Turns out the District Attorney was none-too-pleased, indeed. He returned my call within minutes. I put the call on speaker.
“Find her,” he commanded. “She’s just elevated herself into the prime suspect category. I want her back here.”
“Seems she’s gone home, Mike. Try to keep in mind she’s in mourning.”
“She had no business fleeing the state.”
“She’s a young woman whose husband was murdered. She’s gone to be with her parents.”
“And if it turns out she’s the killer? If she ups and vanishes? Then what? We’ll look like a pair of inept stupids, is what. That can’t happen. You find her, Buddy. You arrest her and get her back here. Do I make myself clear?”
“You do.”
“You’re damned right, I do,” he said. “Here, talk to Skip.”
I could barely make out what he was saying as he handed the phone to A.D.A. Skip Wilder. He had covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
After several moments, Wilder came on the line. “I’ll have the extradition papers drawn and cleared with the Jersey authorities.”
Then he, too, covered the mouthpiece as he spoke to District Attorney Lytell. “What do you want him to charge her with?”
I couldn’t make out Lytell’s response. Then Wilder came back on the line. “Suspicion of murder.”
“This is a whole lot of much ado about nothing, Skip.”
“Perhaps you’d like to tell him that yourself.”
“That’s not all I’d like to tell him.”
“Just do it, Buddy. Keep me in the loop.”
I hung up and looked at Sheriff’s Deputies John Kennerly and Marsha Russo, who were seated in front of my desk.
“That went well,” Marsha snickered.
“Very entertaining,” Kennerly said. “So, what now?”
“Book the flights. I’ll talk with the locals and arrange for assistance when I get to Newark.”
“You’re going to make the trip?” Kennerly ventured.
“I am.”
“Why?”
“You mean why am I the one who’s going?”
“Yes.”
“Cranky District Attorney?”
“You mean you’re going because of Lytell?”
“It’s actually a toss-up between him and the frequent flier miles.”
Kennerly flashed me his dead-eyed stare and went on. “What if they try to stop you?”
“Her parents?”
Kennerly nodded.
“I’ll deal with it.”
“And if they lawyer her up?”
“The extradition agreement insures that the crime with which she’s being charged is answerable in California.”
“You think she did it?”
“You mean do I think she murdered her husband?”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t the foggiest.”