by Tim Kizer
“An hour ago.”
“Where were you between five and five-thirty p.m.?”
“I left work at five and drove to the Santa Anita Mall. I got to the mall around five-twenty.”
“Does anyone else have a key to your house?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Was he here between five and five-thirty?”
“No. I don’t think so. How did you know that Melissa’s phone was in my house?”
“The cellphone company told me.”
Did Hagan think that Melissa’s phone had been placed in the drawer by the killer?
“How long has it been here?”
“Three and a half hours.”
Alice opened the blinds and examined the window. It was intact.
“He must have picked the lock,” she said.
“Yeah. He probably did.”
“Let me check my bedroom window. Maybe I forgot to close it.”
Alice went to her bedroom and found that the window was shut and locked. The window in the living room was shut and locked, too.
“Do you have a security system?” Hagan asked.
“No.”
“You should get one.”
Alice nodded. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”
“No, thank you. I’ll head back to San Diego.”
“Melissa’s killer knows where I live. Maybe I should buy a gun.”
“That’s a good idea.”
As Alice watched Hagan get in his car, she thought: Maybe it was Munroe or Jeb who had planted the phone?
She dialed Munroe’s and Jeb’s numbers. Both calls went straight to voice mail.
She should change the front door lock. She must get a lock that was hard to pick.
Alice went to a home improvement store and bought a high-security Medeco lock, which, according to the clerk, was extremely hard to pick. When she got home, she called a home security company and set up an appointment. Then she spent some time researching California’s gun laws. She learned that in California you had to have a Firearm Safety Certificate to buy a gun. To obtain the certificate, you had to pass a firearm safety test written by the Department of Justice. She decided to start studying for the test tomorrow.
She wondered if she had become a suspect in Melissa’s murder because of the phone. Hagan knew she’d had no motive to kill Melissa, so he probably believed her.
Hagan’s supervisor might not care that she’d had no motive. Alice had read that prosecutors were not required to show motive when presenting their case.
What if they found her fingerprints on the phone? Her story would be discredited.
Chapter 28
1
The cellphone company confirmed that the phone found in Alice Cannon’s desk had belonged to Melissa Keener. They found traces of Melissa’s blood on the phone but no fingerprints.
Valdez didn’t buy the theory that it was someone other than Alice who had placed Melissa’s phone in the drawer. He thought the phone proved that Alice was Melissa’s killer.
“Do you believe her?” he asked Hagan.
“I think she’s telling the truth.”
“Maybe she has a split personality and her second personality murdered the girl. That would explain why she doesn’t remember killing Melissa and putting the phone in the drawer.”
It was a plausible theory. Perhaps Alice had felt so bad about giving Melissa away that she had created an alternate personality to handle everything related to her daughter.
If Alice was the killer, why would she switch on Melissa’s phone and leave it on in her own house? She knew the location of a cellphone could be traced.
Maybe she had switched on the phone by accident and hadn’t noticed that?
“Why would her second personality kill Melissa?” Hagan said.
“Maybe Alice asked Melissa to leave the Keeners and live with her, and the girl refused. That would’ve pissed her off big time, wouldn’t it? Or maybe Melissa told Alice to stop bothering her. Let me talk to Alice. Let’s talk to her together. I’ll be the bad cop and you’ll be the good cop.”
Dixon had seen Alice in the Scripps Ranch Community Park at two in the afternoon. Alice would have had to leave for San Diego no later than eleven a.m. to get to the park at two p.m. Melissa had been murdered between three p.m. and five p.m. If Alice had gone home at three o’clock, she would have arrived at her house around six.
June 27 was a Tuesday. If Alice had worked that day, she might have an alibi. The geolocation records showed that between eleven a.m. and six p.m. on June 27 Alice’s phone had been connected to the cell tower nearest to Alice’s house.
“All right. Let me call her.” Hagan pulled out his phone and called Alice.
“Hello, Stephen,” she said.
“Hi, Alice. Are you going to be home around five-thirty? I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Are you coming to Pasadena?”
“Yes.”
“Is it about the phone?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll be home at five-thirty.”
“Thank you.”
Hagan hung up.
“You’re not banging her, are you?” Valdez asked, grinning mischievously.
“You mean Alice Cannon? No, I’m not banging her.”
“Let me tell you a story. A cat fell asleep on a streetcar track. A streetcar ran over its tail and cut a piece off. The cat spun around and the streetcar ran over its head and cut it off. The moral of the story: Don’t lose your head over a piece of tail.”
Hagan smiled. “That’s a good story.”
Chapter 29
1
When Alice saw that Detective Hagan hadn’t come alone, her stomach tightened with worry. The other guy must be a police detective. He was tall, with broad shoulders, a crew cut, and a serious face.
Are they going to arrest me?
“Good evening, Alice.” Hagan pointed at his companion. “This is my partner, Detective Adolfo Valdez.
“Good evening, ma’am,” Valdez said.
“Please, come in.”
The detectives went inside and sat on the sofa. Alice offered them something to drink; they declined.
“The phone I found in your desk two days ago did indeed belong to Melissa,” Hagan said. “We discovered traces of her blood on it.”
“Did you find any fingerprints?” Alice asked.
“No.”
“Alice, how did that phone get in your desk?” Valdez said.
“I think the killer planted it to set me up for Melissa’s murder.”
“So you didn’t put it there?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why does the killer want to set you up for Melissa’s murder?”
“He probably hates me.”
“There were no signs of break-in.”
“He must have picked the lock.”
“But isn’t it more plausible that you put that phone there?”
Alice shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“There’s a witness who saw you with Melissa on the day of her murder.”
Alice’s heart skipped a beat.
Someone had seen her with Melissa?
“He’s wrong. I never met Melissa.” She looked at Hagan. “Stephen, you know that.”
Hagan said nothing.
Don’t trust the cops or the feds. They’re not your friends.
“Melissa’s boyfriend says she met her biological mother several times. You are Melissa’s biological mother.”
“It must have been someone who looked like me,” Alice said. “Stephen, did you show your partner the video the Keeners gave me?”
“I’ve seen the video,” Valdez said. “I’m not convinced the woman in it isn’t you.”
“My daughter was abducted thirteen years ago. That woman isn’t me.”
“Look, Alice. It doesn’t matter who that woman is. Here’s what we have. Melissa’s phone was found in your desk, and a witness saw you with Meli
ssa on the day of her murder just a few miles from the murder scene. If you think a jury will believe your story, think again.”
Alice’s heart began to slam against her ribs. “What time did your witness see me with Melissa?”
“Two p.m.”
“Where?”
“The Scripps Ranch Community Park.”
She had never been to this park.
“So what are you saying? Do you think I killed Melissa?” Alice looked at Hagan.
“We don’t think you killed her,” Hagan said.
“Would you take a lie detector test?” Valdez asked.
There was no point in taking a lie detector test: even if she passed it, they would still suspect her of killing Melissa.
“Let me think about it,” Alice said.
“Alice, I’m not saying you’re lying to us,” Valdez said. “You might not know that you killed Melissa.”
“What do you mean?”
“You might have a split personality, and it was your second personality who murdered Melissa.”
“I don’t have a split personality. Jesus Christ!”
How do you know you don’t have a split personality, Alice?
“I’m trying to help you, Alice.”
Look on the bright side, girl. At least the cops don’t think you’re lying to them.
“Do you agree with your partner?” Alice asked Hagan.
“Well, there are a lot of people with multiple personality disorder,” Hagan replied.
“I don’t have a split personality. And I didn’t kill my daughter.”
“Okay,” Valdez said. “Where were you from eleven a.m. to six p.m. on June twenty-seventh?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did you work that day?”
“No, I was on vacation.”
“Were you in Pasadena?”
“Yes.”
“Can anyone confirm that you were in Pasadena between noon and five p.m. on June twenty-seventh?”
What time had David come to her place on June 27? Probably around eight in the evening.
Had she met any of her friends that day?
No, she hadn’t.
I have no alibi.
The thought made her cold.
“Let me talk to my friends,” Alice said.
Why had she spent her vacation in Pasadena? She should have gone to Cancun or Hawaii.
“If Melissa were alive, would you want her to live with you?” Valdez asked.
“Yes, of course.” Alice looked at the wall clock. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. I have to leave in a few minutes.”
Had she said anything that could get her in trouble? She didn’t think so.
Alice stood up. She thought of giving Hagan the stink eye for leaving her out to dry, but didn’t. He was simply doing his job.
Are they going to arrest me?
The detectives got up, and Valdez reached into his right pocket. He’s going to pull out handcuffs, Alice thought.
“Thank you for your time, Alice,” Hagan said.
Valdez’s hand came out with his car keys.
When Alice closed the door behind the detectives, she shut her eyes and let out a deep sigh of relief.
They’ll be back. I’m the only suspect they have.
The thought stayed in the forefront of Alice’s mind and felt like a knife twisted in her head.
If I’m found guilty of killing Melissa, I may be sentenced to death.
She walked into the kitchen, opened a drawer, and took out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes she’d bought when her mother went missing. She pulled out a cigarette, put the pack back in the drawer, grabbed a lighter, and sat down on a stool.
How about a shot of tequila? There was a bottle of Sauza in the pantry.
Not now. Maybe later.
She stuck the cigarette in her mouth, lit it, and drew in deeply.
2
Was it the woman in the adoption video who had met with Melissa in the Scripps Ranch Community Park on June 27?
Melissa’s killer knew who Melissa’s birth mother was, and the woman in the video fit that characteristic.
Had Melissa been murdered by the woman she had met with in the Scripps Ranch Community Park? Why had that woman killed Melissa?
Could that woman be me?
Was it possible that she had a split personality?
Alice looked at her left arm. Three days ago, she had found a small cut on her left forearm and she had been unable to remember how she had gotten it. Maybe she’d cut her arm while in her alternate personality?
If she had met with Melissa on June 27, she might have called or texted the girl that day.
Alice checked the call log on her phone and saw that she hadn’t made or received any calls on June 27. David was the only person to whom she had sent text messages on June 27, and he was the only person from whom she had received text messages that day. She hadn’t sent or received any messages between midnight and 8:06 p.m. on June 27.
How had she communicated with Melissa?
Perhaps she had used a prepaid phone.
Why hadn’t she used her regular phone?
Maybe her alternate personality didn’t know the phone passcode.
Hagan would check the location of her phone on June 27, and if her phone turned out to have been in San Diego that day, she’d have to admit she had a split personality.
Suppose she had a split personality. When had she developed it? Before she had given birth to Melissa?
Maybe she was the woman in that video?
If she had given up Melissa for adoption, why hadn’t she remembered that under hypnosis?
She should ask Dr. Teague.
Alice called Dr. Teague and made an appointment for Friday, August 4.
3
At nine o’clock Alice called Stephen Hagan: she felt the need to try to convince the detective of her innocence.
“Are you in San Diego?” she asked Hagan.
“Yes.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I thought about what your partner said. Suppose I have a split personality and suppose I met with Melissa that day. Does that prove I killed her?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Hagan said.
“Is there any evidence that I murdered Melissa?”
“Well, I found her phone in your desk drawer.”
“The phone doesn’t prove anything. It doesn’t have my prints on it.”
Maybe Hagan had lied. Maybe they had found her prints on the phone.
Why would he lie?
To lull me into a false sense of security.
“Alice, I don’t think you killed Melissa.”
“But your partner does, doesn’t he?”
“You are on his suspect list.”
“Why would I kill Melissa?”
“Adolfo thinks that you might have killed the girl because she didn’t want to live with you.”
“Did you check the location of my phone on June twenty-seventh?”
“Yes. It appears that between eleven a.m. and six p.m. your phone was at your place.”
Alice breathed a sigh of relief.
“Did Melissa ever call or text me?” she asked.
“No, she didn’t.”
“Did I ever call or text her?”
“No.”
“Did Melissa call any disposable numbers on June twenty-seventh?”
“Someone called her from a disposable number at nine-thirty a.m. and one-twenty p.m. that day.”
“Can you give me the number?”
“Yes.”
Hagan told her the phone number. “Do you think it’s possible that you have a split personality?”
“No, I don’t. Thanks for the information, Stephen.”
“No problem.”
“And thanks for believing me.”
“Have you talked to your friends yet?”
“No, I haven’t. Will you arrest me if I don’t have an alibi?”
“I don’t think so.”
They were going to charge her with Melissa’s murder if they didn’t find another suspect, that was for sure.
“The killer knew I was Melissa’s biological mother. There were only three people who could’ve told him that: the Keeners and John LaCross. I believe the killer is a friend or a relative of the Keeners’. Do the Keeners have siblings? Maybe Melissa was molested by one of her uncles, and maybe he killed her because she was going to tell everything to the Keeners.”
“You’re making a good point. Any more questions?”
“No. Good night, Stephen.”
“Good night.”
Alice hung up and then dialed the number Hagan had given her. Her call went straight to voice mail.
She might have thrown her disposable phone away after murdering Melissa.
Jesus! I need to stop this insanity. I didn’t kill Melissa!
She would never kill a child, but maybe her alternate personality was capable of that.
Did they put you in prison for a crime committed by your alternate personality? Could a person with multiple personality disorder use an insanity defense?
The surest way to avoid going to prison for Melissa’s murder was to find the real killer. Jeb knew who the killer was, but did he have proof that would convince a jury?
Jeb should hurry up and tell her what she must do to get the killer’s name. She might be arrested any day. Did they grant bail in murder cases in California? Probably not. That guy in Modesto who’d murdered his pregnant wife in 2002 had been held without bail.
Alice dialed Kevin Munroe’s and Jeb’s numbers, but both calls went straight to voice mail. She left Jeb a message asking him to call her.
Chapter 30
1
On Thursday, Alice called the disposable number that Hagan had given her the day before seven times, and each time she was sent straight to voice mail.
On Friday, she went to see Dr. Simon Teague.
Teague was dressed in the same outfit he’d worn when Alice had seen him last month except for the shirt: it was light blue this time.
“Do you remember me?” Alice asked Teague. “You put me under hypnosis two weeks ago.”
Teague nodded. “Yes, I remember you. Have you succeeded in getting your daughter back?”
“Unfortunately, no. Not yet.”