Doug Allyn - v108 n03-04_1996-09-10

The fire marshal shook his head. “You can’t help them now.”

“Where are the bodies?” Leopold asked.

“Looks like they were in bed, probably a man and woman but we can’t even be sure of that.”

“Smoking?”

“Not the way that bedroom went up. I’ve got someone from the arson squad on the way.” The fire marshal turned away, shouting orders to redirect a hose.

Connie looked drained of emotion. “Do you think Casper Stone did this, Captain?”

“We don’t even know what was done yet. Do you have men searching the area?”

She nodded. “But they won’t find much in the dark. We’ll have to come back in the morning. Do you think it might be Easton and his wife?”

“Not his wife. You’d better go break the news to her. Tell her neither body has been identified.”

Leopold returned home for a few hours’ sleep but was up before dawn. Molly rolled over in the big bed and asked, “Are you going back out there?”

“I have to. Maybe you should phone Tom Griswald and tell him what’s happened.”

By daylight the beach house was a scorched and dripping mess. The police photographer had done what he could and two body bags were being carried out as Leopold drove up. Connie was already on the scene with a couple of other detectives, sifting through the wreckage. “You must have gotten less sleep than I did,” he said by way of greeting.

She was in the garage, studying a small motorboat resting on sawhorses. “Looks like he was burning off the paint with this propane torch.”

“Could that have started the fire?”

“Lenny from the arson squad says it was gasoline poured on the bed. Since they didn’t jump up or try to run, we think they were dead already.”

Leopold got his first look at her tired eyes. “You’ve been here all night, haven’t you?”

“Captain, when you were my age you’d have done the same thing. Besides, I wasn’t exactly here the entire time. I drove in to Easton’s house.”

“My God!” He’d forgotten about the wife. “How’s she taking it?”

“Bad. She called a neighbor to be with her.”

“What about the second body?”

Connie made a face. “Mrs. Easton mentioned a name. Monica Raines. Until recently she was a paralegal who worked on Casper Stone’s first trial. She took a statement from Easton and that’s how they met.”

“Who was she working for? The defense?”

Connie nodded. “Molly must know her.”

Leopold didn’t like any of it. “Did Belinda say her husband and this woman were having an affair?”

“She didn’t say. When I told her there were two bodies she just mentioned the name. She was pretty broken up. It was hard to get anything out of her. We checked the address of a Monica Raines in the phone book but no one was home.”

“I’d better phone Molly. Let me have that address.” He went out to the car and used the cell phone. He caught her at the house just as she was leaving.

“What is it?” she asked, catching the gravity in his voice.

“We’ve got two unidentified bodies out here at the beach house. Mrs. Easton mentioned the name Monica Raines.”

He heard Molly’s sharp intake of breath. “It couldn’t be Monica.”

“She was a paralegal at your office?”

“If it’s the same Monica Raines, she quit a few months back. After the Casper Stone verdict came in.”

“She worked on that case?”

“Yes. First for me, then for Tom. I don’t know what she’s doing now. There was a rumor she might be over at Salomon’s office.”

“Was there ever any talk about her and Rich Easton?”

“Not that I heard. She may have taken a preliminary statement from him.”

He read her the address Connie had given him, and after checking her book she confirmed that was correct.

“All right,” he said. “I’ll call you as soon as we have anything.”

Leopold waited through the day for the medical examiner’s report, spending part of the time reviewing Stone’s prison records. Connie reported there was no trace of Monica Raines and friends confirmed that she’d been friendly with Easton. When the M.E. called to say that identification would be impossible without dental records, Connie contacted Easton’s dentist and an hour later managed to locate the Raines woman’s dentist as well. “It was tough,” she told Leopold. “The girl’s family is down South somewhere. We still haven’t reached them.”

It was one of those cases where each passing hour made the ultimate identification more likely. By early afternoon neither Easton nor the Raines woman had surfaced, and Connie was designating them as the likely victims. “What do you think, Captain? Did Casper Stone find them there, kill them both, and set fire to the house?”

“That’s certainly the most likely scenario, but let’s wait for the official identification.”

Finally, at twenty minutes to four, the medical examiner called, suggesting Leopold come down to the autopsy room. Connie went along, though she hated the sights and smells of the place. Dr. Potter was new since Leopold’s time, but Fletcher spoke highly of the man. In court he was clear and concise, always an excellent witness for the prosecution.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, Captain,” Potter said, taking Leopold’s hand. “Glad to have you back with us until Captain Fletcher is healed.”

“What have you got, Doctor?”

Potter gestured toward the adjoining autopsy tables where plastic sheets covered the bodies. “A male and a female, both badly burned, with some indication of trauma to the faces as well. The man’s jaw was broken. There was virtually no skin remaining on the faces or hands, so identification had to be made through dental records. In the case of the male it was quite easy. This was Mr. Easton’s beach house, after all, and his records show a full set of false teeth, both upper and lower plates.” He picked up a clear plastic evidence bag and showed them to Leopold and Molly — the perfect set of teeth reminded Leopold of Rich Easton’s perfect smile. “You’ll notice the dentist’s mark is visible on each plate.”

“What about the woman?” Leopold asked, secretly wondering if Easton’s hair had been as phony as his teeth.

“Just two fillings and no false teeth or crowns. Not much to go on, but they do match the dental chart of Monica Raines. Since the body is the right size I think we can safely say it’s hers.”

“What if the dental records hadn’t been available?” Connie Trent wanted to know.

“These days science has come up with a variety of identification techniques. For example, female pelvic bones often bear parturition scars, a notch for each child born. I can tell you that this victim has borne one child. Does that fit with Monica Raines?”

“I have no idea,” Leopold said, “but we’ll check it out.”

It was Connie who asked the crucial question. “What was it that killed them, the fire or the blows to the head?”

“Actually they were both shot. They were already dead before the trauma or the fire.”

Leopold nodded. “Thanks for the information. Send us the usual copies of your report.”

As they turned away the doctor asked, “Captain Leopold, don’t you want to look at the bodies?”

“I’ve already seen the pictures. That’s enough.”

Molly phoned him a short time later. “Have you identified the bodies yet?”

“We have their dental records. It’s Rich Easton and Monica Raines, as we thought.”

“I can’t believe it about Monica. She was a brilliant paralegal with a sharp mind. I urged her once to consider law school.”

“Why did she leave the firm?”

“I don’t know. She just said she wanted a change. I think the Stone case took a lot out of everyone.”