Women are good at playacting because we're constantly
having to fake orgasms."
The remark was meant to insult him. It didn't. But
it pissed him off. "Women with penis envy."
"Ah, that was a pretty good comeback, Hammond,"
she said, raising her glass in a mock salute.
"With practice, you might develop into a real jerk."
Smilow, who had been following this repartee
with divided attention, said, "Much as it pains me, I
tend to agree with Hammond."
"You think I have penis envy?"
He didn't even crack a smile. "I agree with him
that Ladd's shock was the real article."
"You're sharing an opinion with Hammond?
That's almost as shocking as your sharing a table,"
she said.
The lobby bar at the Charles Towne Plaza was
packed to capacity with the happy hour crowd. Even
though the hotel was across town from police headquarters,
it had seemed a fitting place for them to
meet and discuss Alex's interrogation.
Tourists, whether or not they were registered
guests, shopped in the boutiques that rimmed the
lobby. They photographed the impressive staircase
and the chandelier it embraced. They photographed
each other.
Two barefoot women wrapped in hotel bathrobes,
their heads swathed in towels, giggled as they
avoided being caught in a snapshot. Following Hammond's
empty gaze, Steffi said, "Ridiculous to walk
around like that for the sake of a beauty treatment.
Can you imagine what Pettijohn must have looked
like stamping through here like that?"
"Huh?"
"Where are you, Hammond, lost in space?" she
asked irritably.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking."
He hadn't noticed the robed women. He had
barely noticed anything since leaving Smilow's office.
He was thinking about her. About Alex Ladd and
her reaction to how Pettijohn died.
She had seemed genuinely shocked, making him
hopeful that she was right about Mr. Daniels when
she surmised that he had noticed her in the hotel, but
he was mistaken about when and where.
Hopeful of having an ally in Smilow, he leaned
across the table, propping his forearms on the edge of
it. "You said you agree with me. How so? How do
you read it?"
"I think she's clever enough to fake her surprise
and make it appear real. For whatever reason, I don't
know. Yet. But it's not her surprised reaction that concerns
me so much as her story."
"We're listening," Steffi said.
"If she had popped Pettijohn, wouldn't she have
left the hotel and immediately sought to establish an
alibi?"
Striving for nonchalance, Hammond reached for
his glass of bourbon and water. "Interesting notion.
Care to expound?"
"They can place time of death with amazing accuracy.
Within minutes, in fact."
"Between five-forty-five and six o'clock," Hammond
said. Upon seeing that in the autopsy report, he
had been overwhelmingly relieved. Alex couldn't
possibly be the murderer because she couldn't have
been two places at one time. "Dr. Ladd said she left
no later than five-thirty."
"Too close for comfort," Smilow said. "A good
prosecutor like you would manipulate that time
frame, allow for a margin of error. But, given that we
don't know exactly what time she got her car from
the lot, Frank Perkins could chop that time line like a
salami and use it to establish reasonable doubt. But it
would only work if--"
"I see where you're going--" Steffi interjected.
"If Dr. Ladd had an excellent--"
"Alibi."
While Steffi and Smilow talked over one another,
Hammond took another drink. The whiskey stung his
throat. "Makes sense," he said huskily.
Smilow frowned. "The problem I have with her
story is that she didn't have an alibi. She says she
went to Hilton Head and talked to no one who could
corroborate that."
"I'm confused," Steffi said. "Are you thinking that
by not having an alibi, she appears more innocent
than if she did?"
The detective looked across at her. "Not exactly.
But it makes me wonder if she's waiting to see how
far this goes before springing an alibi on us."
"Like she's holding one in reserve just in case?"
"Something like that."
Hammond, who had listened while they unknowingly
played upon his greatest fear, joined in the
speculation. "What makes you think she's got this
standby alibi?"
"Did you mean to rhyme?" Steffi asked.
"No," he replied, irritated with her because he
wanted to hear Smilow's thoughts. "You were saying?"
"I was saying what I've said from the beginning,"
Smilow explained. "She's not nervous. From the time
she answered her door and saw me and those cops on
her porch, until Frank escorted her out a half hour
ago, she was too unruffled to be completely innocent.
"Innocent people can't wait to convince you of
their innocence," he continued. "They chatter nervously.
They elaborate and expand their stories with
each telling. They tell you more than you ask to
know. Accomplished liars stick to the basics and are
usually the most composed."
"It's a sound theory," Hammond said. "But it's not
foolproof. Being a psychologist, wouldn't Dr. Ladd
have a tighter grip on her emotions than the average
person? She must hear shocking things when she's
treating patients. Wouldn't she know how to screen
her reactions?"
"Possibly," Smilow said. Hammond didn't like the
detective's smile, and within seconds he learned why
he seemed so complacent. "But Dr. Ladd is lying. I
know that for fact."
Steffi leaned forward so eagerly she almost spilled
her drink. "What fact?"
Bending down, Smilow took a newspaper from his
briefcase. "She must have missed this item in this
morning's news."
He had used a red marker to circle the story. It
wasn't that long, but to Hammond it was a devastating
four paragraphs.
"Harbour Town evacuated," Steffi read aloud.
Smilow provided a summary. "Last Saturday
evening there was a fire aboard one of the yachts
moored in the harbor. The wind was up. Sparks were
blown onto trees and awnings around the marina. As
a safety precaution, the fire department cleared
everyone out. Even people aboard other boats and
those who were staying in the condos were evacuated.
"The fire was extinguished before it could do too
much damage. But that's some of the most expensive
real estate in the country. Firemen were taking no
chances. They closed Lighthouse Road to incoming
traffic and put the whole area through an extensive
check. Essentially Harbour Town was shut down for
several hours."
"From when to when?"
"From nine o'clock on. Restaurants and bars saw
no reason to reopen when they got the go-ahead
sometime after midnight. They remained closed until
Sunday morning."
Steffi whispered, "She wasn't there."
"Had she been, she would have mentioned this."
"Good work." Steffi raised her glass to Smilow.
"I think raising toasts is a little premature," Ham
mond said angrily. "Maybe she has a logical explanation."
"And maybe the pope's a Baptist."
He ignored Steffi's wisecrack. "Smilow, why didn't
you confront Dr. Ladd with this when you were interrogating
her?"
"I wanted to see how far she would carry it."
"You were giving her enough rope to hang herself."
"My job is easier when a suspect does it for me."
Hammond searched his mind for a fresh approach.
"Okay, so she wasn't in Harbour Town. What does
that prove? Nothing, except that she wants to safeguard
her privacy. She doesn't want it known where
she was."
"Or with whom."
He shot a cold look at Steffi, then continued
speaking to Smilow. "You've still got nothing on her,
nothing that places her inside Pettijohn's suite, or
even near it. When you asked if she owned a gun, she
said no."
"But of course she would," Steffi argued. "And
we've got Daniels's testimony."
Hammond wasn't finished with his own arguments.
"According to Madison's report, the bullets
removed from Pettijohn's body were .38caliber.
Your garden-variety bullets from your garden-variety
pistol. There are hundreds of .38s in this city alone.
Even in your own evidence warehouse, Smilow."
"Meaning what?" Steffi wanted to know.
"Meaning that unless we find the weapon in the murderer's possession, it will be nigh unto impossible
to trace," Smilow said, following Hammond's
thought.
"As for Daniels," Hammond continued while he
was on a roll, "Frank Perkins would make hash of
him on the witness stand."
"You're probably right about that, too," Smilow
said.
"So what does that leave you?" Hammond asked.
"Nothing."
"I've got SLED running some test on evidence
collected from the scene."
"Hand-carried to Columbia?"
"Absolutely."
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division
was located in the state capital. Evidence that was
collected, bagged, and labeled by the CSU was usually
hand-delivered to SLED by an officer to prevent
chain of evidence discrepancies.
"Let's see what turns up," Smilow said in the unflappable
manner that only emphasized to Hammond
his own unraveling temperament. "We didn't get
much from that suite of rooms, but we picked up a
few fibers, hairs, particles. Hopefully something--"
"Hopefully?" Hammond scoffed. "You're relying
on hope? You'll have to do better than that to catch a
killer, Smilow."
"Don't worry about me," he said, his mood growing
just as fractious as Hammond's. "You tend to
your job and I'll tend to mine."
"I just don't want to face the grand jury with nothing
but my dick in my hand."
"I doubt you could find your dick with your hand.
But I'll find the link between Alex Ladd and Pettijohn."
"And if you don't," Hammond said, raising his
voice, "you can always invent one."
Smilow came out of his chair so fast, it scraped
against the floor. Likewise, Hammond was on his feet
within a heartbeat.
Steffi popped up, too. "Guys," she said beneath
her breath. "Everybody's looking."
Hammond realized that they did indeed have the
attention of everyone in the bar. Conversations
around them ceased. "I gotta go." He tossed a five-dollar
bill down on the table to cover his drink. "See
you tomorrow."
He didn't take his eyes off Smilow until he turned
and began making his way through the crowd toward
the exit. He heard Steffi tell Smilow to order her another
drink and that she would be right back, and then
she came after him. He didn't want to talk to her, but
once they were outside she grasped his arm and
brought him around.
"Would you like some company?"
"No," he said, more harshly than he intended.
Then, pushing his fingers up through his hair, he took
a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, Steffi.
It's just been one of those Mondays. My dad came by
this morning. This case is going to be a bitch.
Smilow's a bastard."
"You're sure that's what's bothering you?"
He lowered his hand and looked at her closely,
afraid he had given himself away. But her eyes
weren't suspicious or accusatory. They were limpid,
soft, and inviting. He relaxed. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"I just thought that maybe ..." She paused to raise
her shoulder in a small shrug. "Maybe you were
wishing we had talked things through before you decided
to end the relationship." She touched the front
of his shirt. "If you're wanting to let off some steam,
I remember something that used to work very well."
"I remember, too." He gave her a kind smile which
he hoped would appease her ego. But he removed her
hand, squeezing it gently before releasing it. "Better
get back inside. Smilow's waiting with your drink."
"He can go to hell."
"In that regard, you probably won't be disappointed.
I'll see you tomorrow."
He turned and walked away, but she called after
him. "Hammond?" When he was facing her again,
she asked, "What did you think of her?"
"Who, Dr. Ladd?" He faked a thoughtful frown.
"Articulate. Cool under pressure. But unlike Smilow,
I'm not ready to--"
"I mean her. What did you think of her?"
"What's to think about?" he quipped, forcing a
laugh. "She's gorgeous to look at and obviously very
intelligent."
Then, with a jovial wave, he turned away.
Since he didn't have Alex Ladd's capacity for
lying, he figured it would be safer to stick to the truth.
CHAPTER