Detectives O’Malley and Sanchez were sitting at the long table in the Satori executive conference room when they were joined by Bruno Oliver, Kate Swift, and Tom Scott.
“Is it okay if Tom joins us?” Kate asked. “We have something important to report and Tom has a vital role.”
O’Malley opened his mouth to object, but Laura spoke first, “Sure. Tom can stay.” She turned to O’Malley, “Trust me Sarge, this is the right thing to do.”
“Why don’t you go first, Bruno?” Laura said to the coroner’s investigator.
As Bruno delivered his report, he only looked at Sanchez. “I was able to get Bryn Moore’s safe open. It contained $22,500 in cash, a Ruger GP100 pistol, and two bags filled with what I believe are high-quality heroin and cocaine.”
“So, nowhere near the $500,000 that our assailant was looking for?” Laura said.
“That’s right. The cash was in the range one would expect to find in the lair of a drug dealer.”
“Any indication the safe had been tampered with?”
“No,” Bruno answered. “We dusted for prints, and it appears that only Bryn Moore touched the safe.”
Laura turned to the others. “So, our working theory is that the assailant observed Bryn Moore on the spy camera. When they saw him open the trap door to his cellar, they marked him as someone who could have been collaborating with Malcom Eastwick. The assailant waylaid Moore in the baths and interrogated him using drugs. When they realized that Moore had nothing to do with Eastwick, they administered an overdose.”
“Moore’s death was a byproduct of the assailant’s search for the missing money,” Kate added. “They had no idea that Eastwick had moved the money to San Francisco.”
“That’s right,” Laura said.
The five sat in silence.
Laura turned to Kate. “Tell us what you’ve found out.”
Kate recapped her conversation with Gwyneth Jones. “She says the hooded figure she saw was Cheryl Taylor.”
“Whoa,” Laura said. “Our first eyewitness.” She looked at Kate and Tom. “Do you believe her?”
“Yes,’ Kate said. “She’d met Cheryl and there’s no reason for Gwyneth to lie.”
“Still, it was dark,” O’Malley said. “And Gwyneth Jones waited several days before coming forward as a witness.”
“We need some collaboration,” Laura said.
The five sat in silence. After several minutes, Bruno turned to Laura. “Can I say something?”
“Sure.”
“I think we need to reframe our perspective. The eyewitness is important, but she won’t be enough to convict Dr. Taylor.”
“Because?” Laura asked.
“Because the perpetrator has to be someone who knows about using drugs as tools for interrogation.”
“What’s this about interrogation drugs?” Tom asked.
Bruno responded but kept his eyes on Laura. “Malcolm Eastwick was interrogated using a sophisticated drug named Scopolamine.”
“Who uses Scopolamine?” Tom asked.
“As far as we know, only the spooks,” Bruno said.
Tom slapped his hand against his forehead. “I forgot something important. Cheryl worked with the spooks.” He got up from his chair. “I want to show you an interesting picture, but it will require all of us to take a little walk.”
Behind Tom, Kate winked at Laura as if to say, you were right - Tom did know something that would reveal the identity of the assailant.
Tom led the group of five out of the Satori office, north onto the main campus path, across the wooden footbridge, and west to the old conference center. They walked into the main room, and Tom began to examine the historic Satori photographs.
“What are you looking for?” Kate asked.
“There’s someone in the Satori past who was a professional interrogator. I’m hoping there is a picture of him with Cheryl.”
Tom started to work through the chronological sequence. “I think the photo I’m looking was taken around the time of the Gulf War.”
Laura called out, “Here’s a picture of Bruce Springsteen with Tom and a gorgeous woman.”
Kate rushed over. “That’s Tom’s deceased wife, Fiona.”
Laura stepped back. “You don’t look like her.” She shouted across the room. “How lucky are you, Tom, to have two smart gorgeous women in your life.”
Tom looked at them. “Believe me, I know that. I was blessed to be with Fiona and now I’m blessed to be with Kate.”
Tom kept scanning the photos. “I don’t think we’re looking for a group shot, this is a photo of a couple.”
Bruno called out. “I may have found it.”
The others rushed to look at the photo.
“That’s Cheryl Taylor, all dolled up,” Kate said. “Who’s the good-looking guy?”
“Hal Chesterton, Tom said. “He was a former Navy SEAL who ended up teaching at the Navy’s Monterey Postgraduate school. Among other things, he taught a course in interrogation.”
“How did Cheryl get involved with him?” Kate asked.
“After her first husband, Richard, died, Cheryl bought a house in Monterey and started a therapy practice there. She met Hal and they developed a relationship. Hal was working on rapid interrogation methods. He was interested in possibly using psycho-active drugs as an accelerant.”
“How do you know this?” Kate asked.
“At one point, Cheryl and Fiona were very close. After Richard’s death, Cheryl was at loose ends. During this period, she stayed with Fiona and Stella in San Francisco. Fiona and Cheryl drove up the coast and ended up at Hollyhock in BC.”
“So, they became friends?”
“Yes. When Fiona met me, she asked Cheryl to check me out. When Cheryl met Hal, she asked Fiona to check him out.”
“Did you meet Hal Chesterton?” Laura asked.
“We had dinner once.”
“What was your impression of him?” Bruno asked.
“Smart guy. Tough – he had the same ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe that Kate has.”
“Except with you.” Kate slipped her arm around my waist.
“Except with me.” Tom continued. “He was secretive. I’ve never been around many spooks, but he fits the narrative I’ve heard about them: polite, well-spoken, and guarded.”
“What happened to Chesterton?” Laura asked.
“Around 1993, maybe later, he disappeared. Cheryl knew that he was going on a ‘special mission,’ probably Iraq. He never returned. Months later, she got a call from his sister saying the Navy had formally notified her that Hal was MIA.”
Laura said, “So, do you think that Cheryl was involved in Chesterton’s interrogation research? You believe that she knows how to use Scopolamine?”
“Yes. Cheryl knows how to use a lot of drugs. At one time, she taught a Satori course on Shamanism. Recently, she had a grant to study using Psilocybin in the treatment of PTSD.”
“We should talk to her,” Kate said.
The five of us walked outside the old conference center and stood in the shade of a redwood tree. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to let Marshal Kate and her boyfriend interview our primary suspect,” O’Malley said.
“It’s not by the book,” Laura responded. “But Tom has known Cheryl a long time and if anyone can put her at ease, he can. And Kate just came out of a workshop with Cheryl, and we all know that Kate is a skilled interrogator.” O’Malley frowned but didn’t say anything. “What do you think, Bruno?”
“It’s not by the book,” Bruno said. “But I agree that it would be the most effective interview strategy.”