'Susan was concerned about the tone of the questions about the victim's
marriage. She got the impression that the police might be looking in
only one direction.'
I tried to assure him that the police, if anything, were leaning
against the husband as a suspect. I told him about Melvin Jackson and
the search for any sex offenders near the crime scene.
'Why did the police ask Dr. Easterbrook to take a polygraph last
night?'
'They didn't. They've mentioned the possibility, but we haven't made a
decision about whether that's the right way to go yet.'
'Maybe you've got some mixed signals. Susan Kerr tells me that the
police, in addition to being very curious about the state of the
Easterbrooks' marriage, asked the husband for a poly last night, just
minutes after telling him that his wife's body had been found. That's
why she was upset enough to call me.'
'Shit. Well, she didn't mention it to me, and she just left me a
message this morning.'
'She thought it would be best not to put you in an awkward position
between her and your detectives, so she brought her concerns to me.'
'I don't know what to say, Duncan. I'll ask the MCT guys about it.'
'Good. I need you to be the woman you're being today on this,
Samantha, the person who came in here for your interview; not the
hothead who puts a line of attorneys outside my door complaining about
bad behavior.'
It has never been a line: a slow dribble, maybe. 'I only know how to
be one person, sir.'
'Dammit, Sam. You know what I mean. I'm just warning you, you're
dealing with some very influential people on this one who don't look
kindly on mistakes. In addition to Mrs. Kerr, you've got Townsend
Easterbrook. Let me be clear: If he's the guy, you crush him. But not
until there's good reason to. He's not your typical perp who's used to
being thrown against the car and frisked for looking the wrong way.
He's the chief administrative surgeon at OHSU. For Christ's sake, the
man singlehandedly got the hospital's pediatric transplant wing off the
ground again after everyone wrote the project off as dead. He's Mother
Teresa with a penis.'
'So you're asking me to give these people special treatment.' It
wasn't a question.
'If you could even begin to think like a realist, you'd know I was
asking you to give them the expected treatment.'
There was no use putting up a fight over this, since I'd already been
treating Townsend and Susan 'as expected.' I assured him I got the
message, loud and clear.
Back at my desk, I put in a page to Johnson. Why hadn't he told me
about the polygraph? My phone sat silent, though, as I finished
screening duty with just a few more strokes of the pen. I couldn't
wait here all day for him to call it was time to get my hands on
Clarissa's files.
I got lucky. My first choice judge, David Lesh, had just finished a
plea and was working in his chambers. Lesh was a former prosecutor. He
was also a former employee of the City Attorney's Office, but his job
there was to advise the police. He wouldn't look kindly on Dennis
Coakley's obstructionism.
He gave me a warm welcome. 'Get in here, Kincaid. I haven't seen you
since all hell broke loose. How are you holding up? You look
great.'
'Thanks, Judge.' Lesh was a regular fixture on the happy-hour circuit
and an absolute nut, but his position required certain formalities.
'I'm doing surprisingly well. I took some time off, and now I'm in the
Major Crimes Unit.'
'Well, good for you. You deserve it. If it means anything, I think
you did a great job in the Derringer trial.'
His delivery, without an iota of irony, evoked a sharp laugh from me.
An actual guffaw. 'Oh, yeah, ended beautifully,' I said.
'At least you've got a sense of humor about it. So what are you here
for?'
'I'm working on the Clarissa Easterbrook case.'
His tone changed markedly, as was Lesh's way. Irreverence always took
a backseat to the things that mattered. 'I heard about that this
morning. The saddest thing. She was such a nice woman. Did you know
her?'
'No, but I did meet her once. I guess you knew her from the City
Attorney's Office.'
'Not from work so much as just being around City Hall together. She
was a really great gal, the kind of person who genuinely wanted to hear
