Tess Gerritsen - Die Again

“I have to say, I was startled to get your call,” Detective Pearson said as she pulled out the house key. “We haven’t been able to pry Jodi Underwood’s phone logs from her carrier yet, and her cell phone’s missing. So we had no idea that she and Mr. Gott traded phone calls.”

“You said her phone’s missing,” said Jane. “Was it stolen?”

“Along with other things.” Detective Pearson unlocked the door. “Robbery was the motive here. At least, that’s what we assumed.”

They stepped into the house, and Detective Pearson switched on the lights. Jane saw wood floors, a living room furnished with sleek Swedish minimalism, but no bloodstains. The only evidence that a crime had been committed here were the smudges of fingerprint powder.

“Her body was lying right here, near the front door,” said Detective Pearson. “After Jodi didn’t show up for work Monday morning, the school called her sister Sarah, who drove straight over. She was found around ten A.M. The body was dressed in pajamas and a robe. The cause of death was pretty obvious. There were ligature marks around her neck, and the ME agreed it was strangulation. The victim also had a bruise on her right temple, maybe from an initial blow to stun her. There was no evidence of sexual assault. It was a blitz attack, a rapid takedown that probably happened right after she opened the door.”

“You said she was wearing pajamas and a robe?” said Frost.

Pearson nodded. “The ME estimated time of death between eight P.M. and two A.M. If she made that phone call to Gott at nine forty-six P.M., that narrows down the time of death for us.”

“Assuming the call actually came from her and not someone else using her phone.”

Pearson paused. “That is a possibility, since her cell phone’s missing. Every call made to her on Monday morning went straight to voice mail, so whoever has it seems to have turned it off.”

“You said you thought that robbery was the motive. What else was taken?” asked Jane.

“According to her sister Sarah, the missing items include Jodi’s MacBook Air laptop, a camera, cell phone, and her purse. There have been other break-ins in this neighborhood, but those happened while the occupants were away. The same sorts of valuables were taken, mostly electronics.”

“Do you think this was the same perp?”

Detective Pearson didn’t answer right away, but stared down at the floor, as if she could still see Jodi Underwood’s body lying at her feet. A silvery curl of hair slid across her cheek, and she brushed it back. Looked at Jane. “I’m not sure. With the other burglaries, there were fingerprints left behind, obviously an amateur at work. But this crime scene, there was no evidence left behind. No fingerprints, no tool marks, no footwear evidence. It’s so clean, so efficient, it almost seems …”

“Professional.”

Detective Pearson nodded. “That’s why I’m intrigued by her phone calls with Leon Gott. Did that crime scene look like a targeted killing?”

“I don’t know about targeted,” said Jane. “But it was definitely not clean and efficient, like this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll send you the crime scene photos. I’m sure you’ll agree Leon Gott’s murder was quite a bit messier. And more grotesque.”

“So maybe there is no connection between these two cases,” said Detective Pearson. “But do you know why they exchanged phone calls? How did they know each other?”

“I have a hunch, but I’ll need to confirm it with Jodi’s sister. You said her name is Sarah?”

“She lives about a mile from here. I’ll give her a call and tell her we’re coming. Why don’t you follow me in your car?”

“MY SISTER HATED EVERYTHING that Leon Gott stood for. His big-game hunting, his politics, but most of all the way he treated his son,” said Sarah. “I have no idea why he’d call Jodi. Or why she’d call him .”

They sat in Sarah’s tidy living room where the furniture was all blond wood and glass. It was apparent the two sisters shared similar tastes, right down to the Swedish-chic sensibilities. They resembled each other, too, both of them with curly red hair and swan necks. But unlike Jodi’s smiling Facebook photo, Sarah’s face was a snapshot of exhaustion. She’d brought out a tray of tea and cookies for her three visitors, but her own cup sat cooling and untouched. Though she was thirty-eight, in the gray light of the window she looked older, as if grief had exerted its own form of gravity on her face, drooping down the corners of her mouth, her eyes.

Detective Pearson and Sarah already knew each other and had bonded over Jodi’s death, so Jane and Frost deferred to Pearson for the first few questions.

“These phone calls may have nothing to do with Jodi’s murder, Sarah,” said Pearson. “But the coincidence is certainly striking. Did Jodi mention Leon Gott at all in the past few weeks?”

“No. Not in the past months or years, either. After she lost Elliot, there was no reason to talk about his father.”

“What did she say about Leon Gott?”

“She said he was the world’s most despicable dad. Jodi and Elliot lived together for about two years, so she heard a lot about Leon. How he loved his guns more than his own family. How he took Elliot hunting one day, when Elliot was only thirteen. Told him to gut the deer, and when Elliot refused, Leon called him a faggot.”

“How awful.”

“Leon’s wife left him right after that, taking Elliot with her. Best thing she could have done as a mother. Too bad she didn’t do it earlier.”

“And did Elliot have much contact with his father?”

“Sporadically. Jodi told me that the last call Leon made to Elliot was on his birthday, but it was a short conversation. Elliot tried to keep it civil, but he had to hang up when his dad started bad-mouthing his dead mother. A month later, Elliot left for Africa. It was his dream trip, something he’d planned for years. Thank God Jodi couldn’t get vacation time to go with him, or she might be …” Sarah’s head drooped and she looked down at her untouched cup of tea.

“After Elliot vanished,” said Detective Pearson, “did Jodi have any contact with Leon?”

Sarah nodded. “A few times. It took losing his son for him to realize what an ass he’d been as a father. My sister was such a good soul and she tried to offer him some sort of comfort. They’d never gotten along, but after Elliot’s memorial service, she wrote Leon a card. Even printed and framed the very last photo of Elliot, taken while he was in Africa. She gave that photo to Leon, and was surprised when she got a thank-you note from him. But after that, they fell out of touch. As far as I know, they hadn’t spoken in years.”

Up till now Jane had sat silent as Detective Pearson led the interview. Now she couldn’t help but interject.

“Did your sister have other photos of Elliot in Africa?”

Sarah gave her a puzzled look. “A few. He sent them all from his cell phone while he was traveling. His camera was never found, so those cell phone shots are the only ones there are from his trip.”

“Did you see them?”

“Yes. They were just typical travel shots. Photos of his flight, tourist spots in Cape Town. Nothing memorable.” She gave a sad laugh. “Elliot wasn’t a particularly good photographer.”

Detective Pearson frowned at Jane. “Is there a reason you’re asking about his Africa photos?”

“We spoke to a witness who was at Gott’s house around two thirty on Sunday. He heard Gott talking on the phone, telling someone he wanted all of Elliot’s photos from Africa. Based on the time of the call, that conversation would have been with Jodi.” Jane looked at Sarah. “Why would Leon want those photos?”