Yellow Ribbons (3 page)

Greg’s hard gaze settled on her, sending a shiver through Lani’s body. “Suicide, maybe. But murder? You can feel the rage in that bedroom.”

“He blamed her for leading him astray?”

Mouth twisted, he stared into space.

“Okay, master guns, here’s what we’re going to do.” Take charge. That was her job, the part Lani had a love/hate relationship with. “I’m going to see what Jordan’s got. All things considered, it was a courtesy that he called us in the first place. I don’t care who you have to wake. I want you to find out who the husband is and what unit he’s with. I’m sure the neighbors can at least provide some information. Try not to step on any local deputy sheriff toes in the process. Contact the unit’s Key Wives and see if someone can take the children until their father returns. I’m sure CPS won’t have a problem with them going to a friendly, familiar environment rather than being put into the overloaded system.”

“On it, ma’am.” He tilted his head a tad. “You eat tonight?”

That brought her thoughts screeching to a halt. “No.”

“Good. It’s brutal in there. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it. I know I haven’t, and I don’t want to again.”

“Jordan let you in the crime scene?”

“Juarez is one of the detectives assigned. You know he doesn’t have the best reputation. Ron Pattison called Jordan and asked him to be eyes-on until he could get here. Sad when even your partner doesn’t trust you. Juarez didn’t say a word when Jordan ushered me inside for a look.” He fished a logbook from his jacket pocket, his cell phone from his jeans, and walked away.

Lani wrinkled her nose at that news. Anyone but Juarez. Apparently his partner felt the same way and was no longer bothering to hide his dissatisfaction at having been stuck with Juarez. Why else ask Jordan to back him up? Unless Pattison anticipated NCIS’s eventual involvement and made the call.

She second-guessed her need to see the scene, though. If the sight shook a hardcore marine like Greg, she was screwed. Since the victim-suspect was one of theirs, a look was all either of them would ever be allowed. Jordan wouldn’t have allowed it if he didn’t need their expertise.

As if he’d heard her mulling over her choices, Jordan stepped outside and looked right at her. A woman in her field couldn’t back down. On the surface, Jordan Beck was quiet, observant, methodical, and no one was a better special agent than he. She enjoyed working with him. His instincts were sharp, they had great camaraderie, and once a person got to know him, Jordan’s easygoing humor came through. Though she counted him a friend as well as an associate, Lani refused to show weakness of any kind in front of anyone. A woman marine officer in a law enforcement job? As much as the world might want to believe otherwise, it was still a man’s world. A smart woman showed she had the balls to handle it.

She stopped at the rear of the ambulance long enough to tell the girls she’d be right back and found Greg squatting before them, the girls spilling everything they knew about anything. Given his rapport with children, she wasn’t surprised. Of course, hearing confidences was part of who he was. Greg had an open-door, no judgment policy. People came to him. He made things better.

Lani braced herself for the inevitable clash with Benny Juarez and headed toward the house.

When she stepped up to the door, Jordan held out some disposable booties to cover her boots. He never said a word. His gray-green eyes said volumes, though, none of it good. She slipped on the booties and crossed the threshold, expecting chaos. Other than the normal lived-in clutter of toys, magazines, and life, the living room was immaculate and the picture of domestic bliss. Family portraits covered the walls, the most prominent being a picture taken of husband and wife at the Marine Corps ball. It usurped a smaller wedding photo.

Lani recognized the woman. Regina Whittaker frequented the gym. In fact, she’d seen her there earlier tonight; she just hadn’t known her name until now. Lani went to the gym to work out, not make friends. Maybe if she had taken the time to make friends, Regina Whittaker would still be alive. They would have spoken, not bypassed each other. A few minutes of chitchat that might have saved the woman’s life. Lani had no friends to speak of, with the exception of Cheryl Boyer, and that friendship was tenuous at best. As the deputy provost marshal, Lani had to keep her distance to avoid conflicts of interest.
This
was the cost.

She pulled in a shaky breath and focused on the scene. Two deputy sheriffs were doing a preliminary check, looking for possible evidence outside the primary scene to help support upcoming conclusions. Neither looked her way. The true business end of the crime was down the hallway ahead.

Wary of destroying evidence, she walked toward the bedroom. Cream-colored carpet pile was flattened from foot traffic but otherwise clean with no hint of anything other than the need for a good vacuuming. Halfway there the stench of death crawled up her nose.

“Any idea how long ago this happened?”

Jordan moved up beside her. “No clue. Kids have little concept of time as we know it.”

No, but they sure as hell knew fear.

Lani and Jordan went no farther than the doorway. Regina Whittaker lay spread-eagle, gagged and blindfolded with what looked like pieces of the lime green T-shirt she’d had on earlier. Yellow nylon rope bound her to the king-size bed. Her toes were pointed, fists clenched. Lani was glad for the makeshift mask. She didn’t want to see the terror that would have frozen Regina’s eyes open the moment she’d died.

Blood spatter painted the walls and cream-colored carpet. Pools of it surrounded her body. Lani couldn’t see the wounds for all the blood. The room itself was trashed—lamps broken, clothing in shreds, high heels ripped off shoes. Rage. Pure rage had driven this attack.

Tipton’s body was sprawled on the floor beside her; his eyes were bugged out. A gaping wound yawned from his throat. The butcher knife presumably used was near his bloodied right hand.

Something was off about the scene, but Lani couldn’t figure out what it was. She studied the knots and rope binding the woman. Little care had been given for her safety. Burns from the yellow nylon rope ringed her wrists and ankles. The knots would have tightened with every move she made, cutting off circulation. Either the two were amateurs, or binding her had been part of the murder. If it was the latter, that smacked of premeditation.

“How did you manage to get here so quickly, Mr. Shilling?”

The coroner looked up and lifted a bushy black eyebrow. Weariness deepened his crow’s feet. “Unfortunately, I’d been called to another scene earlier today. I’d just finished up there.” He resumed his preliminary investigation of Tipton’s body. “I’m putting time of death between two and three hours ago.”

“Call came in to an hour ago.” Jordan pulled a pack of peppermint gum from his shirt pocket and took a piece.

“She was at the gym earlier tonight,” Lani told them. “About six. She was leaving as I was walking in. We exchanged a polite nod, but that was the extent of any communication I’ve ever had with her. I didn’t know who she was until now.”

“So ten to fifteen minutes to get home. She’d have to get her kids, get them dinner…unless she had a sitter. Time of death between six thirty and seven thirty. Gum?” Jordan held the packet out to her.

She waved off his offer. “Anything else you can tell me, Mr. Shilling?”

Benny Juarez muscled his way past her. Lani cringed when she saw him. She’d been hoping Ron Pattison would be here by now and save them all the agony of Juarez’s presence. She’d had dinner once with Juarez by accident a year ago, both of them having shown up at the same time at the same restaurant. As far as Lani was concerned, it was one too many times. A pretty package hid the asshole inside. The man was too bossy, too much a braggart. He’d transferred in from San Bernardino, and word had it none of the local deputy sheriffs—especially Pattison—were pleased about that. Lani could see why. He was borderline incompetent.

“Not your jurisdiction, Lani.” He also had little respect for rank. “
Posse comitatus
.”

It was going to be a long night.
Drive fast, Pattison
. “I’m not here to enforce any laws or interfere with the investigation. The victims are Marine Corps family, and the commanding general will want as much information as we can provide. Trust me. I have no intention of doing anything to compromise this investigation. I was called to the scene by Special Agent Beck.”

He glowered at Jordan. “Which reminds me… Why the hell are you here?”

A subtle grin lifted one corner of Jordan’s mouth. “Your partner called me and asked for my eyes-on, since the deaths involved military personnel. I believe his words were… Well, that’s between the two of you. He wanted me to do whatever it takes to make this resolution seamless and speedy. Hence my calls to Provost Marshal personnel.”

Now whose balls are bigger, asshole
? “You were saying?” she asked of the coroner.

“Well, I wasn’t saying anything yet. I just got here myself. There’s so much blood, it’s hard to make a clear determination, though it appears as though we’re dealing with a murder and a suicide. He’s got cuts on his hands consistent with stabbing.”

“But with the rage involved, why take the time to tie her up first? And his throat—”

“So much for not interfering or influencing the investigation.” Juarez snorted.

“Give it a rest, Juarez,” Jordan snapped. “She’s asking relevant questions. If she hadn’t, I would have. I’m here at the request of
your
partner. In fact, I believe I was here
before
you, which begs the question… Where the hell were you?”

Alpha male tactics from Jordan Beck? That was…odd. Judging from the coroner’s glare, Shilling didn’t appreciate Juarez’s posturing either.

“Tying her up could suggest a sex act gone bad,” Jordan said. “From the look of things, they were amateurs at this type of sex play.”

Lani felt heat creep up her neck. She prayed she wasn’t blushing, or if she was, that no one noticed. She’d thought the same thing. Hearing it from someone else made her uncomfortably aware of how she spent her off-duty hours.

“Unless he planned this and brought everything, laid in wait until she got home,” Jordan added. “But the captain’s right. It takes a lot of force to cut your own throat like that.”

“Considering the viciousness of the murder, his rage was out of control. Adrenaline high, out of his mind…drugs,” she suggested.

“All possibilities.” Shilling studied the body. “He’s cut from ear to ear. Left to right. Doesn’t appear to be any hesitation from what I can see. Knife’s in his right hand.”

Lani pulled in a sharp breath. That’s what was off. She should have caught that from first glance. “Staff Sergeant Tipton was left-handed.”

“That is the dumbest… Look at this blood.” Juarez gestured wildly. “There are no footprints leaving the scene.”

No, there weren’t. Overlapping blood spatter made it difficult to determine if there were any voids created by another party. Once the techs processed the scene, they might come up with fingerprints or DNA.

“It could simply mean the killer knew what he was doing. Tipton is left-handed. That cut to his neck isn’t a slice of the jugular. It’s from ear to ear. After doing that”—she pointed toward Regina’s body—“how much energy would he have left? Why his neck and not his wrists or his gut? Do your job, detective. Investigate, don’t jump to conclusions.”

Snarling, he shoved between her and Jordan. “It’s time I talked with those kids.”

“Bullshit.” She fisted the back of his suit jacket and jerked him to a halt.

He spun around, breaking her hold on him. His eyes shot bullets her way; his face was mottled with anger. The bastard didn’t scare her in the least. She rather hoped he’d make a move and give her an excuse to take him down.

Lani got in his face, purposely baiting him. “The closest you’re getting to those girls is the distance you need to hear what someone else asks them. They’ve been upset enough for one night. They don’t need you badgering them.”

Lani shouldered him as she walked away, Jordan and his barely audible snicker right behind her.

Lani strode from the house, Jordan two steps behind her, smirking. Determination put an edge on his captain that Greg wasn’t ashamed to admit he liked. No one stood in Lani’s way when she got that fierce look in her eyes.

Juarez dogged them, looking pissed as hell. Greg was surprised he didn’t try to bully his way to the forefront. Something had gone down inside. He was sorry he missed it.

Susie and Amber lay slumped under Greg’s arms. Grief and exhaustion had finally caught up with the little girls. They were all cried out. He hated to wake them, but he didn’t want them to hear any of the conversation he knew was about to happen. He also wanted to keep Juarez as far from the girls as possible. He motioned a paramedic over with a nod, indicating the girls. Together they managed to lay the girls down and tuck the blankets around them. Neither woke. Then he turned and trotted toward the other three, trying to cut them off before they neared the kids.

Lani’s shoulders lost some tension when she saw him headed their way. He realized then her intent had been to keep Juarez away too. Judging from the glee on Jordan’s face, she’d probably threatened Juarez with castration if he dared go near them. The man was the king of assholes. Rumor suggested he might not be a detective much longer. Greg didn’t want this man’s desperation and incompetence screwing up the investigation.

Greg looked forward to Lani’s assessment of the crime scene and wondered if she’d noticed the same things he had. He’d wanted her to see it firsthand, make her own evaluations and judgments so they could dissect it later. He loved the way her mind worked—logical, precise, without prejudice.

“Status?” Lani asked, both of them coming to a stop before each other at the same time.

“Captain Whittaker returns sometime in the next few days. He’s part of his unit’s advance party. Of course, they can’t give exact dates over the phone. I’ve notified both command duty officers. Casualty assistance officers will be assigned in the morning. Staff judge advocate’s been notified, as have the commanding general and chief of staff. I still can’t reach Major Kenyon.”