“News to me. I didn’t realize Marino was that involved.”
“And I didn’t realize Oscar was the same person Marino talked to last month until Morales had already cleared the scene last night. Once I connected the dots, I called Marino. I said I wanted him involved because he’s already involved.”
“And because you need him to cover your ass,” Benton said. “Perception will be that Oscar called your office for help a month ago and you dropped the ball. Marino dropped the ball. No one will work harder to cover your ass than a person who needs to cover his own. That’s the cynical solution. But you’re lucky. He also doesn’t miss much. In fact, he’s probably the best person you’ve got in your whole damn squad. You just haven’t figured it out yet because he’s easy to underestimate, and now you’re biased. Let me guess. He took it upon himself to take a look at the scene, and he found what might be the most important piece of evidence. Her laptops. Where the hell were they? Under the floorboards?”
“Packed inside a piece of luggage in her closet. Obviously, something she planned to carry on the plane she was to take to Phoenix this morning. That and another packed suitcase,” Berger replied.
“Who found out she was planning on flying to Phoenix this morning?”
“Oscar said nothing about it to you last night?”
“He didn’t say anything to me about anything last night. He cooperated with the evaluation, and that’s it, as I’ve said. So her travel plans weren’t known last night? If not, who found out about them and how?”
“Well, that would be Marino, who’s a good investigator and doesn’t quit once he starts. All true. And he’s a lone ranger because he’s been out there long enough to know you don’t divulge information just because the other person’s a cop or even a prosecutor or a judge. People in criminal justice are the worst gossips and the least likely to keep their mouths shut when they should. You’re right about him, and it’s going to make him some enemies. I can see it coming, which is all the more reason what’s surfaced about him is so unfortunate. Apparently, he tracked down Terri’s parents in Scottsdale before anybody else—including Morales—did, and delivered the death notification. They mentioned she was planning to fly home to spend several days with them. That’s what prompted him to go to her apartment.”
“Let me guess,” Benton said. “No plane ticket lying around that might have given the cops a heads-up last night. Because these days everything’s done electronically.”
“Right.”
“That explains why I didn’t see any luggage in the crime scene photos Morales gave me.”
“Those photographs are from his search—the first search. I can see why the carry-on was missed last night. Not saying it’s good that it was, but I can see it.”
“You suspect it was deliberately hidden?”
“You mean, by someone like Oscar?”
“Wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.” Benton thought about it. “If he’s worried about her computers, why didn’t he remove them from the scene? Why hide them in her closet?”
“People do a lot of things that don’t make sense, no matter how meticulously they plan a crime.”
“Then he’s pretty disorganized. If he’s the killer,” Benton said. “But one thing Terri wasn’t was disorganized, based on the photos of her apartment I’ve seen. She was extremely neat. A possible theory? She might have finished packing for her trip and put the luggage out of sight herself, because she was having company. I think it imprudent to assume Oscar planned any crime. I’m not ready to assume he killed her.”
“You know the old saying, Benton. Don’t search for unicorns. Start with the ponies. Oscar’s the first pony on my list. The most obvious. Problem is, we have no evidence. Nothing yet.”
“At least Oscar can’t beat you to the draw when it comes to whatever’s on Terri’s computers. He doesn’t have them, and he doesn’t have access to the Internet on the ward,” Benton said.
“And that was his choice. He doesn’t have to be up there. And that continues to strike me as extremely suspicious and cause me great concern about his mental stability. Whether we found the laptops or not, he must know we’d gain access to her e-mail once we determined her username or usernames, her provider. And that would lead us to his e-mail, because I can’t imagine he and Terri didn’t e-mail each other regularly. Yet he doesn’t seem to care. Were he not up here in isolation, he might have had a chance to rush home and start tampering. But he didn’t try that. Why?”
“He may not feel it’s necessary because he didn’t do anything wrong. Or maybe he’s not computer-savvy enough to tamper and get away with it. Or if he’s the killer and premeditated her murder, he did his tampering in advance.”
“Excellent point. Premeditation by someone who thinks he’s smarter than we are. He tampers in advance, then checks into Bellevue because he’s allegedly afraid the killer will get him next. In other words, he’s manipulating the hell out of everyone. And probably having a good time doing it.”
“I’m objectively presenting possibilities,” Benton said. “Here’s another one. He’s not the killer but knows everyone will suspect he is, and by checking into Bellevue, he earned the right to see me, to see Kay, and perhaps convince somebody who matters that he’s innocent and in danger.”
“Don’t tell me that’s what you really believe.”
“What I believe is he thinks Kay is his sanctuary. No matter what he did or didn’t do.”
“Yes, he has her because he can’t trust me. I believe my new moniker is ‘superbitch.’ ” Berger smiled. “Or at least I hope it’s new—the super part of it, anyway.”
“In his mind, you dissed him.”
“If you’re referring to when he called my office a month ago—like half the crazies in the city do every day? True. I wouldn’t talk to him. Nothing unusual about that. A lot of calls I never even hear about, much less take. He referred to me as a ‘superbitch.’ Adding if something bad happened, it would be my fault.”
“And who was it he said this to?” Benton said. “Marino? During their phone conversation last month?”
“It’s on tape,” she said.
“Hope that never makes its way into the press.”
“That certainly wouldn’t be helpful. Because something bad did happen. Very, very bad, indeed. There’s no question we have to be careful with Oscar Bane. Ordinarily, I’d be much more vigorous with someone in his situation. And by the way, I do suspect he murdered his girlfriend. It’s what makes the most sense. And that certainly would make his paranoia situational. He’s afraid of being caught.”
She picked up her briefcase as she pushed back her chair, and her skirt hiked up enough for him to see the hollow between her slender thighs.
“Without proof,” Benton said, “we shouldn’t dismiss what Oscar says. It’s possible he’s being followed. We don’t know for a fact he’s not.”
“That, Nessie, Bigfoot. Anything’s possible. Seems to me, no matter what, I have a PR bomb ticking, a legal bomb ticking, because we didn’t take him seriously when he called last month. And what I don’t need is the Little People of America picketing One Hogan Place. I definitely don’t need another problem. Seems I have more than my share. Which reminds me, and I’ll just say it.”
She paused to collect her coat, and they passed through the crowded cafeteria.