Jonathan Kellerman - A Cold Heart

“Mr. Murphy’s daughter was murdered,” said Stahl.

“Erna?”

“You knew her?”

“Knew her? I’m her aunt. Donald’s baby sister. What happened to her?” Irritated, demanding, not a trace of sympathy. Or shock.

“You’re not surprised?” said Stahl.

“Young man, Ernadine was psychiatrically disturbed, had been for years. Donald had no contact with her, nor had I. No one in the family had.” She regarded the man on the bed. “As you can see, there’s no point in bothering Donald.”

“How long has he been this way?”

Her expression said, What’s it to you? “Months, young man, months.”

“Coma?”

The woman laughed. “You must be a detective.”

“What’s wrong with him, Ms…”

“ Mrs. Trueblood. Alma F. Trueblood.”

Murphy’s baby sister . Stahl couldn’t imagine this one ever being small.

He said, “Ma’am, is there anything you can tell me about-”

“No,” snapped Alma Trueblood.

“Ma’am, you didn’t hear the question.”

“Don’t need to. There’s nothing I can tell you about Ernadine. As I just said, she’s been disturbed for years. Her death was a long time coming, if you ask me. Living on the street, like that. Donald hadn’t seen her in years. You’ll just have to take my word on that.”

“How many years?”

“Many. They lost contact.”

“You say her death was a long time coming?”

“I certainly do. Ernadine refused help, went her own way. Lived on the streets . She was always a strange little girl. Wild, sullen, odd habits- strange eating habits- chalk, dirt, spoiled food. She picked at her hair, walked around in circles talking to herself. Drew pictures all day but had not a whit of talent.”

Alma Trueblood drew herself up. “I never liked having her around. She was a bad influence on my children and I must tell you, Officer, I won’t have the family drawn into anything sordid.”

“Wow,” said Stahl.

“What is that supposed to mean, young man?”

“You seem pretty angry.”

“I am not angry! I am protective . My brother needs protection- look at him. First his heart, then his liver and his kidneys. Everything’s failing. I’m footing the bill for this place, and, believe me, it adds up to a pretty penny. If I wasn’t, Donald would end up in some Veterans Affairs hospital. No, I won’t hear of that. The Good Lord’s been kind to me, and my big brother will rest here for however long it takes. Now, don’t think me cruel. I regret hearing about Ernadine. However, she left the family years ago, and I won’t have her ruining things.”

“Ruining things by dying?”

“By… associating us with whatever sordid life she led. We- my husband and I, William T. Trueblood- are well respected in the community. We endow many worthy causes, and I won’t have Mr. Trueblood’s name dragged into anything unsavory. Is that clear?”

“Very.”

“I’ll thank you to leave, then.” Alma Trueblood popped the clasp on the green croc purse, offering Stahl a view of the contents. Lots of stuff inside, but everything neatly arranged- parcels wrapped in filmy tissue paper. First time he’d seen a purse that organized.

“Ever spend time in the military, Mrs. Trueblood?”

“Why would you ask that? Ridiculous.” Thick fingers probed the bottom of the purse, found a small gold case that she opened. Out came a cream-colored calling card. “Have someone inform me as to Ernadine’s burial arrangements. I’ll be footing the bill. Of course . Good day, young man.”

Stahl slipped the card in a jacket pocket. Great paper, heavy weight, silky gloss.

Baby sister had climbed socially.

He headed for the door.

Alma Trueblood said, “You’d better do something about that narcolepsy of yours. I’m sure your superiors wouldn’t be pleased to hear about it.”

Milo called late in the afternoon. “Petra and I figured it’s time to give Drummond’s parents another try. No prints in the Honda other than Kevin’s on the steering wheel and the driver’s door handle, and a few scattered smudges from various Inglewood tow-yard folk. No blood, no body fluids, no weapons. No link to Erna Murphy, either, but Petra did find someone who saw her getting into a small, light car the night she was killed. Walking distance from the kill spot. Kevin’s car wasn’t towed till the next day.”

“Who’s the witness?” I said.

“Speedfreak hustler,” he said. “It’s not sterling, but it does firm up the time frame: Kevin picks her up, finishes her off, cuts town.”

“After wiping Erna’s prints from his car. Had it been washed recently?”

“Hard to tell with it sitting in the yard all this time. Lab guys did say the passenger door appeared to be too clean, as in wipedown. That’s an indication of criminal intent, which is why we want to lean on Mommy and Daddy. Your suggestions and your presence would be appreciated. Psychological strategy and all that.”

“When?” I said.

“After dark. Couple of hours. I’ll pick you up, Petra’ll meet us there.”

“Not Stahl?”

“Petra’s got him on the computer. See you in two. Start warming up the old insight machine.”

When it comes to dealing with people, you can only rehearse so much. But the three of us tried, sitting in Petra’s Accord on a quiet, Encino street. The spot was two blocks west of Franklin and Teresa Drummond’s house, in the shade of a shaggy, anthropomorphic pepper tree. The moonlight was feeble, just enough to transform branches to grasping limbs. From time to time a car drove by, but no one noticed us.

Petra filled us in on the Drummonds. “Does any of that sound like breeding ground for a psycho killer, Alex?”

“So far,” I said, “it sounds like upper-middle-class suburban life.”

She nodded, ruefully. “I figure we focus on Frank- his being dominant and all that. If we ignore him, we run the risk of alienating him right from the start.”

“He’ll come to the door alienated,” I said. “You can start off being polite, but at some point you may need to get more assertive.”

“Threatening?” said Milo.

“If they do know where Kevin’s gone, they’re vulnerable to an aiding and abetting charge,” I said. “Frank’s an attorney. He may try to bluster his way through it, but I’d watch for signs of anxiety. As well as too much hostility- overreacting can be a cover.”

“So, what, we ask them to sell out their kid to save their own butts?”

“However they feel about Kevin, they may not be willing to put themselves in criminal jeopardy. At some point, I’d also focus on the financial angle. They bankrolled Kevin’s magazine, so they bear indirect responsibility for whatever flowed from that. At the least, it won’t help Frank’s practice. In that regard, the mother might also be your target. Work on her guilt by showing her Erna’s photos.”

“Who is maybe Cousin Erna,” said Milo. To Petra: “Stahl still hasn’t come up with any link, there?”

“Nope,” she said. “Like I told you, he located Erna’s dad, but he’s comatose, on his way out. While he was at the rest home, he did run into a relative. Donald Murphy’s sister, a real battle-ax named Alma Trueblood. More like she ran into Stahl. She says Erna had been strange all her life, refused family help.”

She turned to me. “So we study their reactions. Three of us, two of them should make that feasible. Do we tell them Alex is a psychologist?”

“What for?” said Milo.

“Let them know the case has kicked up a notch, Kevin’s being thought of as a psycho.”