Page 21

Thirteen years ago

Two days after Derrick Bell’s murder

Special Agent Alice Patmore stood at the edge of the kitchen in the Bells’ giant house. She and Oscar had returned to the home after speaking with Noelle and her family earlier that day.

“I want to know who called it in,” Alice muttered to Oscar as she looked around.

They’d listened to the recording of the frantic woman more than a dozen times and sent it to the FBI lab for more testing.

Alice knew the lab could identify regional accents and sift out background noise, hopefully giving them a solid lead to pursue.

Neighbors had been questioned and their cameras examined. No one had a road view of the winding street that led to the Bells’ home.

“How can the Bells not have cameras?” Alice asked for the hundredth time.

She’d learned that the home used to have a camera system, but it had been removed more than a year ago in anticipation of a new system.

Derrick’s father had told her the system had been more than two decades old and hadn’t worked in years.

“I think Noelle Bell wasn’t supposed to survive this attack,” said Oscar. It was a 180-degree turn from his previous theory that had leaned toward Noelle as the attacker.

“Maybe,” said Alice. “But why wasn’t she brutalized like her husband?”

“Interrupted,” said Oscar. “Maybe by our unknown caller. Or maybe they simply couldn’t bring themselves to do that to a woman.”

“A killer with standards?” asked Alice.

Oscar shrugged. “A lot of killers have weird personal rules. Sticking within them makes them feel in control and that their actions are justified.”

Alice had heard the same. She stood in front of where the landline had been removed, leaving an empty socket above the kitchen counter two feet from a pocket door to a walk-in pantry.

She stepped inside the pantry and looked up and down at the shelves and cupboards.

The amount of food gave the impression that a family of twelve had lived in the big house, not simply the two Bells.

On a quartz counter in the pantry were a professional-looking blender, a large toaster oven, and two different espresso machines that looked as if they belonged at Starbucks.

Two espresso machines?

She knew from the forensics report that the cost of the four counter appliances added up to more than she made in two months.

Turning, she looked out the pantry door to where the phone had been.

“How much do you want to bet the caller hid in here? Maybe even while the attack took place?” Black fingerprint powder covered the pantry’s countertop, sliding door, and doorframe.

Clearly she wasn’t the first to consider the idea.

“Could that indicate it was someone who knew the house? A friend of one of them?”

“Or a relative.” She and Oscar had already looked into the locations of Noelle’s sisters during the attack.

Lucia had been at home with her great-aunt Daisy and her grandfather, and Eve had been at her own house, where she’d gone after meeting Noelle for lunch.

Noelle’s best friend, Savannah, had been at the restaurant working a day shift, as had been verified by a dozen employees.

The women on Derrick’s side of the family had also had their locations verified. Catherine had been at home and Lora at a hospital board meeting.

“Someone just pulled up out front,” said Oscar.

Alice had deliberately parked their vehicle behind the detached garage, not wanting any snooping neighbors to notice someone was at the Bell home.

The man living next door had confronted Detective Rodden because the detective’s plain SUV had been parked at the house yesterday. The neighbor wore a gun on his hip.

Everyone who lived on the street was on edge.

Oscar and Alice moved into the formal living room and stood to one side of the window, out of sight of the new arrival.

“It’s Lucia,” Alice stated, watching her get out of a silver minivan.

There was a stark contrast between the Marshalls’ vehicles and the Bells’. All of the Bells drove new, expensive leased cars and SUVs. Land Rovers, Mercedes-Benzes, and Jaguars. All of the Marshalls drove vehicles that were more than fifteen years old. But they were paid off.

GPS histories had been requested for all the new vehicles; the older ones didn’t have them. Nor did they use devices from insurance companies that tracked a vehicle’s movements. The grandfather was firmly against letting outsiders knowing where his family members went.

Outside, Lucia stopped and stared up at the house for a long moment as Alice and Oscar watched.

“What’s she doing?” muttered Oscar.

Alice said nothing, knowing the question was rhetorical.

Lucia took a careful look around the front grounds and then started up the stairs to the home’s wraparound front porch.

“She didn’t try to hide the vehicle,” said Oscar. “I don’t think she’s trying to be sneaky.” He reached over and locked the front door. “Let’s see if she has a key.”

“She knows we haven’t released the house yet,” said Alice. “She was at the hospital when we told everyone.”

“Doesn’t mean she was listening.”

Alice agreed. She’d noticed Lucia hadn’t paid much attention during their conversations. She didn’t know if that was normal or a result of the stress of knowing that her sister had almost died.

Yellow tape blocked access at the top of the stairs.

Alice and Oscar had ducked under it, and they watched Lucia do the same.

They heard the front door’s lock rattle, and then the bolt slid.

The door opened, and Lucia strode in like she owned the home.

Alice and Oscar stood silently against the living room wall, watching the teen.

Lucia didn’t even glance their way as she made a beeline for the stairs. Alice and Oscar exchanged a glance.

“Lucia,” Alice said quietly.

“ Shit! ” The teenager whirled around, one hand on the stair rail, her eyes wide. “Jesus Christ.” Then she visibly relaxed as she recognized the agents. “You scared me! What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” asked Alice. “You didn’t notice the yellow tape out front? And we said this morning that the house wasn’t available for family yet.”

“You did?” Lucia looked confused. “I’m getting Noelle some clothes. She’s got nothing.”

“Couldn’t you get them at the condo downtown?” asked Oscar.

“She doesn’t have anything there.”

“She doesn’t?” asked Alice with a frown.

“No. That’s just for Derrick while he’s working. She used to stay there but moved everything here after the wedding.” The teen gave a one-shouldered shrug. “She told me once he needed his space.”

But they’re married. An entire home is off-limits?

“I’ll be quick,” said Lucia, moving up another step.

“We’ll come with you,” said Alice. “Don’t touch anything until we say it’s okay.

” She didn’t have a problem with the girl getting some clothes as they watched and examined what she took.

She and Oscar followed her up the stairs.

Lucia glanced back at them a few times, a nervous half smile on her face.

At the top of the stairs, they had turned to walk down the hall toward the primary bedroom when Lucia gasped and froze, staring through a doorway into another room.

Alice caught up with her. Derrick’s office had been ransacked. Papers and drawers were scattered everywhere. Broken glass littered the floor from photos that had been on his desk, and a file cabinet had been turned on its side, all its drawers opened, their contents spilling out.

“Did you do that?” squeaked Lucia, giving Alice a look of horror.

“No, law enforcement did not do that.” Alice took her gun out of her shoulder holster, noting that Oscar did the same.

Alice stepped into the room and quickly cleared the closet and the space under the desk.

“Lucia,” she said in a low voice. “I need you to stay in this room with the door closed. We need to make certain the rest of the house is empty. Don’t touch anything, and do not open the door until one of us tells you. ”

Lucia’s eyes were wide as Alice closed the door with her in the office.

“Downstairs?” asked Oscar in a low voice. He’d reported the break-in and requested backup as Alice cleared the room.

“Let’s start up here.” Alice tried to think of the rooms they’d gone into downstairs. Besides the living room and kitchen, there was a formal dining room, a guest bedroom, and two bathrooms. They’d not looked in those, and now she was angry with herself.

Why didn’t we clear the house first?

It hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Oscar headed toward the primary bedroom.

From the hall, Alice spotted bedding and pillows on the floor.

It had been ransacked like the office. “Shit,” muttered Oscar.

The two of them quickly cleared that room and moved into the primary bath and closet.

Nearly every piece of clothing was on the floor, drawers left open. “Thorough.”

What were they looking for?

They cleared two other bedrooms that had attached bathrooms and checked all closets and the laundry room. No other rooms had been tossed. Through the office door, Alice whispered to Lucia that they were going downstairs and would be right back. She barely heard the girl’s “Okay.”

Downstairs they checked the formal dining room, the bedroom, two bathrooms, and the detached garage.

Outside they circled the garage and moved on to take a look around the backyard.

The Bells’ home backed up to a large treed area that Alice knew went on for acres.

No neighboring homes were visible. “I think we’re good,” she told Oscar.

“That mess could have happened yesterday after forensics left. Let’s find out what time they closed up the house.

And get them back out here to go through the office and primary bedroom. ”

Sirens sounded in the distance as the sheriff’s department headed their way.

Alice and Oscar circled around to the front of the house. “I’ll wait outside while you get Lucia,” said Oscar. “She probably shouldn’t take any clothing for Noelle since the closet was tossed. Send her shopping instead.”

Alice agreed. She went back inside and jogged up the stairs. “You can come out, Lucia,” she said as she opened the door. She didn’t see the teenager. “Lucia?”

“In here,” came a muffled voice.

She’d shut herself into the closet.

Alice opened the door and found her in the corner, hunched into as small a ball as possible.

“We didn’t find anyone,” said Alice softly, noticing the girl’s hands were shaking.

“They’re probably long gone. This probably happened last night or early this morning.

” She held out a hand and helped the girl stand.

Lucia’s eyes were red and her cheeks damp.

“I’m sorry you were scared,” said Alice. “But we had to leave you here.”

“I know. It’s okay.” She took a deep breath and gave a weak smile.

This feels like an overreaction.

But a murder did happen here.

Alice frowned as she compared how Lucia had confidently stridden to the stairs with how she was now. She definitely hadn’t been scared minutes before.

“We can’t let you take any clothes today,” said Alice. “Perhaps you could buy some things for Noelle?”

Lucia nodded, her gaze on the floor, as they moved down the stairs.

“Too bad you’re not the same size.” Noelle was several inches taller than both her sisters.

“I’ll figure out something.” Lucia stopped in the foyer, looking out the living room windows at the sheriff’s vehicles that had just arrived. “Are you going to catch him?” she asked in a soft voice.

Alice’s heart cracked at the concern in the girl’s tone. “Absolutely.”