Match Play (9 page)

FBI Office, Los Angeles, California, Monday, March 25

A
gent Lou
Schein gathers his team in the conference room early Monday morning. He is dressed in a sharp blue suit with a red striped tie. Present is the four person FBI team and Dr. Nancy Cochran.

“No news has come in from San Diego, so the ball is in our fairway.” He sets down his coffee cup. A couple of the men suppress a snicker at the allusion. “The Kia Classic was held all last week and ended yesterday, and with no crimes reported, our guy is certain to strike before the LPGA leaves California.” He waves his hand at the monitor screen behind him that displays the tour schedule. “Rancho Mirage is his next opportunity.”

Agent Payne has assembled a crime board that exhibits the photos and other pertinent crime-related information from the Phoenix scene. “Sir?” Payne pushes a photo toward Lou. “I have a photo of a golf tee from the file. I didn’t read the description carefully until I was putting the crime board together. At first glance it’s just a golf tee from the crime in Phoenix, but when examined closely the tee is engraved ‘Carlsbad.’”

Lou picks up the photo as everyone becomes more attentive. He studies it carefully and reads the description at the bottom: “A golf tee was found in the living area, lying on the carpet in the proximity of the victim’s right breast. Pressed into the wooden tee is the words ‘Kia Classic Carlsbad.’ No connection was found to any individual or business in the Phoenix area.”

The tee is rotated slightly in the photo, with the word that is so important barely visible. But here it is: the tease, the clue he has been looking for. He has overlooked it just as everyone else has; too subtle. He looks up. Everyone already knows what he is going to say.

“It is certain he killed during the Kia Classic. This is exactly what I have been talking about; and it only illustrates further that this guy doesn’t even think we are in his league. And he’s right, we missed the clue.”

“I remember that tee,” interjects Nancy Cochran. “We noted the Kia Classic Carlsbad but never put the two together.”

Lou glances around the room, evaluating his resources. “My gut tells me it’s already happened. We need to get information and alerts to Carlsbad and the courses in the vicinity, probably all of San Diego County. Gibson and Phillips, get on that immediately. Let’s prepare for a couple of days on the road. Dr. Cochran and I will start at Aviara and work our way north. Payne goes east, Gibson and Phillips, you go south.

“Our artist’s sketch from our first victim’s golfing partners is vague but use it anyway; if anyone identifies this guy or he approaches anyone, they’re to contact us only. He is to be considered armed and dangerous. At the very least, the warning will encourage the public to pay attention; and if we have a suspect, we’ll let him play himself into our hands. We’ll just have to make the best of the false leads, and with such a vague description there will be a bunch of them, but we can’t risk missing him.

“The tournament officially started last Thursday, the 21st, and it’s unlikely he’s using the same name he used in Phoenix. Make certain the name Steve Johnson is noted on the alerts that accompany the artist’s sketch. Ask the pros to check their teeing lists. We should assume he’s driving. If he isn’t he’s not going to give us anything at the airports or other public transits, so let’s not use our time there; just have research run the usual checks. Anyone have questions?”

Shaking heads in unison, the team picks up laptops and paperwork and prepares to leave.

Lou leans over the photo on the table, studying it again and shouts, “Damn!”



Agent Schein and Dr. Cochran arrive at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad about an hour and fifty minutes later. After seeing the sketch, the manager tells them Aviara is a semi-private course, the staff recognizes most of the members and a guest has to be signed in by a member; therefore, it is doubtful that Steve Johnson played there. He looks through the last two weeks of tee times to make sure, but since the Kia Classic just ended he reminds them that spectators often buy tickets with cash. Agent Schein tells the manager that another agent will be interviewing him again and will request the credit card receipts for the last two weeks.

Schein and Dr. Cochran drive on to Torrey Pines and after an unusually long wait, they finally sit down with the course manager and an official from the LPGA. Both men are apprehensive and not particularly cordial; after all, the suspicions are an affront to the LPGA. The interview proceeds and concludes much the same as the one at Aviara.

The two investigators take the coast highway and stop at the courses near Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. When they reach the coast, the bright sun is shimmering on the ocean as far as one can see. Dr. Cochran watches the sailboats while Schein drives north. Between the highway and the ocean is some of the most exclusive real estate in Southern California. A fixer-upper beach house can go for millions.

Lou’s cell phone rings. “Lou Schein.” He listens and then clicks off. “I’ll find a place to exit and turn around; we’re going back to San Diego. He’s killed again.”

E
mily Cho
is scheduled for a crucial appointment with one of her sponsors early Monday morning. She is late and although the staff is accustomed to late arrivals, their concern grows and soon the San Diego Police Department is called.

“Please check on her,” they plead. “Emily Cho never misses sponsor appointments.”

The responding officers find nothing out of order during their peripheral examination of the property. One officer knocks several times, then looks through the small windows in the door and sees a torso on the living room floor.

The officers force open the door and cautiously enter with weapons drawn. It doesn’t take long, after the detectives arrive, to determine that this crime scene is similar to the Phoenix crime cited in the FBI alerts.

Agent Schein is perplexed. “I don’t quite get it. We won’t know for certain until we examine the crime scene, but it’s inconsistent with the pattern in Phoenix. The timing is right, but the San Diego PD is reporting a double homicide, and it doesn’t make sense.” He clenches the steering wheel in frustration. “We’ll know more when we get there.”

He pushes a button on his steering wheel to activate his hands free calling. He places calls to Agent Gibson, who is with Phillips; and to Roger Payne. He directs them to meet him at 4529 10 Avenue in San Diego. “All preliminary indications are that our guy has killed again. CSU is on the way. Dr. Cochran and I will meet you there.”

When they get to San Diego, they exit on Ocean View and turn onto 10th Avenue. They show their FBI badges at the street blockade, drive past several police cars and unmarked vehicles. The San Diego Police are awaiting their arrival. They flash their badges for the officers who are on sentry duty and are told the detectives are waiting for them on the porch.

Schein and Dr. Cochran introduce themselves to the detectives just as Agent Payne arrives. The detectives accompany the FBI into the house.

At first glance, the scene is remarkably similar to Payne’s crime board and both men look at each other with raised eyebrows.

Schein turns to the lead detective and asks, “You reported a double homicide. Where is victim two?” He is directed to a door in the hallway where an officer stands guard. He steps in and when he returns to the hallway, he asks the waiting detective, “Where were the appendages of victim one found?” The detective tells him there is another bathroom at the back of the house.

“All right, thanks. Your officers kicked in the door?”

“Yes, they saw the torso through the window and responded accordingly.”

“Very well, CSU and additional agents are in route. The FBI will take lead on this investigation. We’ll keep you abreast of developments, and we’d appreciate it if you would leave a few officers for supervision of the public.”

The FBI Crime Scene Unit and more agents arrive. Schein gathers everyone in the temporary command post that has been set up by the San Diego PD; just a canopy but it isolates them from the curious onlookers. He briefs everyone on what they will find inside the house and reviews the similarities of the Phoenix crime scene. He insists it is imperative not to overlook anything; the smallest item can be a piece of evidence.

He recaps what they do know: “Victim one is Emily Cho. The pennant in her navel displays the number two; we can safely assume she is the second hole. The Kia Classic ended yesterday and just as was implied by the killer at the first hole crime scene, another hole of the match has been played. Ms. Cho’s appendages are in the back bathroom; you will find her head and torso in the living area. Victim two is unidentified at the moment and her body is in the front bathroom.”

Agent Schein introduces Dr. Cochran, reminding the team she was on the scene in Phoenix and performed the autopsy on the first victim. Her expertise in this case results in Phoenix PD lending her to the FBI. He makes assignments, including giving Dr. Cochran lead on the CSU forensic team.

A tech finds a set of car keys in victim two’s pants pocket, bags them and hands them to Agent Payne. He goes outside and presses the auto lock on the key and determines which car belongs to the victim. He searches the car and finds her wallet and identification and hands it to Agent Schein.

They now know the identity of victim two. Schein announces, “Victim two is Mary Parker, age twenty-eight, lives in Santa Monica. I believe she surprised the killer. Her neck is broken; I have no theory for her missing right hand or the absence of her eyeballs. The fact that her nipples have been removed, as well as Emily Cho’s, convinces me they are the killer’s trophies.”

Agents Gibson and Phillips arrive and are given the task of making sure the families of the victims are informed.

The forensic team, under Dr. Cochran’s supervision, performs all the prescribed tasks; evidence is collected, samples and prints are taken, the bodies are identified, bagged and made ready to be sent to FBI headquarters for autopsy. The entire scene is photographed, and then photographed again, especially the writing on the chest. The
LA Times
is bagged and also the meticulously marked piece of newspaper on the floor close to the torso of Emily Cho.

Schein asks the San Diego detectives to contact a local lock company to secure the residence. Anything golf related is collected, bagged and marked, as well as Emily Cho’s clothing items in the hamper.

When it is determined that her keys and car are missing, several calls are made until they discover the car is found abandoned at Aviara.

The bloody towels in both bathrooms are bagged and marked. Samples are taken from each blood spot on the floors, the bathtubs, sinks; every spot is noted for identification.

Agent Schein has a reputation for reviewing the scene after it has been processed and today is no exception. He studies every bit of evidence for himself before it is disturbed. He takes copious notes; in his mind, each piece of evidence is pregnant with clues and he considers it a personal failure if anything is missed.

When the forensic team concludes their responsibilities, Schein makes another tour of the entire house, looking for anything they might have missed. He knows there must be an explanation for the missing hand and eyeballs, but what is it? After his inspection of the bedrooms, he walks slowly back up the hallway.

He reaches the front bathroom, enters and lets his eyes drift around the room. The tub is smeared with blood, and there is more blood on the floor beside the tub. He turns the light on and lets his eyes follow the walls around the room. It is then that he notices an irregularity in the pattern of the window curtain adjacent to the bathroom sink. He walks up to it and there, amidst a collage of red and green parrots is a smear of blood.

“Hey! Somebody bring me a medium bag!” he yells out the door.

Dr. Cochran quickly appears with the bag. Lou removes the curtain from the rod and carefully folds it with the blood smear upright and inserts it in the bag. He asks the coroner to mark it, then bends down and looks for more blood on the floor. After close examination, he is satisfied there is none.

He starts to stand when the face of the sink catches his eye. It is an old, cast iron, wall-hung sink, typical of a house this age. The front rim is perpendicular to the floor and about four inches wide. He cranes his neck, follows the rim around to the side that faces the wall and with his head pressed against the wall, he can see the wall side of the rim.

There it is! A single drop of blood has fallen on the edge of the sink but has not dripped to the floor.

“Dr. Cochran! Get one of those forensic techs in here with a blood kit!”

A technician immediately appears at the door with a kit.

“There’s a drop of blood on the outside rim of this sink, the side against the wall. Get as much of it as you can.” Lou points and steps back to get out of the way.

The tech is on his knees in front of the sink as Lou walks out. He stops in the living room and finishes another page of notes. His eyes slowly scan the room and satisfied nothing is missed, he closes his notebook. The totality of evidence is so overwhelming it’s like being snow blind.

The tech from the bathroom passes by. “How’d you do on that blood?” Lou asks.

“I got all of it, sir,” the tech answers, holding up the kit.

“Good! All right, Dr. Cochran, let’s secure the scene and get back to the office.”

In the car, after a few miles of pensive silence, the two of them discuss the murders.

“What kind of impressions did you get? Anything in particular stand out for you?” Lou asks.

“I think it’s interesting that there is no Aviara scorecard. He must be distraught; he wins but can’t brag with a card. He has no compassion, evident in the manner he leaves his victims. He will kill anybody who gets in his way. The absence of victim two’s eyeballs can only be a symbolic gesture, and it probably has something to do about her seeing him. I have a theory about her hand…”

Lou interrupts her. “I think there was a struggle with the second victim; she fought back.”

“You might be right about the struggle and the missing body parts seem to validate it. We’ll have to wait for the autopsy for more conclusive evidence.”

“Are you finding southern California to your liking? We have an open position in the coroner’s office, and if you like it here, I can talk to Tom Bachman.”

“It’s really beautiful, but I’ve lived in the desert a good part of my life and I love it. If this case wasn’t so compelling, I more than likely would have declined the assignment.”

She seems to drift off into her own thoughts, and Lou lets the discussion evaporate to concentrate on driving while mentally reviewing his notes.