“I put out an all-points bulletin for Mark Shelby’s car. When he showed up a few days later, I arrested him.”
“What did Mr. Shelby say when you told him his wife was missing?”
“He acted surprised,” replied Officer Jensen.
“Did he have an explanation for why she might be missing?”
“No.”
“Did he have an explanation for the way the kitchen looked?” the DA asked.
“Yes, he admitted that he’d had an argument with his wife because he had planned to play golf with his friends and he’d forgotten their anniversary. He said that Mrs. Shelby threw the coffee pot at him and he left in a huff. He said he put his golf clubs in the car, not a body. He also had no idea how Mrs. Shelby’s blood got on the knife, the refrigerator door, or the floor of the kitchen.”
“Now, Mr. Kincaid and I have stipulated that if they were here in court, the defendant’s friends would testify that they played golf with him at a resort in southern Oregon and that it takes about four and a half to five hours to drive there from the defendant’s house. Did I tell you about that stipulation a few days ago?” the DA asked.
“Yes.”
“Attached to that stipulation is a map showing the route the defendant claims to have taken when he drove to the golf course. Have you seen it?”
“I have,” Officer Jensen said.
“After I told you about the stipulation, did I ask you to do something?”
“Yes.”
“What did I ask you to do?”
“You wanted me to drive from the defendant’s house to the resort and see if there was any place along the way where someone could get rid of a body.”
“Did you drive the route?”
“I did.”
“Tell the judge the places along the way where the defendant could have gotten rid of his wife’s corpse.”
Officer Jensen looked at the DA uncertainly. “That’s going to take a while, Mr. Payne. There were an awful lot of them.”
“Instead of listing each one, why don’t you summarize what you found?”
Officer Jensen turned to the judge. “I drove through mountains with turnoffs for logging roads and campgrounds. There were farmers’ fields and the road goes along the coast, so you could toss a body off a cliff or hide it in a cave.” Jensen shrugged. “If I wanted to ditch a corpse so no one would find it, there were plenty of places along the defendant’s route I could have done it and still made my tee time.”
“Your witness, Mr. Kincaid,” the DA said.
Jake looked worried, but Madison knew her dad could handle anything.
“Thank you,” Madison’s father said, rising. “Officer Jensen, did Mr. Shelby appear to know why you were at his home?”
“No, sir. He acted surprised.”
“How did he react when you told him his wife was missing?”
“He did seem shocked.”
“Did you search Mr. Shelby’s car?”
“Yes.”
“What did you find in the trunk?”
“His golf clubs, a pair of golf shoes, other golf paraphernalia, and a suitcase.”
“Was the trunk tested for blood?”
“None was found.”
“Now, did Mr. Shelby tell you that Mrs. Shelby also had a car?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was it in the garage?”
“No, sir. A tan 2004 Camry registered to Mrs. Shelby is also missing.”
“When you searched the house, did you find that anything else belonging to Mrs. Shelby was missing?”
“Mr. Shelby pointed out that some of Mrs. Shelby’s clothes were missing from the closet in the master bedroom.”
“So it is possible that Mrs. Shelby, after getting into an argument with her husband, just packed up and left?”
“Yes, sir, that’s possible.”
“No further questions.”
“Any more questions, Mr. Payne?” the judge asked.
“Yes, Your Honor. Officer, did you do anything to try to find out if Mrs. Shelby went on a vacation?”
“We checked airlines, cruise ships, buses, etc. There’s no record of Mrs. Shelby traveling. We also checked the local hospitals.”
“This case has been all over the news,” the DA went on. “To your knowledge, has Ruth Shelby called anyone to let them know she’s okay?”
“No, sir.”
“Did she show up at her job? Call for a substitute?”
“No.”
“So, Mr. Shelby could have taken his wife’s clothing to make it look like she was on a trip in order to hide the fact that he’d murdered her?”
“Objection!” Hamilton said, springing to his feet.
“Sustained.”
The DA smiled. His point had been made. “No further questions. The State rests.”
All this talk about a missing woman made Madison start thinking about Ann again. Maybe she should just call the police so an officer like Officer Jensen could investigate.
After the morning recess, Hamilton presented his witnesses, who testified to Mr. Shelby’s good character. Just before lunch, the judge decided to grant bail. Her decision rested on the inability of the prosecution to produce a body.
Madison knew that the police and her father’s investigator were trying to find Mrs. Shelby or her corpse because the side that succeeded would win the case. Madison was torn between being worried about her former teacher and her dad’s chances of winning the case.
“Your dad is tougher than any of the lawyers in Max Stone’s books!” Jake said under his breath.
Madison was about to answer when she saw the woman who had been sitting in the back slip out of the courtroom. Madison thought that she looked worried. Just then the judge adjourned court.
“Are you going to say hi to your dad?” Jake asked.
“He doesn’t like me to bother him when he’s with a client. Let’s leave so we don’t distract him. He’ll probably be busy arranging to have bail posted as quickly as possible so Mr. Shelby can get out of jail. I’ll tell him tonight that we were in court.”
Jake wanted to eat lunch and Madison suggested the food court at the Pioneer Square Mall in the center of downtown Portland, a few blocks north of the courthouse. On the way over, Jake chatted excitedly about the bail hearing, but Madison only half listened. Something about the woman with the curly blond hair bothered her, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
Just before they sat down to eat, Madison figured it out. She was certain that the woman was not Mrs. Shelby, but she looked enough like her to be her sister.
