The Shut Mouth Society (9 page)

“
What reason should I give?”

“
Use the ‘current’ part.”

“
It would be embarrassing for you to listen in.”

“
This is too important for a bout of modesty.”

She dug out her cell phone and speed dialed. “Hello, Greg. Trish.”

No wonder she showed reluctance to use his first name.

“
I got stuck in Santa Barbara this evening. I was wondering if you could join me.” She listened for a bit. “Play hooky. I did. Someone can cover for you.” Her voice turned sensual. “I’ll make it worth your while, and in the morning, we can walk on the beach. You love Santa Barbara.” Another pause and then she laughed seductively. “Yes, that too. Room service and the whole nine yards.” Another laugh. “Okay, maybe less than nine yards. Will you come? Great. Meet me at the Santa Ynez Inn. Ask for me at the desk … yeah, me too.”

Evarts quickly pulled out his copy of the encryption and snapped it in her face.

“
Oh yes, by the way, will you bring that envelope I left with you?” She paused. “No, I won’t be working. I just want to give it to a colleague at UCSB.” After listening a long moment, she said, “No, Greg, this isn’t an errand. Not unless you think what we’ll be doing is only a favor to me. If you do, don’t come.” Another agonizing pause. “Good. I’ll see you in about three hours.” She hung up.

“
You worried me with that ‘don’t come’ line.”

“
I had him.”

“
What’s his last name and department?”

“
Why?”

“
Because we’ll probably be tied up, and I need to give his name to the patrol officers. Also, I want to monitor campus police for office break-ins.”

“
Marston, Art Department.”

Evarts threw her a glance and thought she looked better than when he had first told her about Douglass. “You did well. I’m probably being overly cautious, but it can’t hurt. Now listen, I need to tell you what’s going to happen. Other than the killer, you’re the last person to see Douglass alive. When we arrive, a detective will take you someplace private for questioning. I won’t be with you. Can you lie convincingly?”

“
I think you just saw a demonstration.”

“
Good. I don’t think you should bring up the Douglass conspiracy stuff. If the murder has nothing to do with it, then it won’t harm the investigation. If it does, I’ll explain the whole thing to the chief later.”

Evarts stole another quick look at her face to make sure she understood. After she responded with a nod, he continued, “Douglass was an important person, and we have to control the news. Cops talk, and I don’t want him tagged as a crazy. Also, if this
is
connected to some grand conspiracy, I don’t want the perpetrators to learn how much we know. Are you okay with this?”

“
Yeah. What do I tell your detective?”

“
Everything except the conspiracy allegation. No Shut Mouth Society or encrypted codes. Just that I brought you up as a favor to look over a new Lincoln acquisition. Dinner was a social occasion. My attendance is ordinary. Tell her that you went with him to UCSB this morning to do some testing. Give her your credentials and don’t be modest.”

“
Her?”

“
Departmental practice. We question female witnesses with a female detective. Makes the witness more forthcoming.”

“
No good cop-bad cop routine?”

“
That comes later. And only for uncooperative witnesses, and you’re going to be the epitome of cooperation.” Evarts gave her a reassuring smile. “Now our immediate problem is where to stash you and Marston for the night.”

“
What will you tell the patrol officers?”

“
That you decided to stay in Santa Barbara for the night. You had set up a date, but you can’t meet him because you’re being interviewed. He’ll be treated respectfully.”

“
Seems like you have everything figured out.”

“
Except where you’ll stay. There’s a plate collectors convention in town.”

“
A what?”

“
Some people collect Lincoln memorabilia, other people collect plates. This convention fills every room. Dealers come from Europe and Asia. We like them. They’re a well-behaved bunch.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll get my assistant working on it.”

“
Separate rooms,” she said suddenly.

“
Excuse me?”

“
You may have never heard this, but I’m not in the mood.”

“
Great, you just doubled the problem. I hope you like Ventura.” He made the call and got more whining than he expected. His assistant reminded him it was high season and late in the day. He sympathized but told her that he didn’t want to hear from her again until she had secured two rooms.

After he hung up, he thought things through again. If this looked connected to the Douglass conspiracy tale, he would ask the chief to bring in the Feds. The chief would resist, but Evarts would remind him that the murder of a well-known black man in his predominately white city would be a national scandal. His mind had been racing since the news, and its impact suddenly hit him. He wasn’t driving to just another crime scene. He had been so focused on how to handle the situation that he hadn’t realized his own loss. He felt relief when Baldwin interrupted his thoughts.

“
Do you want to know about my relationship with Marston?”

“
That
would be none of my business.”

“
Just the same, I want to tell you. We had a serious relationship for about three years. Everyone assumed we’d get married, but it didn’t work out. We parted friends. More than friends, really. We get together occasionally, but now it’s not serious and we keep it quiet.”

“
Why are you telling me this?”

“
I don’t want you to think I’m attached to someone.”

Evarts threw her a glance. “Why’s that important?”

She looked out the side window. “Because I’ve been attracted to you since yesterday.”

“
You have an odd way of showing it.”

“
Self-defense. Men hit on me, so I’ve built a shield to keep them at arm’s length.” She returned her gaze to him. “When I was young, I went for the macho type. More to piss off my parents than anything else, I guess. But they always disappointed, so I switched to academics. No luck there either.”

Evarts cursed to himself. If only this conversation had occurred under normal circumstances. He knew that emotionally distraught victims often turned toward someone in authority for protection. He sighed. “This is not a good idea. You’ve been shocked and you’re scared. Suddenly you find a guy with a gun attractive. It doesn’t take someone from your psychology department to figure this one out.”

“
That wasn’t an invitation to a relationship.” Her voice had regained a testy note. “I just didn’t want you to have the wrong impression about me and Marston.” She leaned her head against the heel of her hand and looked out the side window again. After a long moment she added, “Besides, I’m not good at relationships.”

“
Work comes first?”

“
First or instead. I haven’t worked that out yet.”

Evarts needed to halt the direction of this conversation, but he didn’t want to preclude future possibilities. He was similarly unconnected, and Baldwin so far appeared to be someone he would like to get to know; at least when she wasn’t biting his head off.

“
Listen, we’ve both been emotionally rocked. After things calm down, I’d love to take you to dinner, but I should tell you I have my own warning label. It also says ‘Caution, Bad at Relationships.’ Only I’ve worked it out. I get absorbed in my cases. It’s not a professional hazard—it’s my personality. My partners say I withdraw emotionally, but to be honest, that’s not exactly true. I seldom get emotionally engaged in the first place.” He glanced at her, but couldn’t read her face. “If you want, we can talk about this later, but right now I have a job to do.”

Her silence extended for several miles. Just before he pulled off at the Santa Barbara exit, she said, “If that was an invitation to a date after this is over, I accept.”

Chapter 9

When Evarts pulled up to the Douglass estate, the gate was open but blocked by an unmarked police car. He ran the window down to stick his head out, but the duty officer recognized him through the windshield and backed up to give him entry. He navigated the narrow access road but couldn’t pull up to the front of the house because police vehicles of every sort blocked the path.

He turned to Baldwin. “Ready?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay. Deep breaths if you get nervous, but it’s all right if you’re shaken. Abe was a colleague and friend. Don’t make up anything. Just stick with the facts.”

“
But not all the facts.”

“
Stick with the facts, not the insinuations or gossip. Let’s go.”

Evarts opened his door and came around to the front of the car to wait for Baldwin. He took her by the elbow and led her up the drive to the front door. A patrolman stationed at the door said in a cheery voice, “Commander, the chief will sure be glad to see you … oh, damn; I forgot … you and Mr. Douglass were friends.” He looked embarrassed. “My condolences.”

“
Thanks.” Evarts reminded himself to stay professional. If he allowed his emotions to surface, the case would be taken out of his hands. Keeping his tone businesslike, he asked, “Is Detective Standish on the scene?”

“
Yeah.” He spoke into his shoulder mike and got a response in his ear. “She’ll be right out.”

“
We’ll wait.”

In less than twenty seconds, a woman appeared at the door, wearing a dark skirt and matching jacket over a white blouse. Evarts gave her a welcoming nod. “Detective Standish, I’d like you to meet Professor Patricia Baldwin. She and Abraham Douglass went over to UCSB together this morning. Could you take her someplace private and get her statement?”

“
Of course. I’m sorry. Were you and Mr. Douglass friends?”

“
Close acquaintances. Colleagues, actually.”

“
Well, you have my condolences. Could you step this way? I’ll make this as easy as I can.”

After the two of them went into a sitting room off the entry, Evarts turned to the patrolman. “Where’s the body?”

“
Bodies. This was a double homicide. Mr. Douglass is on the back patio. They strangled his servant in the pantry.” The patrolman looked puzzled. “You don’t know?”

“
No, but I’ll find out soon.” Evarts retraced his steps from the previous evening. Before he stepped out onto the patio through one of the atrium doors, he saw the scene through the glass and stopped in shock. He was still standing there when his chief and Deputy Chief Damon approached him.

The chief said, “Are you okay?”

“
No. That was my friend.”

“
Damn it, Greg, I need you,” Damon said. “The shit’s gonna hit the fan on this one.”

Evarts gave his boss a hard look and let irritation creep into his voice. “Just give me a sec, will ya?”

“
Yeah, sorry.” Damon didn’t look sorry.

Evarts tried to get his emotions under control. Abraham Douglass hung naked from a cross that faced his prized view of the Pacific. Several forensic specialists worked on the remains, but Evarts could see around them enough to know that he had been set on fire. He winced as his nostrils pick up the stench of charred skin.

He took a deep breath and faced his boss. “Has a time been determined?”

“
Early this afternoon. Probably close to 2:00
pm
. A neighbor called the fire department at 2:27 because she saw smoke on this ridge. We’ll get a better fix after the autopsy.” Damon suddenly looked embarrassed. “Sorry you had to see this, but the chief thought you better see the scene as we found it.”

Evarts turned to the other man. “Right call, Chief.” He took another look at the scene and then turned back to the chief. “Anything I should know before I talk to my men?”

“
There’s something I need to know. Can you handle this?”

“
Yeah. The scene just startled me for a minute. I want the bastards who did this, and I’m the best you got, so let’s get on with it.” He held the chief’s eyes until he saw him nod. “Now what do I need to know?”

“
Okay. We can’t find any evidence of robbery, except for a small amount of cash missing. Lots of valuables in the house left untouched. Looks amateurish. There’s some vandalism. Tore up some stuff, but it appears haphazard. Right now, it looks like a hate crime. Probably youths.” The chief stole a glance at the corpse and then returned his eyes to Evarts. “Were you here last night?”

“
Yeah. With Professor Baldwin, the woman I picked up at UCLA yesterday. The two of them went to UCSB this morning, so she may have been the last person to see him alive. I have Detective Standish taking her statement.”

“
Good. I want to see the report. Tonight.”