“Normally I’d say that’s possible, no one’s memory is perfect, especially for small stuff like that. But Dan changed the log right after, dated, signed his name to the change. He may be wrong but to John Nguyen- and a jury-that’s evidence.”
Silence.
“Lara?”
“I don’t know what to say, Lieutenant.”
“Let’s put it aside for the moment, maybe you’ll figure out a solution-”
“Wow. My brain feels kind of scrambled. The psychologist who tested me said it happens under stress. I’m sure you’ve seen that, Dr. Delaware?”
“Of course.”
“What are you scrambled about, Lara?”
“The sequence. The reason I traded Dan-the first reason, wanting more experience-was the right one.”
“Not the part about psychological control?”
“That’s also true but it came later-an afterthought, you know? When the call came in, I couldn’t be sure it was going to be them but I was scared. Because they lived on the Westside-both of them, in Santa Monica -”
“Des on California. Where did Doreen live? We still haven’t found out.”
“Somewhere on the Westside, she never said. So it made sense the Westside was where they’d-where Monte would do it.”
“Close to home.”
“Don’t geographical profilers say that? Crimes occur in comfort zones?”
“That refers to the killer’s comfort zone.”
“Monte lives on the Westside, too, it made total sense. I just had to see for myself. So there’s really no contradiction. I wanted more experience plus I wanted psychological control.”
“Did you learn anything at the scene to help you up your control level?”
“I learned Monte was even worse than I imagined. He claimed he was just getting even, but then I saw that she’d been strangled, up close and personal. Saw that semen stain and knew he’d done something twisted.”
“You suspected the stain was Monte’s.”
“Des uses condoms and that kind of thing fits Monte-dominant, cruel. That’s why I pointed it out to you, Lieutenant. I was too scared to come out and tell you but I hoped you’d follow the trail.”
“Aiding and abetting me, huh?”
“Right from the beginning.”
“So you figured out the semen was Monte’s, not Des’s? Okay… um, how do you know Des used condoms, Lara?”
Silence.
“Lara?”
“Must be something I heard. Back in high school. Des was a huge player, everyone talked about it, how he’d jump anything with a pulse. How he carried condoms in his wallet.”
“We didn’t find any condoms at the scene.”
“I figured Monte took them.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He’s evil-maybe for a trophy, some kind of sick male dominance. Just like ejaculating on Doreen’s leg.”
“You’re sure it wasn’t Des’s semen?”
“I can’t be sure of anything. I just figured Monte was capable of something twisted like that. Killing Doreen, then demeaning her. When I pointed it out, I was hoping you’d analyze it, find out it was Monte’s, and that would tell you had something more than a simple murder.”
“One thing this case hasn’t been, Lara, is simple. Something John Nguyen reminds me every day. Now it looks like it’s not gonna close anytime in the future. Especially with that semen stain gone. What do you think caused that?”
“Someone here screwed up. It happens more often than you think.”
“A screwup as opposed to something deliberate.”
“Who would do that deliberately?”
“That’s what Bobby Escobar wanted to know.”
“Who?”
“Bobby Escobar, C.I., used to work here-the position you filled-before he went back to school to get a master’s. Well liked, so they let him come in after hours, work on his data.”
“He told you about the stain?”
“Basically.”
“Okay… good, so someone will look into it and hopefully they’ll tighten up procedures. For the chain of evidence, I mean.”
“That would be useful… but here we go again, Lara, with another annoying problem. Bobby reported to Dave McClellan that a couple of days after Des and Doreen’s bodies came in, he was here working late, happened to step out of his office, which is right across from the fridge-closet, at the exact same time you walked out of the fridge. That ring a bell?”
“Short Latin guy? Big mustache?”
“That’s Bobby. He went into the fridge, found one of the bodies looked like the plastic wrap had been messed with. Doreen’s. Dave didn’t think much of it, you were staff, maybe you were clearing a serial number for your paperwork. But now that we know about the stain, you can see what it looks like.”
“That’s all it was, I was checking numbers.”
“But someone else got in there and removed the stain?”
“Or it got washed away by accident, Lieutenant. That kind of thing happens around here, believe me.”
“I can hear John Nguyen groaning.”
“What do you mean?”
“See it from John’s perspective, Lara. You’re seen entering the fridge, the plastic’s disturbed, a piece of evidence is missing.”
“Maybe he did it.”
“Who?”
“That guy Bobby, maybe he wanted his job back, so he tried to cast suspicion on me.”
“Bobby’s busy with school and a part-time job.”
“He might’ve changed his mind.”
“Anything’s possible, Lara, but I wouldn’t even try to offer that to John Nguyen-hold on, let me shoot another one at you. A problem, I mean: Bobby was murdered.”
Silence.
“Lara?”
“Oh, that.”
“That?”
“I heard a C.I. was shot off the premises. I didn’t know it was him.”
“It was, Lara. He was shot in the head, same as Des Backer. With a.22, same as Des, no shell casings left behind, same as Des. Which makes sense, because the gun-the one with your prints on it-is a revolver, that little Smith and Wesson 650 we found in the box in the closet. So obviously we ran comparisons and unfortunately, the striations from the bullet in Bobby’s head match those from the bullet in Des’s head. I say unfortunately, because now we’ve got your prints on a weapon of multiple destruction. So to speak. Monte has an explanation for that-one that doesn’t depend on coincidence. Want to guess what he says?”
“Something that incriminates me. But he’s a sociopath and a liar.”
“Be that as it may, Lara, John Nguyen likes what Monte has to say. Which is that you were the
