenbaum. What happened to your high-blown sense of ethics? Your oath as an attorney? You're going to throw this one, aren't you, because you can't stand me?"
Betsy flushed with anger. "I'm not throwing a goddamn thing. I shouldn't even be here. What I am doing is letting you know the facts of life. judge Norwood took a big chance letting you out. When he sees the pictures of Lisa spread-eagled in your basement with her guts pulled through her abdominal wall, he is not going to feel like letting you out again."
"The State calls Victor Ryder, Your Honor," Alan Page said, turning toward the rear of the room to watch the courtly justice walk past the spectators and through the bar of the court. Ryder was six feet three with a full head of snow-white hair. He walked with a slight limp from a wound he had received in World War Two. Ryder kept his back rigid, scrupulously avoiding eye contact with Martin Darius, as if he was afraid of the rage that might overpower him if he set eyes on the man.
"For the record," Page said as soon as Ryder was sworn, "You are a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and the father of Lisa Darius?"
"Yes," Ryder answered, his voice cracking slightly.
"Your (daughter was married to the defendant, was she not?"
"Yes, sir."
"When Mr. Darius was arrested, did your daughter move in with you?"
"She did."
"While Lisa was staying at your home, did her husband phone her?"
"Repeatedly, Mr. Page. He phoned for her several times each evening."
"Is it true that inmates can only make collect calls?"
"Yes. All his calls were collect."
"Did your daughter accept the calls?"
"She instructed me to refuse them."
"To the best of your knowledge, did your daughter speak to the defendant while he was incarcerated?"
"She may have, once or twice immediately after his arrest. Once she moved in with me, she stopped."
"What was your daughter's attitude toward her husband?"
"She was scared to death of him."
"Did this fear increase or decrease when Mr. Darius was released on bail?"
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