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“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 in 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?”
