A Deadly Game (34 page)

vanished.

After it was clear that McGregor was cooperating with the investigation, the police asked her to phone Scott and speak with him about the burglary. During the conversation, Scott told her not to worry about what she had done. He then advised her "not to tell anyone about it."

The detectives asked that she call Scott right back to tell him that she'd already gone to the police with her story. Scott said he already knew that, even though the confession had only just taken place, and then admonished her "not to talk about it ever again."

The police later reported that they found it "interesting" that Scott advised McGregor "not to tell anyone." In one of the recorded calls with his sister, Scott had referred to McGregor as "psycho girl." Maybe he expected such behavior from her. Then again, "this may have been a hidden defense strategy to deflect attention from himself to an unknown, mysterious burglar who may have had something to do with Laci's disappearance," Jacobson wrote. "Perhaps Scott realized with her confession to the police, she could not remain the mysterious burglar he had hoped." Or, he conceded, it could have been a simple "act of leniency" on Scott's part.

When the police formally notified Scott of McGregor's involvement, he declined to press charges. However, a few days later, police recovered a video camera behind a store not far from the Peterson's house. It had been thrown into a fifty-five-gallon drum used by local restaurants to dump their grease. Inside the camera was a video of Laci Peterson, including footage of her at a July 4 gathering that would later hold jurors spellbound as Laci came to life in the courtroom.

In the short term, however, the camera revealed to the police that Kim McGregor hadn't been truthful with them. They ordered her back to headquarters for a second interview and warned her to come clean-or else. Faced with the threat of prosecution, McGregor admitted to stealing the video camera and Laci's Social Security card.

She said she had taken the camera from the dining room and the Social Security card from Scott's dresser. She could not explain why, but admitted that when she awoke the following morning and realized what she had done, she decided to dispose of the evidence as quickly as she could. She'd forgotten about the Social Security card, but later found it and turned it over to police.

McGregor told police she was fascinated by the case and wanted to learn more about Scott and Laci. After leaving headquarters, the police wiretaps captured Kim calling Scott again to alert him that Detective Brocchini had asked her to take a polygraph. Kim felt Brocchini was trying to use her to get information from him, and she didn't know what to do.

"Taking the polygraph shouldn't be a problem for you," Scott said. McGregor was scared and wanted to refuse the test. Scott said she could, but explained that police "will think something is up and they start to look you know, looking at you harder, you might as well do it. I think they will be fair to you." To the police, the implication was clear. Scott, too, was avoiding the polygraph not because he thought the police would entrap him, but because he knew he would fail the exam.

The wiretap also captured another telling moment. On January 20, Scott played back the voice mail message he'd left for Laci on her cell phone on Christmas Eve, alerting her that he would be arriving home late from the marina. He listened to it twice, then saved it again. "Perhaps Scott is keeping his recollection fresh by reviewing his messages," Investigator Jacobson wrote in his report.

That weekend, Scott learned that the police had contacted Amber and were requesting that she submit to a polygraph. "When do you plan to take a polygraph with me?" Amber asked Scott during a phone conversation.

Scott said he still intended to take the test, but it would be a "clean" test from a private company because police polygraphs are "dirty."

In a subsequent conversation, Scott told Amber that he'd been sick to his stomach after this call. She shouldn't have to do anything for Al Brocchini, he raged; "he's disgusting, and he shouldn't even set eyes on you." Scott was also upset because he felt that Amber didn't trust him, and that she believed he was involved in Laci's disappearance. Amber said she'd heard things on the news.

"What, all of the other people I've killed?" Scott groused. Interestingly, during the investigation, the Modesto police were contacted by detectives in San Luis Obispo investigating the disappearance of one of Scott's fellow Cal Poly students, a woman named Kristen Smart. A six-foot-one blond, Smart was last seen on May 24, 1996, in the company of a male student at the college. When they realized that Scott had been attending Cal Poly at that time, the police investigated the possibility that Scott might be linked to the nineteen-year-old's disappearance. Speculation about a possible connection was also being discussed in the media. I was surprised to learn later that members of Scott's own family were privately wondering the same thing.

Amber said she didn't believe those stories, but she did find it interesting that Scott had a life insurance policy on Laci. She also asked him why Scott's dad was still denying their affair and telling the press that the pictures of Amber and Scott did not prove anything.

Scott said he didn't know, but he advised Amber that he was just down the street from her, and that he shouldn't be driving much further that evening.

Amber invited Scott to her home.

"What was that?" Scott asked.

Amber didn't repeat the offer. Scott sounded as though he was crying; to the police, the emotion seemed to be forced.

"Is it just because of me that you are crying?" Amber asked.

"It's just because of what's happening to you," Scott told her.

"In a very obvious manner, Scott wants Amber to invite him over to her place," Jacobson wrote in his summary of the conversation. "A very unorthodox move for a grieving husband who has been denying having a girlfriend. Not hearing the offer, Scott begins to act as if he's choked up and won't be able to drive much further. Amber asks Scott to call her when he finds a place to sleep. It's not what Scott wants so he begins to cry a little louder, telling her how much he cares for her and that he won't be able to think about her once he finds a motel. Amber doesn't offer her place a second time, and Scott terminates the call. Immediately after hanging up, Scott checks his voice mail. While listening to his voice mail message, lasting fifty-two seconds, Scott is never once choked-up, blowing his nose, coughing, crying, or making any other sound effect that would indicate that he was so severely upset that he couldn't continue to drive home."

To Jacobson, this was "yet another obvious deception ... an attempt I believe was geared at getting Amber to let him come over." He noted, "This once again goes to show the character of Scott Peterson and the real reason he chooses not to take the polygraph test or cooperate with law enforcement."

When Scott called Amber the following day, January 20, she told him that the National Enquirer had been asking questions.

"God dammit!" Scott replied. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, baby." Amber admitted that she'd given police the photos of the two of them together. Scott told her that the Enquirer hired a private investigator because they tried to hire his own private investigator.

"I see you're back to wearing your wedding ring," Amber noted. After a long pause, Scott agreed.

When Amber told him she understood because he was in the "public eye," Scott changed the subject, stating that he "feels sick." Amber pressed Scott about the promise he'd made to her several days after Christmas-that the two of them could soon start planning a future together.

"Okay," Scott said, pausing for what seemed like a long time. He then added that they couldn't talk with each other until the case with Laci was resolved. He also told her that he'd spent the night at a motel in Merced, where he learned that his home had been burglarized. In fact, he had driven home that evening and discovered it on his own.

Another telling call came from Kim McGregor, who phoned Scott after taking a polygraph to tell him "it was easy." The polygrapher had asked her to find out why Scott hasn't taken one, she said.

"Well good, you sound relieved," he replied. He then told McGregor that he hadn't actually been asked to take the test.

Kim said she was asked whether she'd known the Petersons before Laci's disappearance. She was surprised that her denial registered as inconclusive, since she really didn't know them before that time. The police noted, Scott didn't sound at all concerned when McGregor told him her test had come back inconclusive; it was obvious he didn't suspect her.

That evening, about 11:00 P.M., Scott called his parents in San Diego. His father answered the phone. After some talk about Scott's lawyer, Kirk McAllister, their conversation moved on to the break-in at Scott's house.

"They smashed up my French doors pretty good," Scott said. "I had to get them repaired." Even though Kim McGregor had already confessed to him, Scott told Lee he thought Laci's father, Dennis Rocha, might have done it while on a "drunken binge." He also speculated that Brent may have helped.

When Scott wondered if Ron Grantski could be involved behind it, Lee said he was betting on it. He asked if Scott had given the police the three men's names. Scott said he had. "I gave Dennis's name as the number one suspect," he added.

At one point, Jackie Peterson joined the conversation.

"I know it was one of those guys, Ron, Brent, or Dennis," Scott told his mother. "It was probably Dennis."

Jackie said she didn't think Ron was involved. He had called Lee that afternoon to express the hope that the two men could still go fishing together.

"This guy is a snake," Scott replied, adding that Ron didn't have a "good past."

'Oh, I love it when the pot calls the kettle black," Jackie said ruefully.

There were more enlightening interviews in the days to come. Detective Buehler tracked down David Fernandez, who had dined with Scott and Shawn Sibley at the conference in Anaheim that past October. David had originally intended to introduce his friend Eric to Shawn, but he soon learned that Shawn was engaged.

David said that Scott Peterson didn't seem to be deterred by Shawn's engagement. He assumed Scott wasn't married because of the way he was "hitting on Shawn." According to him, Scott made suggestive comments throughout the evening, and at one point asked Shawn about her "favorite sexual position." Scott pressed her about why she hadn't picked a wedding date, and asked whether she was really happy in the relationship.

David said that Eric Olsen was turned off by the conversation and left right after the meal. Scott boasted during the dinner about having a lot of money and a high salary. He told the group that he owned two homes, one in Modesto and the other in Southern California. These stories, also used with Amber, suggested Scott's clear need to elevate himself in the eyes of others-particularly women.

The investigators were also asking friends and family to review the events since December 24 with fresh eyes. Were there any incidents or conversations that may have seemed unimportant, but might have a different significance now that they knew about Amber Frey?

Sharon Rocha described a conversation she had with Scott about a week after Laci went missing. Although her son-in-law was "vague" about details, when he left home on Christmas Eve morning he told Sharon that Laci was sitting in a "little chair," combing her hair in a style that her sister Amy had taught her on the previous evening. Scott had never mentioned this detail to the police.

Sharon also told police that she was taken aback when she learned that Scott continued working out and golfing at the Del Rio Country Club after Laci went missing. She was having trouble eating and sleeping and could barely imagine a moment of relaxation or leisure while her daughter's fate remained uncertain.

In mid-January, Sharon and Ron had invited Scott over for dinner. Although he arrived late, he seemed to be "in a good mood." Scott told the group that someone had asked him earlier that day how he was doing and he had said "fine."

"That's the first time I've said that," he added.

During the meal, Scott prattled on about computer problems he was having, but he barely mentioned Laci. At one point, Sharon told him she'd been watching coverage of the case on the Fox News Channel. A fisherman being interviewed about Scott's alibi mentioned that shrimp was the appropriate bait for sturgeon fishing in the bay. Scott just shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

Sharon told Grogan that she had tried to dismiss Scott's behavior because she realized that if Scott was responsible, Laci would not likely be coming home.

Brent Rocha and his wife, Rose, recalled that several years earlier, after the funeral for Laci's grandmother, the family gathered to talk. At one point, Rose, Scott, and Laci began discussing their childhood. Rose was taken aback when Scott suddenly burst out crying. From his outburst, she assumed that his childhood had been an unhappy one. She later told Brent that she found Scott's display of emotion out of character, considering his usually reserved, calm demeanor. Scott's flowing tears suggested to Rose that Scott had not come from a "loving family."

Brent also described an early visit with Scott on December 25, 2002. He arrived at the house at about 7:00 A.M. to find Scott still wet from a shower and wrapped in a towel. While Brent waited, Scott went into the bedroom to dress. When he emerged, he told Brent that "he had a bad night."