A photograph of her drenched in blood would make a great front page, but innocent or not, it could harm her chances for a fair trial-in court, or in the court of public opinion.
When they reached the front door, he stopped and looked at her. “One last thing, Alex. From here on out, I can’t help you with this. Because of our relationship, I’m going to have to excuse myself from the case. And because of my badge, we won’t be able to see or even talk to each other. Do you understand?”
She did. He saw it in the panic that raced into her eyes. As if she had just realized how much trouble she might be in-and that she was completely alone.
And in that moment, he realized just how much he hated it being this way.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Tuesday, March 16
9:20 P.M.
Half a dozen people gathered around the video monitor, watching the interview in progress. They’d been going at Alex for some time and she looked a hairbreadth from falling apart.
When they’d arrived at the Barn, the deputy had gotten Alex set up in an interview room. Reed had connected with his sergeant, explained the situation and recused himself from the case. Unfortunately, because of the way current events crisscrossed and possibly linked to Alex, it left a new detective with a whole lot to familiarize himself with. Mac had not been happy about it.
Reed glanced at the sergeant now; he was frowning. “Her story hasn’t altered, Mac. Not from when she first relayed it to me.”
The assistant D.A. agreed. “You know the drill, boys, charge or release.”
“Okay,” Lieutenant Torres said, “let’s get Detective Saacks back in here.” While Mac retrieved the detective from the interview room, the lieutenant went on, “What’ve we got, Team? Lay it all out there.”
Tanner began. Mac and Saacks slipped into the room. “We’ve got a motive. She admits she was angry with him.”
“Spa employees confirmed. They overheard her leaving a nasty message for someone-”
“Clarkson, the deceased.”
“We’ve got that.” Tanner replayed it: “Dammit, Tim! Pick up! I can’t believe you would do thi-”
“That’s it, she didn’t finish,” Tanner said. “My guess is that’s when the spa attendants came in and busted her.”
“She sounded pretty upset.” Lieutenant Torres looked at the assistant D.A. “She left in a huff, before she’d even finished her prepaid services.”
“But she didn’t threaten him in any way,” Reed murmured. “And by her own account, she was angry. She didn’t try to hide that.”
Tanner went on. “And depending on the timeline, we’ve got opportunity.”
Detective Saacks jumped in. “We’re working on establishing a firm timeline.”
Bob Ware, the Coroner’s detective, spoke up. “He hadn’t been dead long when we got there. Lividity was under way, but just under way, and rigor mortis hadn’t even started. By the time I got him to the morgue, body temperature had only dropped by three degrees. Factoring in transporting the body and investigative time, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.”
The D.A. agreed. “We can make that stick. No doubt.”
Saacks spoke up again. “A neighbor confirmed her version of events. He saw her on her porch about four forty-five P.M. Drinking wine. They didn’t speak. He heard her scream a short time later and was dialing 911 when he heard the first responders’ sirens.”
“Did he happen to notice, was she covered in blood?”
That brought a chuckle from the group.
Cal tapped on the closed door, then poked his head inside. “Tanner, Reed, a moment, please.”
They excused themselves and met him out in the hall. “What’s up?” Tanner asked.
“Thought you’d be interested.” He handed them each a pair of Latex gloves. While they fitted them on, he continued, “Found this in the suspect’s bedroom. It’s a list of all the crazy shit that’s happened since she arrived in Sonoma.”
He handed the yellow legal tablet to Tanner. “She notes having an alibi for one item.” He looked at Reed. “Sorry, man.”
“Not your issue, Cal. But thanks.”
He and Tanner reviewed the list. Reed stopped on the item that read: Max’s house torched. Alibi/Reed. His stomach sank. That didn’t look good.
“What’s this?” Tanner asked. She tapped the very last item on the list: “Remember scrawled in lipstick on bathroom mirror. Stain on hand and sheets.”
Another bizarre occurrence on Alex’s doorstep. “First I heard of it,” he said.
“In her statement, she never mentioned the list or this ‘Remember’ thing.”
“She’s had a little on her mind.”
Tanner narrowed her eyes. “Watch it, Detective, your loyalties are showing.”
“Playing devil’s advocate. Look, the list makes sense. She said she called her ex-husband to help her put everything that was happening in perspective. Looks to me like she was trying to put it in perspective on her own first.”
“Let’s let the team get a look at it.”
They did, and after the group had pored over it, discussion resumed. “It’s an incomplete list,” the D.A. said. “Neither Schwann’s nor Clarkson’s murder is noted.”
The lieutenant agreed. “In my opinion this supports her version of events.”
Mac spoke up. “I’m bothered by her mentioning her own alibi. That’s just off.”
The D.A. looked at Saacks. “How reliable is the neighbor who saw her on her porch?”
“Seemed lucid. Sixtyish. Wearing glasses.”
The D.A. took over. “We’ve got motive. And depending on our timeline, we’ve got opportunity. What about evidence?”
“Processed the scene,” Tanner said. “Collected a ton of blood samples, prints and other miscellaneous pieces of physical evidence. It’ll be awhile before we get results back; however, what we do have is a physical scene with no overt evidence of anyone’s presence besides the deceased’s and suspect’s. We also have a suspect well covered with the victim’s blood and a handprint near the body that she confirmed is probably hers.”
Saacks added, “And we have the weapon, high-quality, stainless steel, two-gauge chopsticks.”
“Prints on them?” Lieutenant Torres asked.
“Wiped.”
Reed frowned. “That’s interesting. Why would she carefully wipe the weapon and leave a big bloody handprint on the floor?”
“He has a point,” the D.A. agreed. “I don’t like the neighbor. Without that witness, I’d go for it right now. But the picture of Clarkson calmly sitting on the front porch, enjoying a glass of wine, blows it for me. And I strongly suspect for a jury as well.” She turned to Reed. “Any chance she’ll disappear? You have a relationship with her, what do you think?”
They all looked at him. It was a damn awkward position to be in. Either way, he was putting himself on the line. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“She hasn’t lawyered up yet, but will. At any moment is my guess and that’ll just prolong this. We could keep her forty-eight hours, but if she’s not a flight risk, why force her hand?”
The lieutenant looked at him. “I want you to take another crack at her, Reed. Bring the list in. She trusts you. Use that to see if you can get us anything else.”
He nodded and exited the room. In the hall, his cell vibrated. “Reed here.”
“Dan, thank God! It’s Rachel. What the hell’s going on?”
“I can’t talk now.”
“I drove by Alex’s… I saw a body being brought out-”
“I really can’t tal-”
“Is it Alex?” Her voice rose, taking on a hysterical edge. “Is she okay? No one will tell me anything!”
“She’s fine,” he said, glancing at his watch, aware of the team in the other room waiting for him. “She’s here. We’re questioning her.”
“Then who-”
“Her ex-husband.”
“Oh my God! I’m coming down there-”
“No! There’s nothing you can do. I have to go, Rachel.”