Capital Crimes

22

Within an hour, dozens of enforcement officials had collected outside the cabin. Parker Seldey was taken away and the structure was taped off.

By the early-morning hours, an arsenal had been removed, including three shotguns. Seldey was living like a savage in the insect-infested cabin, with no outdoor plumbing and food rotting in tins. No phone or computer but Seldey had brought a ham radio and a battery-op VCR. A CS unit from Sacramento scoured his meager belongings. Don Newell showed up at three AM but didn’t do much other than stand around.

Barnes and Amanda borrowed a sheriff’s phone that worked and told the story to Captain Torres. Being woken up didn’t endear them to the boss and Torres wasn’t mollified by Amanda’s assurance that they’d had consent from the legal owner to enter the property.

Blood spatter on Parker Seldey’s jeans and shirt calmed him down a bit.

“But I’m reserving judgment until you get real evidence.”

That happened two days later- a rush DNA matched the blood to Davida and word had it Seldey’s attorney would be going for a plea, some sort of mental health explanation.

Barnes gave Laura Novacente the exclusive. In return, she invited him to her place for an “intimate dinner.” Being a gentleman, Barnes let her down easy.

Laura showed class. Call if it doesn’t work out, Will.

Of course, I will.

The citizens of Berkeley were pleased with the arrest of Parker Seldey for the murder of Davida Grayson. Seldey being a registered Republican turned satisfaction to glee and someone talked about silk-screening a T-shirt capitalizing on that fact. Final message yet to be decided.

Everyone settling down.

Except Amanda Isis.

Early Friday morning found Barnes and Amanda at their favorite corner table at Melanie’s. He was on his second double espresso and his third muffin. She sipped foam off of her cappuccino and picked at her croissant.

Barnes was in a great mood, looking forward to a second weekend with Marge Dunn. He’d volunteered to fly to LA but Marge asked if she could come back up north.

Smart woman; nothing was as beautiful as the Bay Area on a crisp, cool day. Barnes figured to ask Amanda for more social advice, because the weekend in Napa had turned out perfect. He’d arrived with several ideas to run by her, but she was quiet- almost sullen.

“What’s wrong?” Barnes asked.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. You didn’t like the wine I sent you or something?”

“You didn’t have to send me wine, Will. I was just doing my job.”

“Your job was saving my life. The guy at the liquor store told me it was good stuff.”

“It was and I thank you.”

“So what’s bugging you, Mandy? And be honest. I’m not good at this shrink stuff.”

“Speaking of shrinks, I just talked to the psychiatrist who’s taking care of Seldey,” she said. “She says the guy’s clearly psychotic.”

“I don’t need a shrink to tell me that.”

“He’s actively paranoid, Will, as in unable to form a coherent plan of action. Yesterday he had to be straitjacketed because he scratched himself raw. He claimed that voices were telling him to repent by skinning himself like they did to Jesus in that Mel Gibson movie.”

“So he’s faking it, trying for reduced culpability.”

“He’s not trying to get out of anything. Just the opposite, he keeps ranting about shooting Davida, saying he’s proud of it.”

“All that’s the DA’s problem.”

“Maybe it’s our problem, Will. As in getting the entire picture. You see a guy that disordered planning a careful murder all by his lonesome? He says voices told him to kill Davida. What I’m wondering is, was one of them real?”

“Someone coached him?”

“Davida may have welcomed the homeless but given all Jane told Davida about Parker, you see Davida letting him in at two AM? His having a key would change the equation. What if someone pointed him in the right direction and said ‘Go boom’? Someone who knew him, realized he was crazy. Someone who had power over him. And might have a key. And knew she was drinking because she drank with her.”

“Jane?”

“Who else?” Amanda said.

“Why would Parker obey her? They hated each other.”

“That’s according to Jane. What do you remember about him?”

“Not much, he wasn’t a local. I think he grew up in Hillsborough or some other high-priced spread. Maybe went to Stanford.”

“Will, I’ve been asking around discreetly. No one from the good old days knows him, and he didn’t grow up in NoCal, he’s from Massachusetts.”

“So?”

“My point is that everything we know about him has been filtered through Jane. Jane told us she expected Parker to pay off the cabin. But if he was that compromised mentally, how could that happen? Maybe she let him stay because he was useful to her. She kept him on the side because she knew she was going to use him to murder Davida.”

“If Parker was crazy, why would Jane rely upon him? Hell, why would she marry him in the first place?”

“Maybe his pathology was under control- medicated officially or otherwise. Maybe being married to Jane helped him maintain. When she petitioned for divorce- and the paperwork says she initiated- he broke down. As to how she’d rely on him, she knew him well enough- understood which buttons to push.”

“Sounds like a movie,” said Barnes. “You’re stretching. Why?”

“It just doesn’t sit right with me. The guy’s too crazy to do it all by his lonesome.”

“What’s Jane’s motive?”

“Davida was going to dump her and it pissed her off. Or Davida was about to out her and she couldn’t handle it. You saw how squeamish she was when we talked to her at Lucille’s. What better way to get rid of Davida than to sic poor psychotic Parker on her, telling Parker that it was all Davida’s fault that they broke up in the first place? Davida dies, Parker’s locked up. Talk about killing two birds.”

“Inventive,” said Barnes. “You thinking of quitting and writing screenplays?”

“Granted, I can’t prove any of it, and maybe it’ll turn out to be fantasy. You want me to check it out alone, or with you?”

“That’s my choice?”

“You bet, pard.”

Barnes pinged a spoon against his demitasse. “If Parker’s that disturbed, maybe he’s got some prior hospitalizations that will tell us more about how his head works. Why don’t you check that out?”

“And you’ll talk to Jane.”

“I was thinking I’d look into Jane and Parker’s financials, see if she was supporting him and for how long. You want us to do everything together, fine, no more cowboy.”

Amanda laughed. “No, I was just asking. Let’s divide it up. You can even wear that string tie.”