CHAPTER 42 - Rita

CHAPTER 42RitaAFTER LUNCH, FBI SPECIAL AGENTS JOE THORNE AND ALISON METZ arrive. I’ve had just enough time to finish my tacos when Chase comes to get me. I pop a breath mint in my mouth as I walk down the hall. They’re already seated in the conference room when I get there.Joe stands and shakes my hand, which feels strange, awkward. But it’s great to see him. Our eyes meet, and I look away first, clear my throat. Agent Metz is nearer Chase’s age, light brown hair slicked back in a bun, a face full of freckles.After introductions, we take our seats at the table. All of our notes and photos pertaining to Dr. Bradley’s murder remain on the front-facing whiteboard, but we’ve started another board on the side for Annalise Robb. Her murder is the first order of business. Get a solve there and hopefully Dr. Bradley’s murder will fall into place.Agent Thorne opens a file folder while Agent Metz hands around a folder to each of us.“A copy of the autopsy is on top,” Joe says. “Let’s start there.”We all open our folders, and the iconic diagram greets us. “Ms. Robb was twenty-four years old. Five feet, three inches tall, approximately a hundred twenty pounds.” He meets my eyes. “Luckily, considering the state of the body, we have a probable cause of death.” The room goes quiet. “Blunt-force trauma to the back of the head, which the ME said was probably not fatal but could’ve knocked her out. Then she was probably killed by strangulation, based on the damage in the neck area, ligature intact there as well.”“Sheriff Skinner thought that the perp may have knocked her to the pavement as she walked home,” I say.“Yeah. Her clothes were recovered buried next to her. Her jeans were ripped and bloodied at the knees, matching the fibers and blood found in the road.”I squeeze my chin with my hand. “He saw her walking. Maybe he followed her in his vehicle. Then knocked her down . . .”“And might’ve struck her in the head there as well. That way she didn’t fight him as he put her in his vehicle,” Joe finishes. “That’s what we’re thinking.”Chase asks, “She was definitely killed in the Bradley basement?”“Yes,” Agent Metz answers. “Forensics has identified it as the scene. If you look at page three, you’ll see their report.” We all turn over pages and read silently.“And no DNA?” I ask.“Just hers. This guy knew what he was doing. The lab is still looking, however. They may still turn up something.” Joe continues, “The body was buried in the riverbank, partially wrapped in a blue tarp.”“Like you put on a leaky roof?” Chase asks.“Yes.I lean back in my chair, eyes staring vacantly at the report. There’s little doubt in my mind that Dr. Bradley or one of his guests was the perpetrator. Unless an unknown person had gotten into the basement. But why would a stranger bring her back there with a houseful of people, cars in the driveway? But someone who was intimately acquainted with the house would know how distant the basement area near the double doors was. It was a great place to get an unconscious Annalise out of sight and have your way with her. And the riverbank wasn’t far, just over the footbridge, where the path wraps back around the property. And if a stranger had kept her someplace, then waited for the Bradleys and their friends to leave, there would’ve been some evidence of forced entry, and there wasn’t. And why wouldn’t the perp have taken her someplace farther away from town if he was going to keep her alive for a while? That just seems too far-fetched.I stand and stretch my legs. I direct the agents’ attention to the whiteboard, where Annalise’s picture is taped, the names of the men in the house that night neatly printed beneath it. The women’s names were listed in a separate column.“We’ve done an initial search into the men’s backgrounds,” I say. Chase stands and distributes our folders on the suspects.“These are the men who were in the Bradley house that night. Let’s start with Dr. Bradley,” I say. “He was a hometown boy, born and raised in Boston. Forty years old.” I give them all the basics, including his father’s and grandfather’s backgrounds, which, of course, piques their interest. “He was currently doing research and starting interviews for a book he was writing on abnormal psychology and the criminal mind. It seems the doctor was particularly interested in homicide.” I go on to give them Mrs. Bradley’s newly discovered background, which intrigues them as well.Joe leans forward. “Any criminal activity in the doctor’s background?”“None. Just testimonials from friends and acquaintances that he was a good guy.”We move on to Josh Pearson. “He and the doctor were friends from childhood. Now, Josh Pearson does have an arrest in his past. When he was twenty-three, he got into a bar fight and was arrested for assault and battery.”Agent Metz shrugs. “Just a young guy thing?”I draw a deep breath. “One of the injured was a woman. She claimed that Pearson choked her and wouldn’t let her leave the bar.”Agent Metz grimaces. “How’d that turn out?”“He pleaded down and paid a fine. No jail time. He was a first-time offender and hasn’t been in trouble since.”We flip pages and come to Calvin Ferris. “Mr. Ferris is originally from Hartford, went to college here in Boston. He and the doctor became friends through a men’s hockey league. The only thing interesting in his background is that there was a restraining order taken out against him.”“By whom?” Joe asks.I smirk. “His mother.”“Huh. What did she say when you talked to her?”“She’s deceased. This was six years ago. Next up is Scott Westmore. He’s married to the doctor’s business partner. He and Doctor Bradley were fishing buddies and occasionally went up to the Mountclair house. He’s a landscaper. There wasn’t much in his background. No arrests. No one seems to know much about him. He did go to MIT for two years but dropped out.”Joe taps the table with his pen. “That leaves Hayes Branch. He one of the Boston Branches?”“Yes. He’s Phyllis Branch’s son. Owns a local bookstore. Mrs. Bradley works for him.”“Anything in his background?”“Nothing much. Went to boarding school, then Harvard. Typical pedigree. Only unusual thing we could find is his wife’s death. He found her dead in their home seven years ago. She was thirty-four. The death certificate states she died of natural causes. No autopsy.”Agent Metz huffs out a breath. “Natural causes at thirty-four?”“So the paperwork says.” I stand and go to the whiteboard, point to the list of names. “These, then, would be my people of interest, Agents, unless you’ve got another theory.”Joe is skimming back through his folder, shakes his head. “It seems unlikely that someone outside of that house would’ve abducted Ms. Robb, then brought her to the Bradley home’s basement.”Agent Metz pipes up. “But how did he manage to murder her in the basement while everybody else slept upstairs oblivious?”“Have you seen that basement?” I ask.“Alison hasn’t been to the scene yet,” Joe says. “I did a walk-through with Sheriff Skinner yesterday.” He looks at his partner. “You’ll understand when you see it.”“Can’t wait,” she says.Joe looks at me. “How much do these guys know?”“Just that Ms. Robb’s body was found buried in the riverbank. The wife, and I assume the others, know that Dr. Bradley found her necklace, but they don’t know where. We’re not sure where. They don’t know that the murder took place in the Bradley home. For all they know, the murderer was some local who carried her body past the house or through the woods.” I look at the faces around the table. “It’s crucial no one goes public with that information.”Joe nods. “I think we need to get these guys in here and find out what they have to say.”