He shook his head then turned back to Scott and Karen. They were working trial strategy on the back deck that afternoon.
'Scotty, the D.A.'s got no motive, no witnesses, no nothing-except her prints on the murder weapon. We explain that, they lose.'
'He said if we can explain why her prints are on the knife before Monday, he'll drop the charges.'
'You ask her?'
Scott nodded. 'She doesn't remember holding the knife that way.'
'You don't stab a steak.'
'The alcohol and cocaine, she can't remember much about that night.'
'Not good. Well, here's how I figure this is gonna play out. Rex will put on a very perfunctory case. The 911 operator, the cops first on the scene, the detectives, criminologists, M.E., the lab tech to testify to her prints, and his expert. That's it. State rests. Then he'll wait to cross-examine Rebecca-see if we put her on the stand.'
'Then we call everyone who had a motive to kill Trey Rawlins and see if anyone breaks on the stand. Not the best trial strategy.'
'Only strategy we've got. And it worked before.'
'So it did.'
'Subpoenas were served,' Karen said. 'I got all fourteen returns of service.'
She tapped on her laptop then turned it so Bobby and Scott could see the screen, too. She had drawn a flow chart of the suspects and their motives and alibis.
'Looks like the organizational chart of a Fortune 500 company,' Scott said.
'More than a few folks wanted Trey Rawlins dead,' Bobby said.
'Let's go back through everyone with a motive,' Scott said. 'Make sure we didn't miss anything.'
'First couple, Tess and Brett McBride,' Karen said. 'Neither of their prints matches the unidentified sets at the crime scene, and they were confirmed at the Florida tournament at the time Trey was killed. Brett played Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, made the cut, and played on the weekend. He didn't leave Florida until Sunday night.'
'And they're still married, so he likely didn't know about Tess and Trey. Next.'
'Lacy Parker, our favorite porn star, and Donnie Parker, a moron.'
'Maybe he loves her for her mind,' Bobby said.
'Only if her mind's located between her legs.' Karen returned to her laptop. 'Their prints don't match, and Donnie was confirmed in San Diego that Thursday, saw a doctor for his rotator cuff.'
'Also still married. Next.'
'Riley and Vic Hager. Prints don't match. Missed the cut in Florida, flew home to Wisconsin Friday. Confirmed. Oh, Riley hates Wisconsin.'
'Still married. Next.'
'Brad Dickey, Golf-a-zon-dot-com. Trey's sponsor. Great motive-if Trey died, they could terminate his endorsement contract and save ten million dollars. And they did just that. But he was at the Florida tournament all week, confirmed.'
'They could've hired a contract killer,' Bobby said.
'A corporate marketing guy hires an assassin to off their marquee athlete?' Scott said. 'Where would he find one? In the yellow pages? Brad's just a guy trying to sell some golf balls. Next.'
'Royce Ballard, tour VP. They didn't want Trey to hurt the tour's image, true, but killing him?'
'Royce is just a lawyer. Next.'
'The construction workers.'
'No way a bunch of stoned roofers get in and out clean,' Bobby said. 'No prints, no DNA, nothing taken.'
Scott nodded. 'They just wanted his cocaine. Next.'
'Now the interesting suspects. First, Clyde 'Goose' Dalton, the caddie. A live one, no doubt about it. Trey fired and humiliated him then refused to pay him the hundred thousand he was owed. Good motive. And he had the opportunity. He flew from Florida to Austin that Thursday afternoon, arrived at five. Four hours to drive here, he could've been here at the time of death.'
'But his prints don't match those at the house, and Goose doesn't strike me as the type to sneak into Trey's house at night and stab him while he slept. He would've woke him up first, so Trey'd know it was him. Next.'
'Okay, the big three: the cartel, the mob, and the father. First up, Benito Estrada. Trey owed him five hundred thousand. He knew the layout of Trey's house because he had been there before. And he had access to professional killers, the Muertos. French doors were open, no problem for ex-commandos to enter the house, go to the kitchen, grab the knife, and stab Trey. And they wouldn't have left prints.'
'But they wouldn't have left her alive either,' Bobby said. 'They don't bother framing people for their murders.'
'No, they don't,' Scott said. 'I don't think Benito killed Trey or ordered it, but the cartel might have. They're definitely prime suspects.'
'But other than grilling Benito, what can we do?'
Scott shook his head. 'Nothing.'
'Next up, the mob. Big-time motive, millions in gambling debts then he wins that tournament he was supposed to lose, cost them twenty million. Doesn't seem like they'd let that slide. And they're professionals, too.'
'They wanted to kill him, no question about it. The question is, did someone beat them to it, like Gabe said?'
'Someone like Pete Puckett?'
'Exactly like Pete Puckett.'
'Motive, means, and opportunity. Confirmed presence at the crime scene that day. Billie Jean, sex… all the ingredients for murder are there.'
'And he's a hunter, means he's killed living things and he knows how to handle a knife. You can't be faint of heart to field dress a full-grown deer. It's bloody. Karen, read your notes, what those construction workers saw that day.'
She tapped on her laptop then read: 'The blonde girl arrived about one in a black Mustang, went inside the house. About five, a yellow cab arrived, and the big man got out, went inside. That's probably when Pete put his prints on the kitchen counter, but that's not when Trey was murdered. The construction workers saw the big man and the blonde girl leave ten or fifteen minutes later. So Pete and Billie Jean left the house seven or eight hours before time of death. They would've been back in Austin when Trey was murdered.'
'If they drove back to Austin.'
Scott pulled out his cell phone and called the D.A.'s office; he asked for Hank Kowalski.
'Hank, Scott Fenney. Where would a guy like Trey put a girl up on the Island?'
'Galvez.'
'Would you do me a favor?'
'Another one?'
'Call the Galvez, see if Pete Puckett stayed there the night of June fourth. They'll tell you.'
'I'll call you right back.'
He did.
'One room, one night. A suite.'
'Thanks.' Scott ended the call. To Bobby and Karen: 'Pete could've driven home to Austin that evening. Instead, they stayed overnight. Why? Maybe to finish something he'd started. Maybe he came back that night and killed Trey.'
'But would a father really kill a man just for having sex with his seventeen-year-old daughter?' Bobby said. 'Rape, maybe, but consensual sex? She's not a kid, and at seventeen, she's legal.'
'True, but Pete's pretty protective of her, and he's got a violent temper.'
'Fit of rage, I could see that, if he had killed Trey that afternoon when he caught them together. But coming back eight hours later, after he's calmed down?' Bobby shook his head. 'I like the cartel or the mob. They're professional killers. Pete's a professional golfer.'
