I said, “Some sort of payoff.”
“Unfortunately, yeah. Don’t wanna see her as corrupt, Alex, but one day she’s digging up dirt on Alberts like a hyperactive gopher and the next she’s gone? But even with that, why would someone want to kill her and cut off her arms years later?”
“Could be someone with their own mental health issues,” I said. “Last year, I read a case in a psych journal. IRS clerk in Cleveland, had problems with co-workers, quit and went on disability. Eleven years later, she walks into the office and shoots four people. People who see themselves as aggrieved can stew and seethe. If their lives turn out okay, they may be able to put it aside. If not, the anger festers. It’s the root of most workplace homicides.”
“So all I need to do is to find someone in Alberts’s firm whose life has totally dead-ended and who hears voices telling him to wreak vengeance. Problem with that, Alex, is Batchelder couldn’t tell me who else worked in the firm because for all the dough Alberts took in, it was a one-man operation. No other lawyers, just him and a bunch of paras and secretaries and Alberts was the sole defendant. So why would they be aggrieved?”
“None of them were subpoenaed?”
“Not that she was aware of but she said the Feds mighta done that.”
“And kept it to themselves?”
“That’s how it was throughout the entire investigation.”
“The in-crowd and the out-crowd.”
“She said Van Osler favored the Feds, basically gave her stuff to file, made her feel like a clerk, the whole assignment was a giant pain in the ass. In fact that was her guess as to why Martha retired.”
“Makes sense,” I said. “So maybe I’m off base.”
“Stop. It’s too late in the day for heresy. Can you give me more about what kind of personality would do what was done to Martha? And Lynne. Because despite Nguyen’s bile-based sermon, a connection is obvious.”
I said, “Someone who amplified whatever injury he suffered due to delusional thinking. It could’ve been as simple as losing a job and then having difficulty finding another one due to personality issues and substance abuse.”
“Paranoid doper nutcase with crap job skills.”
“Given the precision of Martha’s murder, a paranoid schizophrenic is unlikely. But psychopaths always blame others and that can lead to delusions of persecution.”
“So how do I find this gem of a human being?”
“You could try Mike Heck, see if he remembers anyone.”
“Actually, I couldn’t. Captain and all the brass hats are well aware of the lovely Ms. Bel Geddes and the certainty of a civil suit. I amenjoinedfrom further contact with Heck.”
“How about one of the FBI agents?”
“Batchelder recalled a couple of their names but I haven’t been able to locate them. Makes sense if they’re retired. Cops who leave the job usually want to be forgotten. Only reason I got lucky with Batchelder is she and her husband breed show horses and have a website. I did bring up the possibility that someone’s after everyone who worked Alberts. She said she lives on two hundred fifty acres with an ex-SWAT hubby, coupla Neapolitan Mastiffs, and an arsenal. Her exact words were ‘Let ’em try.’ ”
I said, “Contacting the FBI’s out of the question?”
“I’ll try it but they’ll probably stonewall me on principle and tell me to file a Freedom of Information request. There’s got to be a quickerway in but so far I haven’t come up with it—hey, you know what, I’m gonna send Alicia out to the facility where Alberts is housed, see if he’s actually that far gone. No offense to your friend.”
I said, “I’ve always found her reliable but go for it.”
“Yeah, yeah, probably a waste of time. But when the going gets tough, the tough turn to creative futility.”
Chapter
28
The following day, my schedule was open and I kept my phone nearby.
Robin had gone to her studio but she was back minutes later.
I said, “Everything okay?”
“It’s a gorgeous day and I’m feeling the lazies. You up for playing hooky?”
