A Deadly Game (38 page)

Based on everything they had heard so far, Jacobson noted, "Scott may be contemplating two things: (1) being arrested and jailed for a 'long time' or (2) fleeing the United States of America in an attempt to avoid prosecution. Scott has shown more genuine emotion from the separation of his dog than the loss of his wife, Laci Peterson."

Faced with no other choice, the police decided to meet with the district attorney and try to persuade him to file a case-or, at the §
  
very least, to stop Scott Peterson from leaving the country.

Early on January 29, the police recorded a call between Scott and his Tradecorp supervisor abroad. When his boss asked whether he would be attending a Tradecorp meeting in Mexico in the coming days, Scott said he would be there.

The call indicated that Scott might not be attempting to flee the jurisdiction, but was simply attending a conference south of the border. Still, detectives contacted Scott's boss and asked that he cancel any future trips for his employee.

That same morning, the second half of Scott's taped Good Morning America interview was broadcast. This time, Scott was shown seated with members of his immediate family. After viewing the program, Scott called his brother Mark.

"I think I may have, and it's entirely possible I told them wrong about the girlfriend on air." He was acknowledging that he had lied in saying that he'd told the police about Amber. Scott believed that Sawyer picked up on the discrepancy because she announced after the interview that police sources were disputing the statement.

"So, I screwed up," Scott said.

"Did you correct it today?" Mark asked.

"No, no I didn't."

"So, you misanswered [sic]. Is that what you are saying?"

"I must have. I did not tell the police about her that night."

That day, with no attorney present, Scott sat down at his home for a series of additional media interviews. During the tapings, he addressed the $250,000 life insurance policies he said that he and Laci had taken out on each other when they purchased their home two years earlier. He reiterated that this was done long before Laci disappeared.

Real estate was also on Scott's mind. Later that day, he also spoke to his friend Brian Argain for a second time about the sale of 523 Covena. Brian suggested that Scott speak with his attorney to find out if he and Laci were both on the title. If so, he might have to get the court's approval before selling the house.

By day's end, Scott was on the phone to the Modesto PD complaining that members of the press were banging on his door. When the cops arrived, there was no one in the area. The police learned that a radio shock jock had been outside Scott's home earlier, with a bullhorn, screaming out an offer of $64,000 to Scott if he would take a polygraph. Other reporters had also been on his property, rattling his gate in attempts to speak to him. By the time cops arrived, they had all dispersed. Detective Grogan was alerted to the situation, but his attempts to reach Scott by phone failed.

When Scott finally returned Grogan's call, the detective let it be known that he'd seen his interview with Diane Sawyer.

"You'll probably see it um . . . they caught me answering a question about that I told you about a girlfriend, but it's not true, we both know that," Scott said.

"Okay," Grogan responded. "Well, I understand there was a circus of media over there at the house too, and bullhorns ..."

"Yeah, we had a couple of shock jocks here screaming with the bullhorn."

"All right. Well how are you doing?"

"I'm losing it. I miss her ..." Scott choked up. "I got so much to say that I haven't been able to function at all, haven't called adult friends, just... I can't even talk but I'm trying. But I'm just a mess without her."

"Well, there is a lot of stuff going on right now," the detective sighed. "With the press and ah, I mean it looks like most of that stuff is kinda turning the wrong direction on ya."

"I know it, you know I did the press and every question I answered today I gave the website, the phone number, I didn't see any of it, but I'm guessing they didn't put a damn thing in there. It's just unbelievable. They're not helping me find my wife. And I know the dogs you brought out, they're looking for her right now. Yeah, they need to be, I need them so bad to be looking for her. Ah ... I need her back. Tell me there's some leads, tell me something there, to look for."

"Well, I'm not telling ya that there's anything that's pointing any direction . . . right now, that is, somewhere other than you."

"No."

"I mean . . . you and I both know what happened to Laci."

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"We both do."

"Craig, I need to know what happened to her. Are you telling me you know what happened to her?"

"Scott, I mean let's be serious with one another."

"Well I know where we're looking for her. And I think we're probably gonna find her over there in the bay."

"Oh."

"It's a matter of time."

"Craig, I had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. Hey, ah, I'm gonna go."

"Scott, what I'm offerin' ya is an opportunity here to end all of this nonsense."

"I'm gonna go find her, Craig."

"Why don't you come back here and sit down with me and tell me what happened."

"I'm not involved in my wife's disappearance. We're gonna find her. And I need your help doing that and I just hope your department's following leads. I want to find her, that's all there is to it. Yeah, I'm going now. Bye."

As January came to a close, the police were forging ahead with a renewed focus on Scott. By now, they had received 5,800 tips on the case. Scott, meanwhile, had sold Laci's Land Rover to Robert's Auto World for $7,500, and purchased a 2002 white Dodge truck.

Two women also came forward claiming affairs with Scott Peterson while he was married. Police found both Janet Use and Katy Hansen's claims credible. In addition, a third woman calling from the Las Vegas area was also claiming an affair with Peterson. While researching this book, I have heard references to other women- including a few members of the "mile-high club" who became intimately acquainted with Scott while flying overseas-but to date the reports have never been confirmed.

As Brocchini sought more information on the alleged affairs, Grogan sat down with Sharon and Amy Rocha to look through Laci's jewelry once again. The detective wanted to learn if either woman noticed any items absent from the collection. Both agreed that the only piece that appeared to be missing was a pair of one-carat diamond stud earrings Laci typically wore. Their claim was in stark contrast to Scott's statement that his wife had been wearing several valuable pieces when he last saw her on Christmas Eve.

Interestingly, Anne Bird told me that she'd been at the Harvey Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland when a pair of one-carat screw-back earrings, eerily similar to the ones that Laci had been wearing, was being offered for sale. Screw-back earrings are not very common these days, so Anne asked where the seller had obtained them. "A reliable source," she was told.

"Would you speak to police?" she asked, suspicious that the earrings might have been Laci's. "Yes," she was told.

Anne grabbed a brochure, then called Jackie to tell her about the earrings. Jackie contacted Sharon Rocha. As far as Anne knew, nothing ever came of the tip, and she learned later that the police never checked out the lead.

Now that Scott's infidelity was widely known, and allegiances within Scott's circles were being tested, Buehler set about re-interviewing Laci's friends in search of new insights. In late January he met again with Renee Tomlinson, Stacey Boyers, Lori Ellsworth, and Kim McNeely.

The women all recalled being troubled by Scott's healthy appetite on Christmas Day. They felt it "strange" that Scott began eating almost immediately upon returning from police headquarters that day. They were also troubled by his directive that no photographs of him be used at the volunteer center, released to the media, or used in any fashion during the investigation. He also prohibited any wedding pictures or video from being distributed and did not want any photos of him involved in the search. Scott was often the first to arrive at the volunteer center in the morning, but he refused to permit the media to enter until 9:30 A.M. He made it a habit to leave by 9:20. One day, when a reporter came in early, Scott demanded that he leave.

As the days progressed, friends reported that Scott remained "nonemotional," organized, and very much in control. He was able to recall different ideas and suggestions that were made, as well as the assignments that were handed out at the volunteer center. When one of the women asked Scott to supply photos of Laci's jewelry so that volunteers could show them to pawnshop owners around town, Scott simply ignored her repeated requests. Such controlled behavior clashed with Scott's claims that he was so distraught over Laci's disappearance that he was losing paperwork and unable to supply things to police.

During the long meeting at headquarters, all four women reported that until recently they had viewed Scott as a "good, attentive" husband. They based their impressions on his willingness to endure some of the "small irritations" that Laci thrust upon him. The consensus was that Laci was an incessant talker, and that her ceaseless chatter sometimes irritated those around her.

The women recalled that once, at a party, Scott had told a friend that Laci's talking was so constant that he sought refuge in the bathroom-only to have Laci follow him to the door and just keep chatting. The women agreed that Laci's constant jabbering didn't dull their affection for her, but they admired Scott for his patience.

Over the past few months, though, the women's opinion of Scott had changed. Conduct they once dismissed as "isolated" incidents of rude behavior had now taken on a new significance.

One friend recalled that Scott grabbed her buttocks at a party in November 2000. At the time she'd chalked it up to an accidental brush, but now she believed it may have been intentional. Scott also disturbed another of Laci's friends when he told her he didn't like her young nephew. Embarrassed by Scott's rude comment, Laci apologized, telling her friend that Scott was not accustomed to being around children. Scott reportedly told his wife that he saw nothing wrong with his comment. After all, the boy wasn't her friend's child. Besides, he claimed, it was nothing against kids in general, he just couldn't stand this particular tot.

And there was more. Renee remembered that the previous summer, when Scott was out of town, she was at the house when he called to speak with Laci. Renee overheard Laci asking him about the status of their health insurance, since she was in the first stages of her pregnancy. When Laci learned that the insurance wasn't active, she accused Scott of not caring about her and the baby. For weeks after the phone confrontation, Laci had expressed frustration over her husband's failure to take care of the insurance issue. It was the only time that Renee recalled her being truly upset with her husband. The women also agreed, however, that Laci regularly ordered her husband around in front of her friends, telling him to take out the garbage, change a CD on the stereo, and perform other jobs around the house. At the time, the women all thought it was "so cool" that Laci was able to give Scott directions without him getting angry. Now, they wondered what resentment may have been building up within Scott.

Renee also reported that Laci complained about Scott's recent traveling, as well as his upcoming trip to Europe in late January. At a party the two of them attended on December 7, 2002, Laci had been upset over the prospect of Scott traveling to Brussels so close to the baby's due date. She said she had even asked her husband to cancel the trip.

On another mid-December visit, Laci had complained again about Scott's increasingly busy work schedule. She explained to Renee that she was looking forward to a trip to Carmel she and Scott had planned for later in the month. Even though Scott's family would be there, Laci was eager for the time to spend with her husband. She hoped he would stay home more once the baby arrived.

Another friend, Heather Richardson, told Renee that she believed Scott never wanted children. Laci had mentioned having a three-way sonogram performed on the baby to appease Scott's concern about possible birth defects, and told Heather that abortion would likely be an option if any were detected. Laci's friends believed that Scott was pressuring her to have the test performed, and that the possibility of an abortion was his idea, not hers.

During the conversation, the women recalled that on December 25, while everyone was congregated at police headquarters for a press conference, Scott told friends and family that he would not be taking a polygraph. He said he had spoken with his father, who instructed him to speak to an attorney. Lee also advised him that he was too emotionally distraught to do well on the test.

After Scott's pronouncement, Renee walked over to give him a hug.

"Laci loved you so much," she told him.

"You make me feel so bad," Scott responded-a strange reaction, which Renee now took as a sign that he had something to do with her friend's disappearance.

Another friend, Kim McNeely, recalled that Laci had learned she was pregnant soon after Renee's baby shower. However, when she approached Scott excitedly about her home pregnancy test, he brushed her off, saying he was hung over from a party the night before.