Barely Legal

64

The medical examiner called Commissioner Dino Bacchetti with the autopsy report. “You wanted a heads-up on Yvette Walker. It’s pretty straightforward. The girl was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. No contributing factors.”

“She wasn’t drugged?”

“No. Trace amounts of alcohol and that’s it. On the other hand, the toxicology report on the man she was found with is off the chart.”

“What?”

“You were right on the money with the knockout drops. Someone slipped your guy chloral hydrate, and a whacking dose of it. He’s lucky he’s not dead.”

“Could you tell when it was administered?”

“Not long before the sample was taken. He still had a lot in his system.”

“But the decedent didn’t have any in her bloodstream?”

“Like I said, trace amounts of alcohol and that’s it.”

“What about the time of death?”

“She was killed sometime between seven and nine o’clock.”

“Based on what?”

“Body temperature, largely.”

“What about the stomach contents?”

“Doesn’t narrow it down. She was killed five or six hours after eating what appears to be a Cobb salad.”

“What about pizza?”

“What about it?”

“Was there any in the stomach contents?”

“Nope. Just salad.”

“There’s no chance she had a slice of pizza shortly before she died?”

“No, there isn’t. I can’t speak for the gentleman involved. He only had a blood test.”

Dino had barely hung up the phone when it rang again.

It was Herbie.

“Dino. Thank God. I went back to my apartment to get clothes for court.”

“You’re still going to court?”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen. I had a voice mail on my cell phone, came in about midnight last night. It said I better lose the court case because they had my girlfriend.”

Dino blinked. “Is that right?”

“There was no number, just the message and that’s it.”

“Midnight last night?”

“According to the voice mail.”

“That makes no sense at all.”

“No kidding.”

“Go to court. Act as if nothing happened. Let me handle it.”

“How can you handle it? What is there to handle?”

“Let me worry about that. You just get ready for court.”

Dino hung up and called Stone. “I think Herbie’s losing it.”

“Can you blame him?”

“No, he just called me and said he got an anonymous phone call saying his girlfriend’s been kidnapped.”

“What?”

“I know, it makes no sense. He said they threatened to kill her if he doesn’t lose the case. Do you think there’s a chance Yvette’s death had to do with the case after all?”

“How would the con man fit in? And why would they make the threat after she’s already dead?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, I wish I could be more help, but I have to be in court.”

“You seen the New York Post?”

“Why?”

“It’s on the front page. Lawyer’s girlfriend murdered. You can bet at least half of the jurors will have seen it.”

“Does it mention Herbie?”

“Says he was questioned as a suspect. The fact that the police are now looking for another suspect didn’t make the cut.”

“Has Herbie seen it?”

“He didn’t say. But he had other things on his mind.”

Stone sighed. “Oh, Christ. He’s probably the only one in New York who hasn’t.”