11th hour

Chapter 42

Lametta Wynn was Harry Chandler’s personal assistant. She lived in a small Victorian house in Golden Gate Heights, a residential neighborhood where everyone had his or her own patch of lawn and a porch overlooking the street.

Ms. Wynn was fifty or so, white, a fading redhead with sharp, pale eyes.

She asked us to come in, and we sat down in her living room. There were watercolor landscapes on the wall and a shotgun in a rack over the sofa. She answered our questions about her whereabouts, saying that she’d been alone all weekend.

“I got some sleep, caught up on e-mail, and was in touch with Harry Chandler. You know, he pays me a lot. He expects me to answer the phone when he calls.”

“Did he call you over the weekend?”

“In fact, he did. He was in Monterey. Wanted to get the names of some restaurants where he could take Kaye.”

“I understand that Mr. Chandler has an active social life.”

“I’m not going to tell you the names of Harry’s old girlfriends,” Wynn said. “Take it from me, there have been a lot of women, but Harry will be happy to give you names and dates, if you just ask him. I want to help you if I can. But I don’t know who could have done this — whatever this is.”

“All of the heads that were exhumed from the garden were female,” I said.

LaMetta Wynn sat back in her seat. She seemed to be thinking about that, then she said, “You’re the homicide detectives, so help me to understand. If Harry Chandler is the killer, why would he bury his victims’ heads in his own backyard?”

“I guess you’re assuming that killers are logical,” I said. I pulled out the drawing of Jane Doe, a drawing that was getting rumpled from handling.

Wynn got a glimpse, then seized the drawing from my hand.

“I know her,” she said. “I know this woman. Is she one of the people who was killed?”

“Yes. Who is she?”

“Her name is Marilyn. Varick, I think. She lives on the streets. Occasionally she sleeps in a doorway.

“I’ve given her spare change. She comes from Oregon,” said LaMetta Wynn. “I didn’t get into any long conversations with her. I mostly brought her soup.”

“Did Harry Chandler know her?”

“Impossible. He couldn’t have. And I want to be perfectly clear. I know Harry Chandler well. He isn’t a violent man. He’s a scamp, but, apart from breaking hearts, he’d never hurt anyone.”