LITMIR.BIZ

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they broadcast an attempt to locate on her. They’d hit a dead end on Phillip Bramson. Gary Conrad had spoken to one of the men at the car wash where he’d been employed. He told him Bramson had mentioned leaving the state several weeks back. He’d sold his car, so the vehicle information they had was no longer valid.

      Carolyn had intended to track down Tyler Bell, but she hadn’t had time. Now that there was a possibility Veronica had committed suicide, contacting him didn’t seem as urgent. If Bell had committed three murders in Ventura, two of which he’d gotten away with, she doubted he would flee the area. She would privately follow up on the things Brad had told her regarding Stuart Greenly. There was no reason to tarnish Veronica’s reputation unless the new information had some bearing on the case.

      At four o’clock, Carolyn carried her computer notebook to Mary’s office and printed off a list of the men and women Veronica had investigated or supervised during the past four years. She distributed them to the people in the conference room, leaving an extra set for Gary Conrad. “These are the offenders who aren’t presently in custody in Ventura,” she told them. “I should be able to provide you with more detailed information by tomorrow. You might want to have someone run the names through the national system and see if they’re in jail in another jurisdiction. I’d like to stay longer,” she added, “but I need to go back to my office and start reassigning Veronica’s caseload.”

      Hank followed her outside in the hall. “This is a homicide until we establish definitive proof she committed suicide.”

      The stress of the past two days was taking its toll. Carolyn’s eyes were swollen from crying, and her neck and back muscles were aching. “That may never happen,” she told him. “You know what’s the worst thing about this? If I hadn’t had my head up my ass, I might have stopped her.”

      Hank scowled.

      “You can’t blame yourself. What about her husband? He lived with her. He told us everything was fine.” He waited as a uniformed officer walked past. “I didn’t mention it before, but we found a bottle of pills in her purse. She was taking an antidepressant called Lexapro.” He stopped and pulled out a toothpick, shoving it between his teeth. “Something about Drew Campbell rubbed me the wrong way. It was almost as if he’d been expecting something like this to happen. He even hired a nanny the day his wife died. Did Veronica say anything about them hiring someone?”

      “No,” Carolyn said. “If she was taking medication, though, it might not have been safe for her to look after the children. It’s understandable that Drew wouldn’t want anyone to know. Some people see depression as a weakness. Maybe he felt bad that he couldn’t make his wife happy.”

      “Have you seen the broad he hired?”

      “You mean the nanny?”

      “Yeah,” Hank said, resting his back against the wall. “She came by to pick up a key to the house this morning while we were there. She looked about sixteen, but Drew said she was eighteen. He says she has seven brothers and sisters. Her family lives a block over, so why does she have to live in his house? It doesn’t look right for a guy to move in a young girl a day after his wife’s death. What do you think?”

      “I agree.” Carolyn wondered if something was going on between Drew and the girl. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been having an affair, but not with a girl the same age as his daughter. From what Brad had told her, Veronica played around as well. “Should I say something to him?”

      “Not now,” Hank said. “Let’s just sit back and keep our eye on this guy. Maybe we’re wrong and Veronica was murdered. The hubby may turn out to be our killer. We have some great cards on this hand, so we might as well play them.”

      “You’ve lost me.”

      “Your friendship with the deceased gives you an open door. And you’re a master at working people and getting them to tell you things they had no intention of saying. Did Veronica have family?”

      “Her parents are dead,” Carolyn told him. “Emily, her kid sister, is an attorney in San Francisco. Veronica didn’t get along with her. I know her, of course. She’s a control freak. Whenever she came to town, she stayed in a hotel because the kids drove her crazy.”

      “What about Drew?”

      “He’s an only child. His mother died last year. His father died from congenital heart disease when Drew was a kid.”

      “Have you seen Veronica’s will?”

      Carolyn shut her eyes and then opened them. “I know where you’re going with this, Hank. I didn’t see it, but I know what’s in it. If something happened to Veronica and Drew, I was supposed to be appointed guardian of the children. I did the same thing with her. She probably changed it. If your suicide scenario turns out to be accurate, Veronica hated me.”

      “Why do you say that?”

      “Think about it, Hank,” Carolyn said. “If you cared about someone, would you send a letter threatening them and their family?” Reading the answer in his eyes, she said, “I didn’t think so. Call me if you need me.”

      CHAPTER 8

      Wednesday, October 13—5:20 P.M.

      When Carolyn walked into her office, she found Brad Preston sitting at her desk. “I’m trying to parcel out Veronica’s cases,” he said. “We got slammed again today. I’m sorry, Carolyn, but we can’t let you take vacation leave right now. I even went to Wheeler to see if there was some way we could cover it. I told him it was your honeymoon, but he said you’d have to cancel it. Wheeler wants you to continue working with the task force, so that means we’re short two people.”

      Carolyn stared at her in-box. The files were stacked so high, there was a second stack beside it. Brad started to get up. “Stay there,” she told him, dropping down in a chair in front of her desk. “There may not be a task force.” She explained what had transpired at the police department, that the coroner might rule that Veronica’s death had been a suicide. “Do you know if Stuart Greenly is around?”

      “Yeah,” Brad said. “I saw him maybe five minutes ago. Are you going to talk to him?”

      “Yes,” Carolyn said, pushing herself to her feet.

      “Wait,” he said, loosening the knot on his tie. “Don’t mention my name. I don’t want him to walk out on us. We can’t afford to lose another investigator. And don’t you want to talk to him here?”

      “No,” she said. “If I call him into my office, it will seem too official. I thought he might be a suspect, but now I don’t know what to believe. If he was having an affair with Veronica, he may know more about her state of mind than anyone else.”

      The majority of the probation officers had already left for the day. With the new work-at-home program, even during peak hours desks sat empty. Carolyn entered Stuart Greenly’s cubical. He was talking on the phone and laughing. If he’d been Veronica’s lover, her death didn’t appear to have upset him. His dark hair was fashionably cut. He dressed like a college professor. Today he was wearing brown slacks and a Brooks Brothers shirt with a button-down collar. An expensive-looking sport jacket was draped over the back of his chair.

      Carolyn had heard that Greenly had a large trust fund, and had taken a job as a probation officer after he’d flunked the bar exam six times. Working beneath his abilities must bolster his confidence. He occasionally came across as arrogant, but the probation officers in the unit seemed to like him. She waited until he completed his call, then cleared her throat to get his attention.

      “Carolyn,” he said, falling serious. “This thing with Veronica is awful. People are calling me, telling me the job is too dangerous. You two were good friends, so I—”

      She cut him off. “Why don’t we go somewhere private where we can talk, Stuart?”

      “This is pretty damn private,” he told her. “I’m probably the only one still working. Remember

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