A Deadly Game (29 page)

"One of the things that does come up, Lee, [is] why Scott doesn't appear for interviews," King asked. "Do you know why?"

"Yes," Lee began. "Well, he's very emotional. He would ... he would break down. He wouldn't be able to finish an interview. And he doesn't want the media focus on him, he wants it on having Laci's picture in front of the nation so that someone may report something and we can get her back in our family."

Then King asked Chief Wasden to comment on why Scott was still under suspicion "while the family on both sides stands by him?"

"We won't speculate in public, and we won't speculate in the media. We will follow through on that," Wasden replied. "At this point in time, Scott has not been eliminated from the investigation."

When Detective Grogan reported for work on Wednesday, January 14, he was alerted to yet another unreported phone call between Scott and Amber that was picked up the night before.

Unbeknownst to Amber, police were now tapping her phone as well as Scott's.

"It was apparent by listening to this recording of their conversation that Amber may not have told Scott Peterson she had made contact with detectives from the Modesto Police Department," Grogan wrote in his report. "Amber and Scott had also communicated by telephone on Sunday, 1/12/2003, and due to technical problems with the wire, we were not aware of what was said."

Investigators met to continue the discussion about Amber, the wiretaps, as well as concerns about the upcoming article in the Enquirer.

"Because . . . the information that was coming out in the National Enquirer quite possibly would include Amber Prey's name, and possibly other details about her (that we could not possibly know at this time), it was believed necessary to inform the family of her identity," Buehler wrote in his report. "There are computer generated reprints of one of the photographs of Amber and Scott together on 12/14/2002, during the evening of the formal gala they had attended, that we could not be certain were retrieved from family, friends, and clients of Amber Frey."

"For this reason, along with not wanting the family to be caught without this knowledge, it was agreed to inform them of this information," Buehler noted.

That afternoon, Grogan contacted Scott on the cell phone he used to talk with Amber Frey. Scott picked up right away.

Grogan could hear voices in the background. "Are you by yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Scott asked. "That photograph I showed you of the girl." "Okay. Should we be having a discussion or is Kirk gonna call me up again and say that it's inappropriate?"

"Well, I guess that's up to you to make the decision," Grogan advised. "He told me it's a dictatorship. Not to-not to talk to anyone, unfortunately."

"Okay, I just want you to know that I know who that is." Grogan was referring to the woman in the picture. "I know it's Amber, and I wanted to give you an opportunity, maybe, to talk to me about that." "Okay, well, appreciate the call. I'm glad I have-have listened to Kirk, though. But, yeah, we can't," Scott sighed loudly, "have any discussions."

"I just want you to know-that I'm not going to the media about this or anything. That's not happenin'. But I wanted you to know that I know that she's out there, and I wanted to see if you could explain it."

Scott interrupted the detective mid-sentence. "Yeah, I just, you know, really shouldn't talk so ..."

"Well, then that's fine, but you're not gonna see me on Larry King talkin' about it, okay?"

"All right."

"I mean, is there going to be other Ambers out there, Scott?"

"What's that?" Scott acted as though he could not hear the detective, just as he did whenever Amber asked him a difficult question.

"Are there other people out there, Scott? Other Ambers?" Grogan repeated.

"Other press people, or . . . ?" Scott asked at the same time.

"Well, I'm talkin' about other gals," Grogan clarified.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about..." Scott started.

Grogan asked Scott if his low-key attitude with the press, and his hesitancy to become involved in interviews, had something to do with the fact there were females like Amber who may have seen him. Instead of answering, Scott told Grogan that he'd discuss the matter with his attorney, and if McAllister agreed, he would set up a meeting.

The phone call ended.

Scott also spoke with his dad that day. His mom had already left him a message telling him that she was putting "a check in the mail" for his expenses. "I got an envelope all ready, and we're gonna be here," Jackie Peterson said in the message. "So the mailman hasn't come yet. Give me a call. Love you. Bye."

When Scott returned her call, he got Lee on the line. "Okay, how much do you need?" his dad asked.

"I don't know, not much," Scott told him.

"A couple of grand?"

"Yeah, that would be fine," Scott said.

"We'll put five in just for the hell of it," Lee Peterson said.

"Oh, great, yeah, pay some bills," Scott stated.

"Where are you?"

"I'm going to workout for a few minutes here at the club," Scott said.

"Good, good," his dad responded. "I told Mom how great your club was."

"Relax a little bit," Scott said. "I don't know if I'm pulling an O. J. by being at the club or not, but..." Scott was referring to O. J. Simpson's claims that he was searching for his wife's "real" killer when he was actually playing golf.

"I wouldn't worry about that," Lee Peterson said. Once again, Scott's parents were reinforcing the kind of anything-goes behavior Scott showed throughout his adult life. Go ahead, bang out at the country dub while your wife is missing. You had an affair? Don't worry about it. You can do no wrong. And, by the way, we'll take care of your bills.

In fact, to the police it didn't look like Scott was worrying about much of anything. Just days after he'd called to get the Playboy Channel added to his cable system, he had called to replace it with a seriously hard-core porn package, including the Ten and Ecstasy sex channels.

Interestingly, Scott's half sister, Anne Bird, learned that Scott ordered the "upgrade" on January 12, 2003, the very day he'd attended her son's christening. When the subject came up later with the priest, he couldn't resist a moment of dark humor.

"Must have been some service, huh?"

Officers monitoring Scott's calls made some notes of their own in January. During one call, a college buddy told Scott that the newspapers had been "brutal" to him. The reporters were "not his friends," Scott replied. "They can make me the biggest villain in the world if they keep covering it." As the monitoring officer noted, Scott's comment seemed like one you'd expect from a criminal, not a husband concerned about the desperate search for his missing wife.

In this period, Scott also called Sergeant Ron Cloward to ask if the officer had "any" directions for him. Cloward responded that there would be times when police "did things that people did not agree with." In some instances, he explained, they might even make Scott or his parents angry.

"Right," Scott replied. During the call, he did not appear to be affected by the comment, but later conversations would reveal a different attitude.

Scott ended the dialogue by asking the sergeant to call him if there were "anywhere else" he could look for Laci. It was as if Scott had suddenly grown anxious to convince the police that he was interested in helping in his wife's case.

In stark contrast was another call Scott placed to his parents' home. This time, Scott's brother Joe answered the phone. The media "is trying to make me feel bad," Scott told him. Of course, it's clear why the prospect of all this attention was such a burden for Scott. He couldn't appear before the media because he knew the scrutiny could only do him harm. Scott's obsession with the media may seem to have bordered on the histrionic, but in hindsight it's clear that it was just another of his self-preservation instincts.

Scott told his brother that he'd just received a call from Craig Grogan. "He knows that I don't take his calls because his caller ID is blocked, but he calls me from a different phone line. I don't know where he's calling from, but I can hear cars in the background, so I answer it. He's just throwing out all this shit, just for me to talk."

"What is he talking about?"

"They are just so searching for something, they are trying so hard. My attorney said yesterday, 'They have such a hard-on for pinning the case on you.'"

Joe missed the allusion. "He feels they have a hard case on you?"

"No, no, his expression was that they have a hard-on to make a case against [me], but these cocksuckers . . ." Scott continued. Grogan had tried to "throw some bait out" by getting him to talk about the headliner in his car, which needed to be fixed. "So he throws that out there and says, 'You know, I need to clear up a few things.'"

Less than eight hours before this call, Scott was asking Sergeant Cloward what more he could do to help in the investigation. I find it revealing that he would make such overtures to people at the top- including the mayor-but when it came to Brocchini and Grogan, Scott's true feelings were revealed by the choice words he had for them in private.

As Officer Jacobson would ask in one report, "Exactly what is Scott Peterson so worried about?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

JANUARY 15, 2003

At headquarters on Wednesday, January 15, 2002, Detectives Brocchini and Buehler were attending a briefing with Department of Justice Criminal Profiler Sharon Hagan. The topic: The explosive story about to run in the National Enquirer detailing Scott's relationship with an as-yet unnamed woman. Police knew that woman to be Amber Frey.

The group decided to inform Scott and Laci's families simultaneously about the story, which was due to run the following day. Lead Detective Craig Grogan and Detective Phil Owen would travel to San Diego to tell Lee and Jackie Peterson in person. Brocchini and Buehler would meet with Sharon and Ron Grantski in Modesto.

That afternoon, Buehler placed a call to Grantski and arranged a meeting at the Detective Division on F Street, the details of which have never before been reported. Upon their arrival, Sharon and Ron were escorted to a lunchroom on the first floor of the detective offices.

Buehler began by giving Sharon and Ron a very general overview of the case. He hesitated before disclosing the substance of the National Enquirer story, but when he did, Laci's parents were stunned. Buehler explained that the story was also expected to contain important information relating to physical evidence in the case. He didn't know how the tabloid had obtained the details, and cautioned them that the article might include some information the police were not aware of.

The press has always been both a help and hindrance to law enforcement. Publicity about an investigation can bring witnesses forward. Nosy reporters can uncover problems with a case, or even pressure a suspect to make a misstep that might ensure a conviction. The limits placed on the police do not bind the media, so we journalists often push microphones into a suspect's face and "offer" the chance to give a different take on the story. As in the Peterson case, these interviews can become critical evidence at trial. Sometimes, however, this power can cause problems for investigators. Evidence they would prefer be kept under wraps is sometimes exposed, and suddenly they have to respond to our timetable, not their own. Obviously, Buehler was not prepared to break Amber's story to the families, but now he had no choice.

Buehler admitted to Sharon and Ron that his team had known about Scott's relationship for about two weeks. He told them that Scott and Amber began dating in November, and continued to see each other after Laci's disappearance. Even now Scott was still in touch with Frey, and the two had spoken of a future together. When she had confronted him about his marital status, Scott had told her that he had "lost his wife" and that the matter was too difficult to speak about.

"Why did he have to kill her?" Sharon Rocha moaned, breaking down in tears.

Buehler sat motionless, eyeing Brocchini. No one uttered a word. Sharon Rocha's desperate sobs filled the room.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sharon managed to compose herself. The detective filled her in on additional details concerning the affair. Buehler pulled out three photos and slid them across the table. Two of them were taken in Amber's kitchen. One showed Scott and Amber side by side, the other captured Amber looking at Scott lovingly. The third was a photo of Amber in the red dress, posing next to a tuxedoed Scott in front of a Christmas tree.

As Sharon stared at the photos, Brocchini requested that she and Ron not tell anyone about Scott's claim that he had "lost" his wife. They could discuss other information they had learned with family and friends, to help everyone prepare for the media onslaught to come.

The detectives knew they were walking a tightrope with the Rochas. While they needed to be truthful with Laci's parents, Brocchini and Buehler didn't want to destroy any hope that their daughter might still be found alive. They assured them that the investigation would continue as a missing persons case-not a homicide.

Sharon confided that she was immediately suspicious when Scott first told her that Laci was "missing." Scott had yet to tell her exactly what happened that day.