Victims (7 page)

“What’d you do with him?”

“I arranged for anatomy lessons from one of the pathology fellows, had his parents buy him books on the subject, and got him to pledge to limit his interest to reading. He agreed reluctantly but let me know that once he was old enough to take biology with a lab he’d be doing the same exact thing and everyone would think he was smart.”

“Maybe we should find out what happened to this little genius.”

“What happened to him is when he was seventeen he went hiking in the Sierras looking for specimens, fell off a cliff, and died. His mother thought I deserved to know because I was one of the few people Kevin talked about with any positivity.”

“So maybe I’ve got myself a Kevinoid who never got help.”

“A grown-up Kevinoid still stuck in a childhood that could range from eccentric to highly disordered. The urges are durable and now he’s got the maturity and the physical strength to pull off a grand expedition. The precision I saw suggests he’s done it before, but I haven’t been able to find anything similar. So maybe up until this point he’s adopted the optimal strategy: hide or get rid of the body.”

“Why switch to show-and-tell with Vita?”

“He’s bored, needs a bigger thrill. Or the killing had to do with Vita, specifically. If you can find the ex-husband or the sister, they might shed some light on it.”

He said, “Sure, but first let’s see what mean ol’ Samantha has to say for herself.”

Armed with the fact that Vita had worked for Well-Start, finding her tormentor was easy.

During the time it took Robin to shower, I pulled up several photos on the company’s employee website, including a group shot, from last year’s “Quality Control Department” Christmas party.

Twenty-two unremarkable human beings who got paid to make life difficult for sick people. Not a set of horns in sight. No evidence of guilt eroding holiday spirit.

Samantha Pelleter was chairperson of the Celebration Committee and she appeared in three photos.

Short, pudgy, fortyish, blond. Mile-wide grin.

Being elected or appointed chairperson implied she had leadership qualities and that wasn’t at odds with her playing a dominant role in any harassment. But no way was she big enough to overpower a woman as substantial as Vita.

Leadership could also mean subordinates.

I called Milo again. He said, “Just found her myself, meeting her tomorrow at eleven. I’m assuming you don’t want to miss the fun?”

“Where’s it happening?”

“Her place, she’s on reduced hours due to budget issues. Sounded scared witless about being contacted by the police but didn’t put up a fuss. As to her curiosity level, we’ll see. Meanwhile, mine’s spiking out of control.”

CHAPTER
9

H
e picked me up the following morning. “Got your ear-plugs? She lives right near the airport, I’m talking flight-path hell. This is probably why.”

He handed me two sheets of paper. The first contained Samantha Pelleter’s credit report. Two bankruptcies in the last ten years, a foreclosed house in San Fernando, a slew of confiscated credit cards. The second page bore his handwritten notes: Pelleter had no criminal record, owned no property. County records pulled up a divorce six months prior to losing her home.

“Her title’s a mouthful,” he said. “Qualification consultant. Looks like that and chairing the company party supplied more ego dollars than the real stuff. This is a lady on the downslide and I’m wondering if that’s related to some sort of serious mental problem.”

“I found a picture of her. She’s small.”

“I know, got her stats. So she’s got a large friend. Maybe someone else at Well-Start who Vita accused.”

“A revenge killing?”

“Talk about a classic motive.”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t think so.”

“Don’t know enough to think.”

He laughed. “Like the engine ever stops running.”

Samantha Pelleter lived in a two-story, block-wide apartment building within walking distance of Sepulveda Boulevard. Aging stucco was the color of freezer-burned chicken. Incoming planes descended at angles that seemed too acute, casting terrible shadows, turning conversation moot. The air smelled of jet fuel. Not a tree in sight.

Pelleter lived in a ground-floor flat on the west end of the complex. The half-second lapse between buzzer-push and open door said she’d been waiting for us. From the look in her eyes and a freshly gnawed thumbnail, not a relaxed wait.

Milo introduced himself.

She said, “Sure, sure, come in. Please.”

The apartment was small, dim, generically furnished, not dissimilar to Vita Berlin’s place.

The woman Vita had accused of masterminding harassment was a shrunken figure with a quavering voice and the slumped-shouldered resignation of a child waiting to be slapped. Watery eyes were blue and so was her expression. Blond had mostly ceded to gray. Her haircut was short, ragged, probably a do-it-yourself. She fooled with the hem of a faded red sweatshirt. A misshapen glass pendant hanging from a thin black cord was her sole adornment. The glass was chipped at one end.

Brushing off the seats of the folding chairs she offered us, she hustled to a cluttered kitchenette, returned with a plastic tray bearing a pitcher, two cups, a jar of instant coffee, a pair of tea bags, loose packets of sugar and sweetener.

“Hot water,” she said. “So you guys can have coffee or tea whatever. All’s I have is decaf, sorry.”

“Thanks, Ms. Pelleter,” said Milo, but he didn’t touch anything on the tray and neither did I.

She said, “Oh, I forgot the cookies,” and turned back.

Milo placed a gentle hand atop her forearm. That was enough to freeze her in place. The blue eyes turned huge.

“Not necessary, Ms. Pelleter, but thanks again. Now please sit down so we can chat.”

She tugged an index finger as if trying to remove a nonexistent ring. Complied. “Chat about Vita? I don’t get it, all that happened last year, it was supposed to be over.”

“The lawsuit.”

“Not allowed to talk about it, sorry.”

I said, “Must’ve been an ordeal.”

“Not for her, she got rich. The rest of us—no, no, I can’t talk about it.”

“Her accusations were false?”

“Totally, totally, totally. I never did anything to her.”

“What about other people at Well-Start?”

“I—they—Vita was the most—I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to discuss it. I’m really not.”

I said, “From what we’ve heard, Vita had trouble getting along with everyone.”

“Ain’t that the freakin’ truth,” said Samantha Pelleter. Blushing. “Pardon my language. But she makes me so … frustrated.”

“Makes you? You’re still in contact?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no way. I haven’t seen her since. And I
really
can’t talk about it. The lawyers said anyone who stepped out of line was finished, it had already cost the company—” She placed a finger over her lips. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I keep going back to it.”

“It upset you,” I said.

“Yes, but I’m sorry, I can’t. I need my job, I need it bad. As is, they cut us back to twenty-five hours a week. So please. I’m sorry if you wasted your time, but I
can’t
.”

I said, “How about we talk about Vita apart from the lawsuit?”

“I don’t know anything about Vita apart from the lawsuit. What’s going on, anyway? Is she claiming something else? Not happy with what she got? That’s crazy, she’s the only one who came out ahead.”

“Was anyone fired because of her?”

Samantha Pelleter shook her head. “The company didn’t want more lawsuits. But none of us got bonuses.”

“Meanwhile, Vita’s rich.”

“Bitch,” she said. “I still don’t get what this is about.”

I turned to Milo.

He said, “Vita’s gotten herself in trouble.”

“Oh,” said Samantha Pelleter. “Oh, wow.” New, improved brand of smile. She went into the kitchenette, returned with a box of Oreos, picked one out of the box, and nibbled. “You’re saying she tried to con someone else with false accusations and got caught? You want me to say she was a con? I’d love to help you guys, but I can’t.”

“She was a big-time liar, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

“What else did she lie about besides the lawsuit?”

“We have scripts, are supposed to stick to them. Did that matter to Vita? Not a chance.”

“She improvised.”

“Oh, boy did she. Like with a flu-type thing we’re supposed to start by having them list all their symptoms. We take our time so if it’s not serious just their talking about it will show them it’s no big deal and they’ll change their mind about wanting an appointment. If they don’t, we suggest over-the-counter meds. And drinking fluids, because let’s face it, that’s enough in most cases. If they get stubborn or call back, we ask if they’ve got a fever and if they don’t, we tell them they’re probably getting better, time will heal, but if they really need an appointment we’ve got one but it’s during working hours. After they’ve been cleared by the nurse. If they want to pursue that, we put them on the nurse’s call-back list. It’s a system, you know?”

“Vita wasn’t satisfied with that.”

“Vita would throw in her own stuff. Give them advice. Like try getting your mind off your problems. Concentrate on something else, stress is the cause of most symptoms, take a look at yours. Once I actually heard her tell someone to suck it up, colds were no big deal. That kind of thing.”

I said, “How’d people react?”

She said, “They didn’t like it. Sometimes Vita would just hang up on them before they could complain, sometimes she’d stay on the line and let them complain. Holding the phone like this.” Stretching her arm. “Away from her ear, you know. You could hear noise coming out of the phone like
chirp chirp chirp
. Vita just smiled and let them go on.”

“Enjoying herself.”

“She’s one of the meanest people I ever met.”

“Did policyholders complain about her?”

“I’m sure they tried but it would be tough. We never give our names out and our extensions are switched all the time so no one gets the same consultant twice.”

“High level of customer service,” I said.

“It’s to keep costs down,” she said. “So really sick people can get care.”

“You saw Vita improvise. Meaning you sat near her.”

“Right next to her. If I was smart, I’d have kept my darn mouth shut. But it bothered me, doing her own thing, so I said something to her.”

“What’d you say?”

“ ‘You know, Vita, you really shouldn’t leave the script.’ ” She winced.

I said, “She didn’t take that well.”

“Actually, she ignored me, like I wasn’t even there—talk to the hand. But a few days later she looked real mad so she must’ve found out.”

“Found out what?”

Pelleter looked to the side. “I was stupid. Because I cared.”

“You talked to someone else.”

“Not a supervisor, just one of the other consultants and they must’ve snitched because Vita got called in to a supervisor and when she got back to her cubicle she had a crazy look in her eyes, boiling mad. Nothing happened until after the first break but then all of a sudden she’s all over me, claiming I’m—a bunch of us—are bullies, we’ve never treated her like a human being, are out to persecute her.”

“How’d you react to that?”

“I didn’t do anything, I was so freaked out. But no, I can’t talk about it. Please. No more questions.”

Milo leaned in close. “Samantha, I promise you nothing you say will get back to the lawyers.”

“How can I be sure? I never really snitched on Vita but she thought I did and that’s what started the whole thing.”

He edged within an inch of her knees. “We know how to keep a secret, Samantha.”

“Whatever … so what kind of con did she try this time?”

“I know you didn’t harass her, Samantha, but did she have any particular problems with another consultant?”

“No one likes her, what goes around comes around.”

“Any special bad karma with someone else at work?”

“Everyone avoided her,” she said. “But no one bullied her. No one. What’d she do that you’re so interested?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You said she was in trouble.”

“She is, Samantha. The worst kind of trouble.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She’s dead, Samantha.”

“Huh? What? How?”

“Someone killed her.”

“What’re you
saying
? That’s crazy!”

Milo didn’t reply.

She made a run for the kitchenette, stared at the fridge, returned, wringing her hands. “Killed? Oh my God oh my God oh my God.
Killed?
Really? Someone
killed
her? Who? When?”

“Who we don’t know. When was the night before last, Samantha.”

“So then why are you—oh, no, no,
God
no, not that, you can’t believe I’d ever—no, it wasn’t like that. I mean I don’t—didn’t like her but that? No no no no no. No uh-uh.
No
.”

“We’re talking to everyone in Vita’s past.”

“I’m not in her past! Please. I can’t stand this!”

“Sorry to upset you, Samantha—”

“I am upset. I’m totally upset. That you would
think
that? That you would—”

“Please sit back down, Samantha, so we can clear this up quickly and be out of your way.”

He motioned toward the chair she’d vacated. She stared, sank down. “I really can’t take any more stress. I’m like at the end of my—my freakin’ husband cheated on me with who was supposed to be my freakin’ friend. Then he left me with a pile of debt I didn’t even know about that lost me my house and screwed up my credit. Do you know what I used to have? A three-bedroom house in Tujunga, I used to have a horse I rode out in Shadow Hills. I used to have a Jeep Wagoneer. Now you’re coming here and thinking terrible things about me and if you go to the company and say those things I won’t even have my
job
!”

Milo said, “No one suspects you, Samantha, this is routine. Which is why I need to ask you—even though it’s a crazy question—where were you the night before last?”

“Where was I? I was here. I don’t go anywhere, it takes money to go anywhere. I watched TV. I used to have a fifty-inch flat-screen. Now I have a little computer screen in my bedroom, everything’s tiny, my whole freakin’ world’s tiny.”