Killing Fear

THIRTY-FOUR

“Diana Cresson,” Will said.

His stomach churned. How could he accuse a woman he’d worked with for more than a decade, a woman he’d slept with, of murder?

But as Dillon explained the profile, Diana came to mind and stayed. Diana was the only woman in Jim’s department Will had dated. She was meticulous-a wonderful trait in a criminalist. She was a dream in court, formal and professional. Her father was a biologist for a prestigious university on the East Coast, where she grew up. Will couldn’t remember her ever talking about her mother.

Could Diana have killed Jim? Shot him in cold blood? A man she’d worked with for years?

“Did you have a relationship with her?” Hans asked.

“Years ago, shortly after my divorce. Hell, I had relationships with a lot of women after my divorce. They were all short-term, but we always parted on friendly terms. Including Diana.” Could he peg her as a killer?

“So your relationship with Diana was before Robin?” Hans asked.

“Yeah. It ended a year or more before I hooked up with Robin.”

“How?” Dillon asked.

“As friends. We both had busy careers. My job always came first. We’ve had drinks after working on a case, in a group, ever since. I didn’t hurt her or dump her for someone else. That’s not my style.”

“Will, you’re not up for trial here, don’t get defensive,” Hans said.

“I’m not defensive, I’m angry! How could I have not seen it?”

“No one did.”

“Why? Why on earth would Diana want to kill Robin?” As Will said it, he realized the truth. “She knew about my relationship with her.”

“You said your partner knew?” Hans asked.

“Frank brought it up all the time, until I lost my temper when he got crude.” Will shook his head. “So Diana found out? But is that a motive for murder? I’ve dated other women since Diana, and they’re all alive.”

“To Diana it is,” Dillon said. “In her mind, you preferred a low-class, unworthy woman over her.”

“Robin is not low-class,” Will said.

“I’m explaining how Diana sees Robin. Robin was a stripper, correct? Diana would put her in the same class as a prostitute. And you, Will, are a detective. A noble profession, someone intensely dedicated to his job. In fact, your job always came first and that was how she justified your breakup. She could come in second to a job. She could not come in second to an inferior woman.”

Hans interrupted. “But if she doesn’t like women, how could any other woman be acceptable to her? Wouldn’t she look at the other women Will dated as inferior?”

“Possibly, but I know Will and I’d guess most of his relationships were discreet and the women had some sort of professional career. Correct?”

“True,” Will acknowledged.

“But closely on the heels of Diana’s failed relationship with Will came his relationship with Robin, and it grated on her. She watched for signs that you were now unworthy of her devotion. If you looked tired, it was because you had been with Robin the night before. She built up a fantasy in her mind that you preferred Robin to not only her, but to your job, and that was unacceptable. A serious relationship would take you away from your destiny of being a cop. You couldn’t be a good cop and be in love-in her mind.

“But there’s something else. Anna Clark wasn’t the first woman Diana killed. If you go back into her past, there will be at least one more. Probably in college.”

“We don’t have enough evidence to arrest her,” Will said. “Stanton will never give me a warrant based on a profile.”

“Was she one of the people Jim talked to yesterday when he was leaving?” Dillon asked.

“Yes.”

“Call everyone Jim spoke with yesterday and have them come in. Call them into an interview room separately, ask what they talked to Jim about, and then let them leave quickly, walking past the room where everyone is waiting. In and out. Diana goes last. If Carina can put on her game face, have her in the room asking the questions. If Carina can pull it off-make it seem like Diana is not a suspect-it will put Diana at ease, since it was common knowledge that Jim and Carina used to live together. And if Carina can let down her guard a bit, tell Diana how hard she’s taking Jim’s death, it’ll bring on Diana’s guilt. She killed Jim because she thought he was a threat to her-that he knew something that would lead back to her. But she didn’t want to do it. It will bother her because Jim was one of the good guys in her mind, and the more salt you can rub on that wound, the greater chance she’ll confess or slip up. But Diana will not confess to a woman, so I’d suggest after Carina asks the questions, you go in-maybe find an excuse to send Carina off-and push her.”

“Thanks for your help, Dillon,” Hans said.

“Anytime. And again, I’m sorry about Jim.”

Hans disconnected the phone and Will slammed his fist on the desk. “Diana.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“Why not? I slept with that woman. I liked her. I wouldn’t have believed she could do something like this.”

“We still don’t have proof. We need the gun.”

“She’s not stupid enough to keep it lying around her house.”

“Has ballistics come back on the bullets?”

“The coroner performed the autopsy this afternoon, the bullets are already at the sheriff’s forensic lab and they’re rushing it. We’ll have the report by tomorrow. They’ll work all weekend if they have to.”

Will paced, bouncing ideas off Hans. “Diana isn’t stupid. She’s not going to use her own gun, even if she has one.”

“She could have taken something out of the evidence room,” Hans suggested.

Will nodded. “I’ll have Hazelwood look into that, see if she signed anything out. But if it’s a gun that has been used in a crime, we’d have the ballistics on it for comparison.

“But,” Will continued, “she framed Theodore Glenn for Anna’s murder, maybe she’ll try to frame someone else.”

“We need to get all seven of those individuals in and talk to them,” Hans said. “And check to see if any of them has a concealed carry permit.”

Will glanced at his watch. “It’s after eight. Let’s get everyone together and see what happens. On the QT. We don’t want Diana thinking she’s a suspect.”

Will made the call to Hazelwood to contact the seven people seen speaking with Jim as he was leaving the lab yesterday, then he called Chief Causey at home and filled him in. Causey would contact Stanton to give him a heads-up and work out a reason to get a warrant. Then Will called Carina, filled her in on his conversation with Dillon, and told her the plan. She assured him she could play the part.

“I want her to fry,” Carina said. “I won’t screw it up.”

Will was waiting on two more people-including Diana-when his cell phone rang. It was Officer Diaz, informing him that the couple who were seen driving Theodore Glenn across the border had just arrived home. Damn, he wanted to talk to them, but right now Jim’s murder was the priority. Instead, he sent Dominguez out.

Then Trinity’s number popped up on his caller ID. He almost didn’t answer it, but he’d promised her a scoop.

“Hooper.”

“So I can see why you didn’t call me as soon as you found out Jim Gage had been murdered in his own home. You were busy investigating a crime. And maybe I can overlook the fact that you didn’t give me a heads-up that the Sheriff’s Department was working the crime scene because that’s logical-Gage was in charge of the city’s crime lab. His own people shouldn’t be processing his blood. Got it. But you couldn’t even call me and tell me Theodore Glenn wasn’t a suspect? That he fled to Mexico? You promised me, Will, and it’s barely been twenty-four hours!”

“Trinity, it’s been hell over here. I’m sorry press relations wasn’t at the top of my to-do list. How’d you hear about Glenn?”

“That’s not fair. I helped you, and you don’t even throw me a bone. And I’m not telling you my sources, but the fact that the nice cop outside my town house told me he was leaving because Glenn was in Mexico and he’d been pulled off babysitting duty kind of clued me in.”

Will bit back a retort. He understood why Trinity was mad, but dammit, he was at a critical point in the investigation. “Off-the-record, Trinity.”

“No.”

“Then I’m not saying anything.”

“You’re an ass!”

“I’ll give you something, but you can’t report on it until I give you the okay.”

“Not good enough.”

“It’ll have to be.”

“Dammit, Will! If you think I’ll ever be your messenger to the public again, ha! Never! You’re a liar, Will-”

Will watched Diana walk into the bull pen and Detective Hazelwood approach her with a warm smile.

“Okay, I’ll give it to you.”

Silence. “What?”

“We have a suspect in the Jim Gage homicide.”

“In custody?”

“No.”

“Who?”

“I can’t tell you that until the suspect has been arrested. You know that.”

“Is it the same person who killed Anna Clark?”

“That’s a big jump,” Will said.

“No, it’s not. If Theodore Glenn didn’t kill Dr. Gage, who would? Maybe someone who thought Gage had information that would incriminate them? Maybe your little ploy yesterday didn’t work.”

“Don’t go there.” Will still wasn’t certain he wasn’t partly responsible for what happened to Jim.

“Sorry.” Trinity sounded sincere. “Well?”

“Let’s say that the suspect is also a person of interest in the Anna Clark homicide.”

“Fair enough. And I can run with this?”

“Run.”

“Ciao.”

Will put his finger up to ward off Hazelwood when his fellow detective indicated everyone was ready. He called Causey again and clued him into his conversation with Trinity so the chief wouldn’t be surprised by the media coverage, then walked down the hall to where the seven employees in the crime scene lab who had spoken to Jim yesterday were waiting.

“Thanks for coming in, I appreciate it. This won’t take long, we’re simply retracing Dr. Gage’s steps yesterday and you all spoke to him right before he left the office.”

“I just said good-bye,” one of the clerks, a timid young woman, said, biting her thumbnail.

“Then why don’t you come in first?” He smiled easily and escorted her down the hall.

Carina was already in the room. She’d showered and looked fresh, but dark circles framed her eyes.

Will quickly went through the first five individuals, then called in Stu Hansen. This was getting tricky, because Will knew Stu and Diana were friends and had worked together for years. “Thanks for coming in tonight, Stu.”

“I can’t believe he’s dead. I heard you don’t think it was Theodore Glenn. Why? That doesn’t make sense. Glenn threatened Dr. Gage several times. He-”

“Whoa, slow down, Stu. You spoke to Dr. Gage twice yesterday. On the phone in his office, then again as he was leaving.”

“Yes.”

“What was the phone call about?”

Stu frowned. “Why?”

“We’re trying to figure out what Jim might have been working on.”

“I told him I didn’t like the Feds coming in here and looking at our evidence, like we did something wrong. We didn’t do anything wrong, not on the Anna Clark case. We went by the book. Textbook.”

“We know,” Will said. “Like I told the reporter, we have no reason to believe anyone other than Theodore Glenn killed Anna Clark. This is about Jim, not a seven-year-old murder. Do you know what was in the box Jim was carrying with him when he left?”

“Box?” Stu frowned, glanced to his left as if trying to remember.

Will put a photo in front of him taken from the security camera. It showed Jim talking with Stu and Diana outside the exit leading to the parking garage. “This box.”

“I really didn’t think anything about it.”

“You didn’t notice it at all? It’s large. He’s carrying it with both hands.”

Stu shrugged. “It was a case file box.”

“Did it have anything written on it?”

“Not that I noticed-wait. Yeah, there was. The boxes are marked with the case number. Jim’s arm was covering the number, but it was an older case-the first two numbers tell the year and it was ‘01,’ and I guess I thought why was he working an old case, especially since that’s the same year the strippers were killed.”

“You automatically equated a case file from 2001 as being related to the Theodore Glenn murders?” Will questioned.

Stu shook his head. “I don’t know, it was on my mind. After Glenn told that reporter he didn’t kill the Clark woman, and then the press conference and the Feds getting involved-yeah, it was on my mind.” His eyes widened as he made a connection. “You don’t think Jim’s murder had anything to do with that case?”

“We simply want to know what work he took home with him,” Will said.

“It was Glenn. It had to be. No one else had a reason to kill him.”

Will switched gears. “Do you own a personal firearm?”

“No,” Stu replied, eyeing Will suspiciously. “Why?”

“I’m just asking.”

“No, you’re fishing. I’ve worked in the lab for a dozen years and I know how interviews are done. Do you think one of us killed him?” Stu looked disgusted. “What’s with you? I think it was Glenn, we all do, and you’re not even considering that possibility?”

“We have strong evidence that suggests Glenn did not-could not-have killed Jim.”

“What?”

“I can’t discuss that with you.”

“Am I a suspect?”

“Should you be?”

“Do I need a lawyer?”

“Do you?”

Stu stood up. “I don’t have to be here.”

“No, you don’t. But you’re an employee of the San Diego Police Department and Chief Causey has given me the authority to interview anyone under his command who may have information about the Jim Gage murder. If you refuse, you will be put on administrative leave pending an investigation. You may have your union representative in here with you, if you do not want to answer our questions without him present.”

“I-” Stu looked flustered.

Will asked, before Stu requested anyone, “What did Jim say when you and Diana spoke to him for two-and-a-half minutes when he left work yesterday?”

“I really don’t remember.” He closed his eyes. “I told him I was worried someone would be fired. He said he was out of the loop, that the Feds looked at the case and didn’t think it should be reopened.”

“Anything else?”

“He wasn’t feeling well and was going to do paperwork at home.”

“Did Diana say anything?”

“She asked about Glenn, if there was any news on him. Jim said there wasn’t. That’s it. That’s all I remember.”

“Thanks, Stu.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, just be available.”

Will looked at Carina. “You ready?”

She nodded.

Will escorted Stu out. Diana was still sitting on a bench in the hall, a file folder open, working on something. She looked up and gave them a half smile. “Everything okay?” She glanced at Stu-who looked flustered and upset-her brows furrowed.

Will nodded. “No problem. You can go in, second door.” He sounded casual. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Diana gathered her material and started down the hall.

Will escorted Stu to the door, ignoring his questions, which were variations on the same theme: Were they firing anyone? Why wasn’t Glenn a suspect?

His cell phone rang as he made it back to the interview room. He walked past, to the adjoining room, where Hans was listening to Carina’s interview with Diana.

“Everything okay?” Will asked quietly.

“Exactly how Dillon predicted it would go.”

Will answered his phone.

“Dominguez here. I just spoke with Roy and Edna Stein. Nice couple. Too nice. Glenn was standing at a closed gas station early Friday morning next to a silver Honda Acura near the on-ramp to I-5 three miles from the border. He waved them over and asked if they had a cell phone because the gas station was closed and his battery died. They offered to give him a ride because they don’t carry cell phones, and he told them he was a journalist writing an article about illegal border crossings and he needed to meet a contact in Tijuana. They happily drove him down there.”

“Why?”

“To quote Mrs. Stein, ‘He was a polite young man and had credentials.’”

“Did you tell her who he was?”

“Yes, and she didn’t believe me. She thinks we’re mistaken.”

“Where did they drop him off?”

“The HSBC Bank on Avenida Revolucion.”

“And he didn’t ask for a ride back?”

“They offered, but he said he’d be down there for a few days and would have a friend pick him up when he was done. He gave them twenty dollars for gas-offered more, but they declined.”

“Do they still have the twenty dollars?”

“No, they bought gas with it.”

“Get over to that gas station where they picked Glenn up and check out the story. If the car is there, have it impounded.” He hung up, told Hans what he learned.

“I’ll text message my buddy. He’s already down there.”

Will listened to Carina in the room. She was just chatting now, talking about Jim as if commiserating with a girlfriend, casually sitting across from Diana. “You know, I’m really going to miss him,” Carina was saying. “We broke up years ago, but we were always friends.”

“He was a terrific lab director,” Diana said. “Very smart, serious, a complete professional. Did you need anything else? It’s late and I still have paperwork to finish up.”

“I don’t know what’s keeping Will. He’ll only be a second, I’m sure.”

Diana glanced at her watch, tapped her fingers on the table. She didn’t look Carina in the eye, seemed on the verge of saying something, then closed her mouth.

“I think she’s primed,” Hans said.

The door opened and Chief Causey walked in along with District Attorney Andrew Stanton. The chief looked tired. “Are you one hundred percent certain she killed Dr. Gage?”

“I know she killed Jim. I can’t prove it yet,” Will admitted. “I have Hazelwood in the evidence room-the lab techs and criminalists routinely check in and out evidence. Nothing may come of it, but she doesn’t have a CCP or a registered gun.”

Hans said, “I don’t think she expects to be under scrutiny. You may very well find evidence at her home.”

“I have a judge waiting to sign a warrant,” Stanton said. “I need something more than Dillon Kincaid’s profile-and frankly, it needs to be tangible. Hard evidence.”

“The sheriff’s crime lab is working double-time on this,” Chief Causey said. “They are combing through fibers and trace evidence. I’ve talked to the sheriff personally and he understands the sensitivity of the situation.”

“If they find something from Diana, she could claim that she’d been in Gage’s house before.”

“But it would be enough for a warrant,” Stanton said. “I’m going to listen in with the chief.”

Will nodded. “Hans, let’s nail her to the wall.”