“I was hoping we could ask some preliminary questions tonight.”
“It’s nearly midnight. Mrs. James is exhausted, her house is in disarray, and she is grieving.”
Lucy watched Teri closely. She hadn’t moved in the nearly three hours they’d been on her property. She sat at the dining room table formally, without expression. Even now, when almost everyone was gone, she sat there.
What did she know? Why wasn’t she frazzled? Or did she honestly believe that they couldn’t match trace evidence from the crime scenes with evidence they found here? Maybe she thought that if the murder weapon wasn’t found, they would never trace the murders to her.
They were missing something, and Lucy didn’t know what.
Jerry finally agreed to leave. It was clear that the lawyer wasn’t going to allow them to question Teri now, and she wasn’t under arrest. “Remind your client that if she doesn’t come to my office at eleven a.m. tomorrow a warrant will be put out for her arrest.”
“You don’t need to threaten us,” Cox said. “We’ll be there. Mrs. James wants to clear this situation up as quickly as possible so you go back to looking for the real killer.”
Jerry glanced at Teri. “We found her.”
“That’s uncalled for, Deputy,” Cox said. But Teri James didn’t even blink.
Jerry just shook his head and walked out.
Lucy followed. “You think she’s going to run?”
“I don’t know. The ADA is freezing her passport, but anything’s possible. Can you be at my office by eight? I’m hoping that three hours is enough time for Ash to get us something, but if it’s not, at least we can get her on record about the security cameras and why she lied about being home when her husband’s flight landed.”
“Some Ash can do, some he’s going to have to send to the FBI. It’s not going to happen in one day.”
“Wishful thinking. That woman—she didn’t budge. She didn’t so much as bat an eye. She watched everyone like a hawk, but she was stone-cold.” He hit his head. “Cold. Just like you and your brother have been saying from the beginning.”
“Being cold is not a crime. But she’s guilty. I feel it.”
He glanced at her. “So do I.”
* * *
Lucy walked into her kitchen fifteen minutes later, exhausted.
Sean had waited up for her. He kissed her, then steered her into the sunroom and into the oversized chair where they often sat to watch television. She relaxed on his lap. This was exactly what she had been looking forward to all night.
“Happy birthday,” she said and kissed his neck.
“I don’t think it’s really my birthday until we go to sleep and wake up.”
“Jesse and I were going to take you out—I promise, I wasn’t going to cook. And since Kane is here, and Siobhan is coming in later today, it would really be a party. But now with this case, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to leave on time.” She would. No matter what, she’d be home for Sean’s birthday dinner.
“We’ll cross that bridge tomorrow. Right now, focus on relaxing—because you feel tense.”
“I guess I am. I feel like we’re missing something big, but have no idea what it is. It should be staring me in the face, but I feel blind.”
“Because you’re tired.”
“I relaxed Sunday.”
Sean laughed and kissed her. “Right. Okay, talk it out—otherwise you’ll never get to sleep.”
“We collected a lot of evidence, and Ash is excited—but this is just the beginning of a lot of work. No gun, no mallet, no Taser. I really wanted one of the weapons, and I’m thinking more and more that you were right—she got rid of them Friday night after she killed Victor King.”
“That lake is deep,” Sean said. “And the evidence would most likely be destroyed, but you could at least confirm that the gun and mallet were the same type as the murder weapons—if you found them.”
“That lake is huge. Finding anything if we don’t know exactly where to look will be next to impossible.” And that frustrated Lucy. She didn’t like admitting defeat. But to search the entire lake would take weeks with dozens of people and might not even yield anything.
“There’s only certain places where you can launch a boat. There could be security cameras out there, because I doubt they’re renting boats in the middle of the night.”
“She wouldn’t let anyone see her.”
“She could steal a boat—you know, borrow it without permission and return it. A lot of those houses have docks right on the water.”
“True. It’s worth going out there, look around. Talk to people. Maybe King has a boat, though we didn’t see a deed in his records. Jerry sent officers to canvass the area. We’ll go back and show her picture around. By the way, you were right about the car—she had the inside detailed, had washed the outside, but the engine hasn’t been touched. Ash said if Standish touched it, he’ll know.”
“Good. Is she in jail?”
“No. She’s coming in voluntarily tomorrow morning to answer questions. Has a lawyer.”
“Not a flight risk?”
“Jerry doesn’t think so, but … she didn’t say a word the entire time. Called her lawyer, then watched. It was kind of creepy.”
“You’re going to nail her. There is no perfect murder.”
“No?”
“Even me, and I’m smarter than the average bear, would be hard-pressed to create the perfect murder. Because there are always smart cops like you out there.”
“It’s possible—remember Strangers on a Train?”
“That guy was psycho.”
“But it was a plausible idea, to swap murders.”
“Is that what’s going on here?”
“No. I think she killed four men to cover up her true target—her husband. She had access to her husband’s records, and thus knew a lot about Victor King and his lazy son Garrett. That’s how she picked the other victims—people who slighted Garrett King in some way, so she could frame him.”
“It’s a stretch.”
“But plausible. Because Garrett is reckless, he does lose his temper, and he was angry with his father for cutting him off. He might have pushed his father off the cliff in the heat of the moment, but planning four cold-blooded murders? No. Not in his DNA.” She burrowed deeper into Sean’s embrace. She never wanted to get up from this chair. “Her motive isn’t obvious.”
“Is it the money?” Sean asked.
“I don’t think so. I wish it were, because greed is much easier to sell to a jury.”
“If not Abby’s trust, then what? Adultery?”
“I was talking it out with Jerry today—and I don’t think he bought it.”
“Try me.”
“Going back to what Dillon and Hans said during our consult, that the killer is cold and unemotional, that she can play a part, but not forever—and the fact that Teri James isn’t close to anyone we can find and no one really mentioned her except in passing—I think she didn’t want a divorce. Steven confided in Abby that he and Teri were going to see a marriage counselor but that he didn’t know if it would help save their marriage. But he never told Abby why—what was wrong in his relationship. Maybe it was personal. Sexual. We probably will never know. Abby said that Steven and Teri never argued, that they were respectful and cordial at all times. That has to be weird, being married, and behaving so formally, wouldn’t you think?”
“To each his own,” Sean said, “but I see what you mean.”
“I said to Jerry, if Teri is truly a sociopath—she knows that she’s not wired the same way as other people. She’s not going to want a psychologist digging into her head. She may not have consciously thought that, but it may have panicked her.”
“And she came up with this elaborate plan to kill her husband. Not good old-fashioned arsenic.”
“Because that would point to her. She’s smart—and she decided to frame Garrett King, which is how she picked the victims. Who slighted King. Sh
e would have had to have followed him around, learned what he did with his time, knew that he was a drunk, that he couldn’t keep a job. That he was angry with his father for cutting him off. Her husband was instrumental in how Victor King was re-tooling his financial life, so that gave Garrett motive.”
“But she screwed up when she killed Julio Garcia instead of his assistant who actually fired Garrett.”
“Convincing a jury of that? I don’t know if we’ll even get that far. The ADA is sold, but not to the extent that she’s going to take it to trial—not until we get something solid.”
“You need a good night’s sleep. You’ll figure it out.”
“How’s Jesse?”
“He was very interested in what we were all talking about tonight.”
“I thought so. He’s a smart, inquisitive kid.”
“Not so good at math—I helped him there.”
“Maybe skills aren’t genetic. When I was talking to Abby today, she said her worst subject was math, and her dad was brilliant.” She frowned. She hadn’t talked to Abby after the search. Was she okay?
She sat up, accidentally elbowing Sean in the chest.
“Ouch.”
“That’s what’s bugging me. Teri didn’t mention Abby once.”
“Why would that bug you?”
“Abby called Teri and said she was spending the night at Becky’s … on a school night.”
“Some parents are cool with that.”
“I don’t know. I just—I have a bad feeling.”
“What do you want to do?”
“It’s too late to call Becky’s family. Can we … just drive by Becky’s house? Or stake out the James residence?”
“Does Teri have another car?”
“Not registered to her name or Steven’s name. His car is still in impound, I believe. But she could get a rental. An Uber. Walk. Becky is less than two miles away. What if someone told her that the police were over at Becky’s? What if she knows that Abby talked to us? We interviewed Abby, but there are more questions—and Abby may have answers she hasn’t even thought about yet. This was all pretty much dumped on her today.”
“Let’s go. I’m just going to wake Jesse and tell him what’s going on.”
“Will he be okay by himself?”
“He’s thirteen. And he knows my house is a fortress.”
* * *
After they drove by Becky’s house and everything looked fine, Sean drove them over to Teri’s house. The lawyer was pulling away from the curb. The police had left an hour ago, but it didn’t surprise Lucy that the lawyer stayed longer to talk about the questions for tomorrow and what their strategy would be. The lights were still on.
They waited.
Sean was on his tablet.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing if there are any other vehicles in Teri and Steven’s name.”
“I told you there weren’t.”
“I’ll bet the sheriff’s office ran the plates in Texas only.”
“I didn’t ask, but this is where they live, and legally this is where their cars would need to be registered.”
“So I’m looking in Colorado where her ex is from, and California where Steven James is from.”
“Sean, you can’t do that.”
“You can.”
“Sean!”
“If I find it, you can go through the proper channels. And no—no other vehicles in their name. But if I was planning the perfect murder, I might have one under a false identity.”
“You’re impossible.”
“But you love me anyway.”
“Always.” Lucy squeezed his hand.
“Lights out,” he said.
And they waited.
Fifteen minutes later a car pulled up.
Lucy nearly jumped out of her seat. “Who’s that?”
“There’s a Lyft sticker on the back of the window.”
Teri exited the house. She had only her purse—no luggage or backpack or briefcase. It was after one in the morning; where was she going?
She got into the backseat and the car drove away.
“Follow them.”
Sean shot her a humored glance. “Sweetheart, I know what I’m doing.”
“Of course you do.”
Sean discreetly followed the private taxi through Olmos Park and to the highway. They went south. Lucy had done surveillance with Sean before, but not in a while and she’d forgotten how good he was at tailing people.
“South—not the airport,” Lucy muttered.
Three exits later, the car got off the freeway. They were in a light industrial area. The car pulled over at a covered monthly parking lot.
“Shit,” Lucy said.
“Your mouth, Mrs. Rogan!”
“What? You swear all the time.”
“But you don’t.”
“What if we have the wrong car?”
“Do you think you do?”
“I don’t know. She was so damn smug during our search, like she knew we weren’t going to find anything to use against her. She didn’t protest anything—not taking her shoes, her car, her computer.” Because she was cold? Didn’t want to give anything away? Or because she knew they were going to come up dry?
Teri walked through the parking lot and got behind the wheel of a Mercedes identical to the one they had in custody—except it had Colorado plates. Same color, same model, probably the same year. It could have rolled off the line right after the car they seized.
Sean handed her his tablet. “You can run the plates—”
“I’m going to do this officially,” Lucy said. She called into SAPD, identified herself with her badge number, and read off the plates to the dispatcher. A few minutes later the woman returned and said, “Registered to Dorothy Jenkins.”
“Address?”
She read off an address in Denver, Colorado.
“That’s not her ex-husband’s address.” Lucy remembered that Roger Abbott, her ex, thought her mother might still be alive.
“Excuse me?” the dispatcher said.
“What else do you have on the owner?”
“The DMV database indicates that Ms. Jenkins is sixty-eight years old and requires corrective lenses. No citations or warrants.”
“Thank you,” Lucy said and hung up.
“She has a car in her mother’s name,” Sean surmised.
“It’s the exact same make and model that we seized today. What if that is the car she used?”
“And she’s planning on destroying evidence? I’ll be damned.”
“Don’t lose her.”
“Really, your lack of faith is disturbing.”
“Are you actually quoting Star Wars to me?”
Sean just smiled, and Lucy called Jerry.
He answered three rings later, sounding tired.
“I’m sorry to wake you up,” Lucy said.
“You don’t sound sorry. It’s one thirty. In the morning.”
“I had a hunch and Sean and I sat outside Teri James’s house tonight.”
“You did what?” He sounded awake now.
“I was worried about Abby—but now I’m worried we have the wrong vehicle. She’s driving an identical Mercedes to the one we seized under the search warrant.”
“She doesn’t have another car registered to her name.”
“It was parked in a monthly lot off Hazelwood, Colorado plates, registered to Dorothy Jenkins—who I think, but can’t confirm yet, is her mother. Remember what Teri’s ex-husband said?”
“Yeah—but—are you sure it’s the same make and model?”
“Yes. We’re following her. She’s merging onto I-35 heading to New Braunfels.”
“That’s also the way to Canyon Lake. I’m heading out now, I’ll call you when I’m on the road. Let me know if she detours.”
Lucy ended the call. “What is she doing?”
“What if she didn’t dump the murder weapon in the lake? You said you thought she planned to frame G
arrett King—what if she wants to make it easier for the police because of the warrant? Maybe she has something else in her bag of tricks that will point to King.”
“Or she’s worried and wants to destroy the evidence. Namely, the car.”
“Would you have found it? If she left it alone?”
Lucy thought about that. “Not immediately. But she only seriously showed up on our radar this weekend. We’d have interviewed her, contacted her ex-husband again, contacted relatives, talked to her mother, dug into her financials, and more likely than not uncovered the registration—it would flag because it’s the same make and model as her car, so we might look at it. But it could take days to pull it together.”
“Maybe she doesn’t know that. Even smart criminals don’t know everything.”
“Or they’re too smart. Second-guessing their own plans because we did something they didn’t expect. I don’t think she expected us to serve a warrant on her, especially now. She heard about the arrest of Garrett King and made assumptions … Abby said as much. That her father’s murderer had been arrested … That’s it!”
“What?”
“The news reports. Nothing in the news said that Garrett had been arrested for murder. They implied it, but it was corrected to say he was arrested for drunk and disorderly.”
“Still—she could have made a logical assumption.”
“But it was mentioned that his father had been killed the night before, not that it was connected to the three previously unsolved homicides. She slipped to Abby, and Abby can call her on it.”
Lucy called Jerry again.
“What?” he answered. “I had to take a cold shower because I’m bone-weary. I’m not as young as you are.”
“Get a protective detail on Abby James.”
“Why? You said Teri was on I-35.”
“She is, but she screwed up. I don’t know if she realized she did or not, but if we lose her—”
Sean harrumphed from the driver’s seat.
“—we need to make sure Abby is safe.”
“Okay but why?”
Lucy explained to him what Abby told her that afternoon and what was actually reported on the news. “The only way that Teri would know that Garrett King was a suspect was because she set him up. That wasn’t public. If she figures out what she said to Abby—and puts it together with the media reports—Abby could be in danger.”
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