“What if Dean was acting on his own and somehow managed to switch Spalding’s medication?” Kerney asked.
“Give me the evidence to nail that idea down,” Ellie said, “and I’ll get a warrant signed today.”
Kerney shrugged. “It’s speculation, but worth looking into, nonetheless. Let’s say Dean bought into Claudia’s fairy tale about how unhappy she was with her hubby, and that Dean truly didn’t know about the confidential agreement. Maybe he decided, without Claudia’s knowledge, to set her free from her burden.”
“So he could claim her as his own,” Ellie added. “Good thinking, Chief. Now, tell me how we get from your theory to hard facts.”
Kerney took the check from the waitress and paid the bill. “I’ll have my peelers look into it.”
“Your what?” Lowrey asked with a grin.
“Peelers,” Kerney said, grinning back, as he slid out of the booth. “It’s an Irish slang word for cops.”
Ten blocks from the diner, a city police cruiser with headlights flashing came up behind Kerney’s car. He pulled off the road and the cop car followed, slowing to a stop when he braked and killed the engine. With his eye on the rearview mirror, Kerney watched as the officer called dispatch by radio, trying to figure out exactly what traffic ordinance he’d violated. He rolled down the window as the officer approached, his driver’s license and badge case in hand.
The cop took the license, glanced at it, handed it back, and looked at the open badge case Kerney held out the window.
“Captain Chase would like to see you in his office, Chief Kerney,” the officer said politely. “If you’ll follow me, please, sir.”
“Certainly,” Kerney said, wondering what he might have done to draw Chase away from his all-day meeting and require an escort to headquarters.
At his office, Chase greeted Kerney with a big smile and a hearty handshake.
“Sergeant Lowrey tells me you’re off the hook as a possible suspect,” he said.
“The truth is a persuasive argument for innocence,” Kerney replied.
“That’s for sure,” Chase said, settling into his chair. “Jude Forester said you came by and looked over the Spalding materials.”
“I did,” Kerney said as he sat across from Chase.
“Well, he didn’t show you everything,” Chase said, sliding a slim file folder across the desk. “That’s my file I keep here in the office. Have a look.”
Kerney scanned the contents. It contained Chase’s brief handwritten notes of conversations and contacts he’d had with Clifford and Alice Spalding over the years.
“There’s not much here,” Kerney said.
Chase laughed as he took the folder back. “What did you expect?”
“I was hoping there would be a copy of that newspaper article and photograph about the interstate traffic accident that originally caught Alice Spalding’s attention,” Kerney said. “It wasn’t in Detective Forester ’s file, nor were the statements of the cop and the EMT on the scene who confirmed that the man in the photograph wasn’t George Spalding.”
“It’s not in Forester ’s case material?”
“I didn’t see it,” Kerney replied.
Chase shook his head apologetically, but his expression was wary. “I haven’t looked at that file in years, but it should be in there. Maybe it’s just misplaced.”
“Probably,” Kerney said with an easy smile. “I guess it really doesn’t matter, since Spalding, his ex-wife, and their dead son are no longer of any concern to me.”
“Lucky you,” Chase said with a laugh. “Did you get a chance to talk to Lou Ferry?”
“Yes, last night,” Kerney answered. “But he was in too much pain to tell me much, and now it doesn’t matter.”
“He died early this morning,” Chase said.
“Good for him,” Kerney said. “That’s what he said he wanted to do. Hopefully, he went out easy.”
“In his sleep,” Chase replied with a nod.
“The best way to go.” Kerney slapped his hands on his legs and stood. “Thanks, Captain, for your courtesy and understanding,” he said, hoping it didn’t sound as disingenuous as it felt.
“My pleasure, Chief.” Chase rose, walked around his desk, and put a hand on Kerney’s shoulder. “Call me the next time you’re in Santa Barbara, and I’ll stand you to a drink or two.”
“You’ve got a deal.”
With the afternoon sun in his face, Kerney drove out of the police parking lot. At the very least, it had been an interesting two days, nicely topped off by Chase’s sly gambit to probe Kerney’s intentions and do some subtle grilling about what he’d learned from Lou Ferry.
Kerney decided to drive to the beach later on and catch another sunset. He also decided to start a background check on the Spaldings-all three of them-and Debbie Calderwood when he got home to Santa Fe.
But first, he needed to find an electronics store, buy a tape recorder, and dictate everything he’d learned about the Spaldings, Debbie Calderwood, and Captain Dick Chase while it was still fresh in his mind.
Chapter 5
T he next morning, Kerney’s flight took him over the oak woodlands and chaparral-covered hill-sides east of Santa Barbara, the evergreen coastal mountain forests, and the glittering low California desert. He changed planes in Phoenix and from his window seat looked down on the high mountains and rolling grasslands of the remote Gila Wilderness, which gave way to mesquite-covered desert scrubland cut by wide, sandy arroyos. It felt good to be going home.
After landing, Kerney went straight to his office. Within minutes, Helen Muiz, his administrative assistant, swooped in bearing paperwork. She immediately asked about his California misadventure, currently the hottest back-channel gossip topic in the department.
In her late fifties, Helen had worked for the PD for over thirty-six years, longer than any other employee, civilian or commissioned. Stylish, witty, and a grandmother twice over, among her many duties Helen served as the lightning rod for rumors, hearsay, and prattle that circulated throughout the department, all of which came to her sooner rather than later. She dispensed with it quickly, separating fact from fiction and squelching the falsehoods.
In private, Helen dealt with Kerney as an equal, which he didn’t mind at all.
“Well, are you having an affair with a woman currently under suspicion for the murder of her husband?” Helen asked from the comfort of the chair at the side of Kerney’s desk.
Kerney tried hard to act put-upon by the accusation. Instead, he broke into a smile and laughed. “Not guilty.”
“Does your lovely wife know about this?” Helen asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“Not yet,” Kerney said.
“I shouldn’t wait too long to tell her, if I were you. Some evil person might delight in putting a nasty spin on what happened in California, and feed Sara some misinformation.”
“Who would do something like that?” Kerney asked.
“Not everyone in this department loves you as much as I do, Kevin,” Helen said with a devilish wink.
“Name these malcontents,” Kerney jokingly demanded.
Helen laughed. “And destroy my network of informants? Never.”
She handed him a number of letters on department stationery, each neatly paper clipped with file copies and addressed envelopes. “Please sign these so they can go out today.”
“Perhaps I should read them first,” Kerney said.
Helen rose to her feet. “Good idea. Do you have anything for me?”
Kerney gave her the cassette tape of his recorded notes on the Spalding affair. “Have it transcribed and ask Sergeant Pino to come see me in ten minutes.”
“As you wish,” Helen said from the doorway.
“Did you buy any horses, or were you too busy professing your innocence to the police?”
“I got four good ones,” Kerney said.
Kerney’s open office door signaled that all were free to enter without knocking. Sergeant Ramona Pino stepped inside to find Kerney reviewing and signing letters. He smiled at her and raised an index finger to signal he needed a minute to finish up.