“Where do you live?”
“I’ve got an apartment in West Hollywood.”
“You didn’t spend Christmas together?”
“No. We were both with our families.”
“And your family lives where?”
“Irvine.”
“And Jack’s?”
“The Valley. Northridge.”
Arvo knew they could find the full address easily enough. Someone would have to break the news to Jack Marillo’s folks.
“Do you know if Jack was planning to come home last night?”
“He said he’d probably come home, yes. Get a good night’s sleep before the trip.”
“And you arranged to pick him up here at seven-thirty?”
“Yes.”
“Why couldn’t he drive to Mammoth himself?”
“We didn’t think there was any point taking both cars. Besides, we wanted to spend time together, travel together.”
“Why not take his Porsche? It’s a hell of a lot smoother ride than a Honda Civic.”
Kincaid shrugged. “We were going to. But I was going to drive. Jack didn’t like driving long distances. He broke his foot badly in a basketball game when he was at college and it still aches when he drives.”
“Okay. So you got no answer when you called his name. What did you do next?”
“Well, it wasn’t like him, but I thought he might have overslept. You know, he’d been working very hard on the series. Anyway, I—”
“Just a minute,” Joe cut in. “Let me get this clear. When you went in the house, you thought you saw blood mixed with mud on the kitchen floor and you had a real bad feeling. Then you thought maybe Jack had overslept. Which is it, Jaimie?”
“Look, you’re confusing me. I mean, maybe it was later I thought it was blood. When I came back down. I don’t know. But I didn’t know Jack was dead. I mean, why would I even think something like that?”
Joe shrugged. “You tell me, Jaimie.”
“Well, I didn’t. That’s what I’m telling you.”
“Okay. So what did you do?”
“I went upstairs and I saw the body. My God.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “I couldn’t believe it.” Tears gathered again in his eyes.
“And then?”
“Then I ran back down to the kitchen and called the police.”
“The kitchen?”
“I was running out of the house. I wanted to get out. The kitchen’s at the back. When I got to there I knew I had to call the cops, so I did. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“You called from the kitchen phone?”
“Yes. The red one on the wall.”
“Did you touch anything else?”
“No.”
“You sure you didn’t touch the body, to check if he was dead?”
“You’ve seen the body,” Jaimie said. “It was obvious even to me that Jack was dead. I... ”
“Yes?”
“I wanted to cover him up. He looked so exposed lying there like that.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No. I’ve seen enough cop shows to know not to mess with a crime scene.”
Joe winked at Arvo. “Well, at least we’ve got something to thank television for. But you did use the kitchen phone?”
“I had to. I don’t have a car phone and I knew I had to call the cops. Think how it would have looked if I’d gone off looking for a payphone and someone else had found the body. Besides, I had to stay there. I just had to. Sort of keep watch over him. It was very quiet. Only the birds.”
“You stayed outside?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to go back in.”
“Did you remove anything from the scene?”
“No.”
“Did you use the bathroom at all?”
“No.”
“Sure you weren’t sick? It’d be only natural, Jaimie.”
“No. I wasn’t sick.”
“Weren’t you scared?”
“Of what?”
“The killer might have been still in the house, or maybe somewhere nearby. Didn’t that frighten you?”
Kincaid looked puzzled, then he turned pale again. “It never entered my mind. I mean, I was upset. I called the cops. I never even imagined there might still be any danger there. Christ, if I had... ”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I might just have got the hell out of there.”
“You see, that bothers me. I think most people would be a little nervous, Jaimie. Unless, of course, they knew they didn’t have anything to be frightened of.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“What am I doing?”
“Accusing me. I’m telling you, I would never have hurt Jack. Never. Not in a million years. I... I... ”
“You what?”
“I loved him.”
“You know what’s behind most murders, Jaimie, when you get right down to it?”
“What?”
“Love.” Joe called over one of the uniformed officers. “Take Mr. Kincaid downtown,” he said, then he turned back to Jaimie and smiled. “We’ll talk some more in a little while.”
Jaimie was still pale. “Am I under arrest?”
“Not yet.”
“Jaimie,” Arvo asked. “Did you know Sarah Broughton?”
“Sarah? Of course.”
“Were you friends?”
“I wouldn’t say exactly friends, but we knew each other. The three of us would have dinner sometimes. Why? You can’t think—”
“How long have you known her?”
“Only since she started working with Jack. Look, Jack and I weren’t exactly out of the closet, like I said. We tried to keep our relationship as private as we could. Sarah was one of the few who knew. I like her. She didn’t judge.”
“Have you ever written her any letters?”
He frowned. “No. Why should I have?”
“You know anyone who might have done this?” Joe asked.
Jaimie shook his head.
“Did Jack play the field? Did he like to pick up strangers, that sort of thing?”
“Absolutely not,” said Jaimie. “Jack was faithful. I’d stake my life on it. He wasn’t into that sort of sexual promiscuity. Me neither. We’re not all like that, you know.”
Joe nodded. The uniformed officer took Jaimie by the elbow and led him up the driveway. Joe crooked his finger at Officer Laski, the first officer on the scene. She was a little overweight, Arvo noticed, and she was perspiring in the heat of the morning.
“What time did you arrive here?” Joe asked.
“Seven fifty-seven, sir.”
“What did you do?”
“I went into the house and checked that the victim was deceased. Then I secured the scene and called it in to Division. They sent Detective Heffer first, then you came just after him.”
“Was Mr. Kincaid here the whole time?”
“Yes, sir. He was here when we arrived, waiting for us at the end of the driveway, then he stayed outside with my partner, Officer Clark, while I checked the scene.”
“Did you notice if there were any signs of forced entry?”
“There weren’t. No broken glass, nothing.”
“Were any of the lights on?”
“Just the light on the stairwell.”
“Did you turn on the bedroom light?”
“No, sir. I used my flashlight.”
“Did you open any of the blinds or shutters?”
“No. They were already open.”
“Did you call in over the police radio?”
“No, sir. I used a landline, the kitchen extension. Mr. Kincaid told me he had already used it, so I didn’t think I would be destroying any evidence. I know the media listen in to the police band, and that something like this would get their attention.”
“Good thinking.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Okay,” said Joe. “That’s it for now. Carry on.”