QB1 (11 page)

“We worked out together after the season
ended when I was around. I couldn’t believe it when he told me you
guys had split up, Elizabeth. I asked what happened but he didn’t
have much to say. Then the contract negotiations soured and he
stopped coming around the training facility. I didn’t see him for a
few weeks and then one night he came over for a beer and said he
was pissed off, life sucked and he wanted to get away.”

“Do you know where he went?” I asked.

Benson said slowly, “Yea, I do…he went to
Mexico.”

“There is no record of him leaving the
country.”

“Didn’t need one. He took my boat. He didn’t
have a passport. Sailed down Baja.” I looked around at Roger and
Liz. We were stunned.

“Why haven’t you said anything, Matt?
Everyone’s been trying to figure out where he’s been for the last
month. It could be important in the investigation.”

“Well, for one thing, no one asked me and I
didn’t know they were looking for him. It gets me involved in this
and I don’t know much more than he left and then he came back. I
didn’t have any contact with him during that time.”

“I didn’t know Tony could sail a boat,” said
Liz.

“Yea, he sailed Lasers in the Bay when he was
a kid. I teamed him with a guy who knows the boat and Mexico. Tony
was crew. I’m sure he learned how to sail if he was on it for a
month. This is a 48 foot boat. I used to live on it when I was
visiting my parents in San Diego. You could sail this thing around
the world. You should find Jose and ask him what they were up to
for the last month.”

“Can’t you just call him,” I asked.

“He’s elusive. I get in touch with him
through the Marina. He’s in and out. I don’t even know if he’s
legal. That’s how he makes a living. Moving boats around for
people, crewing on boats. Great guy!”

“I need to get a hold of him,” I said.

“I can talk to the guys at the Marina, let
them know you want to speak to him.”

“I want to speak to him now.”

“He’s not going to want to talk to the
cops.”

“Do me a favor, call the guys at the Marina
and tell them you need to find Jose and you got some cash for him
to talk to me. Did the Marina guys see Tony coming and going?”

“I don’t know, maybe, depends on what time of
day it was. You can get in just knowing the combination. I don’t
know if anyone is working at night. There is probably some security
people.”

I looked at Liz and Roger. “I guess we’re
going sailing.”

Chapter 17

When we got back in the car. Roger got up on
his knees and whispered something in Liz’s ear.

“It’s a secret,” she said aloud. Roger again
whispered in her ear for a long time. When he was done, he sat
looking at her with pleading eyes. She leaned over and whispered in
his ear.

“Lydia Isackson?” Roger said aloud. Liz hit
him on the shoulder.

“You said you wouldn’t tell!” she said.

“You can’t trust him, he’s a liar,” I said.
“Lydia Isackson?”

“Now, I know, you are a little rat,
Roger.”

“Why her?” I said.

Liz sat staring ahead with a frown on her
face. “I haven’t got a good reason, just that she’s a sociopath and
always gets her way. I don’t think Miami was her way. And I think
she might have been having an affair with Tony.” She then started
to cry.

Roger and I looked at each other. “This is
going to get messy,” I said. “What do you know for a fact,
Liz?”

“Other than she’s a sociopath, nothing,
that’s why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Why do you think she was having an affair
with Tony?”

“She was fucking everyone else, she was
probably fucking Tony too.”

“You want to back up and tell me a little
more about Lydia Isackson, Liz?”

Lydia McCormack Isackson was a runner-up for
Miss Utah. A Mormon, she was the oldest child in a big family. She
went to the University of Utah and was the head cheerleader where
she met Paul Isackson. An English major, she was smart and
beautiful. The camera would often show her during football games.
She was active in many charities and was a well known face in the
Bay Area.

“What went on between you and Lydia, Liz?” I
asked.

“We got to know each other through the team.
They have various get togethers for the families. I didn’t know
anyone and she was fun to be around. When the games started she
asked me to sit by her and I got to know her other friends. I
started to realize that I had been invited into her clique. It was
like high school all over again only I had been brought into the
mean girls. Did you ever see that movie?”

“Yes, I know what you’re talking about.”

“I went along on some charity events she was
a part of. Lydia stays very busy with her social life and
charities. She’s very outgoing. Paul, is the complete opposite.
Lydia likes to have her clique around her, her camp followers. So,
I got to know her and the more I got to know her, the more I
realized what an asshole she was. She didn’t care about the
charities or even football. She just cares about Lydia. She hates
her husband. She thinks he’s an idiot. She has as little to do with
him as she can. As long as Paul gets laid, he’s happy. So she’s out
most nights doing her thing. Smiling in the stands for the camera
during the game. I quickly got to the point where I couldn’t stand
her. One day I was talking to Penny Cochran and the topic of Lydia
came up. I started saying she wasn’t a very nice person and Penny
unloads. Turns out most of the team wives who know her, hate her.
She’s a jerk but because of who she is, she gets away with it.”

“Okay, but a jerk capable of murder?” I
asked.

“Capable of anything. I don’t know, Tom. I
was thinking out loud. It just occurred to me. I’m sorry I said
it.”

I looked at Roger. “See what you can find
out. We can’t let this get out that we’re even thinking about this.
Holy shit, what a mess it would be if she did it. Do you think
you’re capable of being discreet, Roger?”

“Discreet is my middle name,” said Roger.

“Yea, right.”

Chapter 18

I called Tierney and told him we had a lead
on Tony and wanted to check it out in San Diego. In 45 minutes he
had a private jet waiting for us at the San Jose Airport. We flew
into San Diego and got a cab to the Marina where Benson had his
boat. No one around at 1:30 AM. I had the combination into the
Marina and the keys to Benson’s boat. I couldn’t see any security
but there were cameras around. Benson’s boat was spectacular. It
could easily sleep 6. We gave Liz the Captain’s cabin and Roger and
I hit some crew bunks for the night.

Up at 8 AM to coffee and donuts. Liz had been
up early and gone on a food run. I went up on deck to see what I
could see. The Marina was getting busy on a Saturday morning. Liz
and I sat together drinking our coffee.

“You sleep okay?” I asked her.

“I would have slept better with you beside
me,” she said.

“Then there wouldn’t have been much sleep,” I
said. She laughed and snuggled up close to me. “Better be careful.
I don’t want us on the front page of People Magazine.”

“I can see someone at the office, want to go
talk to them?” she asked. We walked to the open air office counter
that had been closed up tight last night. A guy sat behind the
counter working on a computer.

“Good morning,” he said.

“I’m Tom Mullins. We’re friends of Matt
Benson. I’m a private investigator looking into the death of Tony
Reilly. The guy behind the computer got up and brought us over to a
table under an umbrella while the other guy was helping a
customer.

“Yea, he left a message you would be in. He
said you were looking for Jose Padilla. Unfortunately, he’s not
around. I can find someone else if you want to take the boat
out?”

“I wanted to speak to him. Do you know where
I can find him?”

“He left yesterday crewing on a boat heading
for Catalina. I don’t think he has a cell phone. Maybe, the owner
has a cell phone number for the party that had the boat. I’ll give
him a call.

“I’d appreciate that, I said. “Did you see
Tony Reilly when he came and took Benson’s boat?”

“No, none of us knew anything about Tony
Reilly being here. We saw Padilla getting the boat ready. It was
gone a month and was back the other night.”

“You have security at night?”

“A service monitors the cameras and alarms
and patrol comes by a few times a night.”

“Did you talk to Padilla since he got
back?”

“I saw him and said hello but it was busy and
I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. He was off on another charter
yesterday. He works pretty steady during the season. He’s in and
out. He doesn’t work for us. He’s a freelancer. Hires on as needed.
We’ve never had a problem or a complaint about him from a customer.
”

“You think I’m going to be able to find
Padilla on Catalina?”

“Yea, they’re probably heading for Avalon.
Check with the Harbor Master and see if the Greta Jean is anchored
there. Meanwhile I’ll try and come up with a cell phone or a number
for the boat. Padilla also works with a service that places crew.
You can try them also.”

“How can I get to Avalon today?”

“Well, there are high speed ferries or
regular flights. You could hire a charter. You can hire a chopper
if you’re looking for a boat around Catalina, but I would try
Avalon first. Who knows, you may get lucky. I’ve got a list of
numbers you can call to arrange something.”

We were in the air an hour later.

Chapter 19

Padilla wasn’t hard to find. The boat was in
Avalon harbor and we got a water taxi to go out to it after we
landed. There was a couple on board that told us Padilla was with
them but he was onshore. “Try the bars, he likes to drink,” they
told us. We found him sitting at a bar in about 15 minutes, the
crackerjack detectives that we are. There aren’t that many bars in
town. I bought Jose a drink, got one ourselves and asked him to sit
down and talk with us.

“Tony Reilly, he a good man, my friend,” said
Padilla in heavily accented English. “He play American football. He
very good.”

“Not any more Jose,” I said. “Someone shot
and killed him two days ago.”

“Oh my God!” Padilla leans over with a string
of Spanish, blessing himself a number of times. He started crying.
I reach over putting my hand on his arm. People in the bar were
looking at us.

When he begins to collect himself, I point at
Liz and say, “This is his wife, and we are trying to find who did
it.” He comes around the table and gives Liz a hug and says how
sorry he is.

“I spend a month with him. Oh my God, I don’t
believe it.” He said, he got to know him very well and he became
his friend. Liz speaks to him in Spanish which surprised me. The
conversation goes to Spanish and Liz introduces Roger who also
begins talking to him in Spanish. I’m lost with nothing more than
my basic high school “kitchen” Spanish. I let Liz and Roger get the
story from Padilla. I nod at Roger and point at Padilla indicating
I want him to get the story. I walk outside onto a deck overlooking
the magnificent Avalon harbor. It’s a gorgeous day. I was surprised
to see I have good cell reception and call Tonelli at the SFPD.

“Tommy, how’s it hanging,” Tonelli greets
me

“I don’t know, brother, I haven’t had a
chance to look.”

“Maybe you should start prioritizing.”

“I should go back with the SFPD so I can
relax.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh, man.”

“Have you got anything new? I know you’ve
been emailing Roger, I really appreciate your help.”

“No problemo, man, you’re on the team for
this one. To address your question, we haven’t been able to prove
you or Elizabeth Reilly did it…yet.”

“We covered our tracks.”

“The FBI isn’t talking to us, but I’d be
surprised if they had anything. We understand he may have left the
country but there is no record of it. I’d say we had very little at
this point in the investigation. The terrorist angle is the most we
have right now. We’re chasing some leads, but I’m not confident
it’s the right direction.”

“Okay, let me fill you in on what we’re
doing.” I told Tonelli where we were and what we had learned. Told
him we were now in the process of speaking to Padilla and I would
update him in a couple of hours.

“Wow,” said Tonelli. “You’ve been busy.
That’s interesting. Why didn’t Benson tell us about the boat?”

“You didn’t ask him? Look Eddie, I got
something else but it’s a motherfucker.”

“I’m listening.”

“You have to promise me you’ll play this
close to the vest.”

“Tom, what do you have?”

“The name Lydia Isackson has come up as a
possible suspect.”

“Get the fuck out!”

“I suggest you take a look at her. She was
possibly, that’s possibly, having an affair with Reilly. Get her
cell phone records. Poke around a little. I don’t know how, but you
can’t let this get out. It’s probably nothing, but take a look. I’m
not going to mention this to the team. In fact I’m not going to
mention this to anyone. Eddie, we could do this ourselves but you
have more juice and I trust your discretion. Plus, you owe me
one.”

“Why do you think that she’s involved?”

“Elizabeth thinks she’s involved and she was
very reluctant to tell us. It’s just a hunch. She knows her well
and she just thinks she’s capable of anything. There may be nothing
there but you should take a look at her.”

“Why didn’t she tell us when we questioned
her?”

“I don’t think it occurred to her, initially.
It looked like a terrorist thing, remember? She didn’t have
anything specific. She thought Reilly might have been having an
affair and she thought it might be Lydia Isackson.”