Page 29

Eight days after Derrick Bell’s murder

The memorial service was as packed as Alice had expected it to be. The assemblyman had been young and popular. His murder had the community in shock.

Alice and a half dozen agents mixed with the mourners.

Alice didn’t know what exactly she was watching for, but she’d know it if she saw it.

She blended into the crowd as they waited to enter, looking at faces and listening to hushed conversations.

The doors finally opened, and the crowd politely swarmed inside.

The service was being held in a church’s huge auditorium, and as Alice scanned the rows and rows of chairs, she wondered if it was big enough to hold the crowd she’d seen.

She walked up and down a few aisles, nodding mournfully at the few people who caught her gaze.

The agents planned to spend the bulk of the service at the back of the room, but she’d asked Oscar to sit right behind the Marshall family, wanting eyes and ears close.

Will the killer show up?

Will our suspect wear a suit or a black dress?

The previous few days of the investigation had uncovered a wealth of information.

The biggest surprise was that a year ago Derrick Bell had purchased an enormous life insurance policy with Noelle as the sole beneficiary.

He’d also made a will that left everything to her: his condo and all his investment and savings accounts.

The will had been written around the same time he bought the policy.

Noelle Bell was now a very wealthy woman.

Noelle had been stunned, stating again that she’d had no idea about the life insurance or will. Alice also discovered that Derrick had bought a life insurance policy of the same size on Noelle with himself as the beneficiary.

Noelle had blinked rapidly when she learned about the life insurance policy on her and absently touched the back of her head, no doubt understanding how close she’d come to dying.

Alice believed that Noelle hadn’t known about it; otherwise her sisters would have been the beneficiaries in addition to her husband.

Noelle would never leave out her family.

Three-quarters of the seats in the church auditorium were taken.

Alice noted Oscar was in place, then took her position at a side wall next to other standing mourners.

Someone flashed the lights, and people rushed to fill the rest of the chairs.

Alice could see the back of Noelle’s head and her grandfather beside her.

Alice knew her sisters were close but couldn’t see them through the crowded rows.

Not far away she spotted Derrick’s sister, Lora, as she turned to speak to her mother.

The two families had sat near each other but kept separate.

There was a growing rift between the Marshalls and the Bells.

Catherine and Stan Bell couldn’t believe Derrick had left everything to Noelle.

Noelle hadn’t recovered her memory of the attack, and the Bells didn’t believe she was trying hard enough to get it back.

Noelle had shown Alice texts from Catherine, begging her to see one of her friends who was a psychiatrist or at least try hypnosis. But it was too soon. The doctors said her injury needed more healing time.

Alice had seen the texts because she’d been living with Noelle for the last four days.

Some people believed Alice was there for Noelle’s safety, to protect her from Derrick’s killer. Others believed she was there to discover if Noelle had killed her husband.

Both were correct.

At first Noelle had thought to stay with her grandfather, but she’d told Alice she was worried someone would come to the home and attack her, putting Lucia, Daisy, and her grandfather at risk.

There wasn’t room for Alice to move into that house, so she and Noelle found a short-term rental not far from her grandfather’s home.

Roommates.

It wasn’t unusual for the FBI to embed an agent in a home when the situation called for it.

Alice had shortened her office hours and worked as much as possible from her laptop.

Noelle often paced the home and its small backyard, as she had little to keep her occupied.

Alice had instructed her not to leave the home unless she could go with her.

So Noelle had family come to her at the rental, along with Savannah, who’d even spent a night.

There’d been a lot of wine that evening.

Glaringly absent were any visits from the Bell side of the family. Not one of them had offered to spend time with Noelle, which made Alice furious.

Her husband was murdered.

The Bells acted as if only they deserved to suffer.

Alice saw pain every day on Noelle’s face.

It wasn’t just that her husband had been killed; the media hounded her, popping up whenever she stepped out of the house.

Noelle started using a grocery delivery service, only to have a reporter pay off a delivery driver, pose as a driver himself, and actually step into the house.

Alice had heard him talking to Noelle and immediately thrown him out when the topic turned to the murder.

Alice’s protective mother-bear feelings didn’t make sense.

Noelle was much taller than she and had no problem standing up for herself.

In fact she seemed to have gained confidence since she’d moved in with Alice.

She’d brought in some free weights since she couldn’t go to the gym.

It’d only been a few days, but already Noelle seemed stronger and held her chin higher.

Alice was impressed. Many victims would have pulled inside themselves, barely talked, and stopped moving.

Noelle was the opposite; she was constantly on the move.

Alice had brought over her freestanding punching bag and shown Noelle how to use it.

She caught on instantly. Her aggression had surprised Alice, and Noelle spent hours working with it.

Several old coworkers had referred to Noelle as a physical force.

Alice hadn’t seen that in her until now.

Noelle had also mentioned it after her first day with the bag, commenting on her loss of strength.

Now she was determinedly working to get back to her former level.

This must be who she was before the attack.

I allowed the battered victim in a hospital bed to color my first impression.

Every day Noelle peppered Alice with insightful questions about the case. She wanted to hear about forensics, lab tests, and even the autopsy. She was curious about everything, and her thought processes mirrored Alice’s when she followed the evidence.

Noelle had been genuinely surprised to discover Derrick had been taking antianxiety medications. “He never said a word. Why would he hide that from me?” But then Noelle had dropped her gaze. “I guess he wasn’t the only one.”

“Meaning?” Alice then learned that Noelle was on birth control and had been faking that she was trying to get pregnant.

“Don’t tell his family,” Noelle had requested. “It’s bad enough that I lied to him about the pill. They don’t need another reason to dislike me.”

“Why didn’t you tell Derrick?” Alice had asked.

Noelle had looked away. “I didn’t want a baby.”

Alice had stared at her for a long time, but Noelle didn’t offer more information.

There’s more to that answer.

Alice barely listened as the mayor of Sacramento and a state senator delivered somber speeches at the memorial, but she paid close attention when Derrick’s brother walked up to the podium. Noelle had turned down an opportunity to speak, saying she wouldn’t be able to get a word out.

Jason Bell read from notecards as a recording of family videos and photos played on the giant screen behind him.

He spoke fondly of his younger brother, sharing some funny stories and sparking laughter in the audience.

Jason went on to talk about the people who’d been close to Derrick. Friends, coworkers, family.

He didn’t mention Noelle.

What the fuck?

Also missing were any photos of Derrick and Noelle’s wedding on the giant screen. Alice only saw Noelle in the background in a few political photos, speaking with other people.

Noelle must feel horrible.

Alice watched Jason return to his seat, where his father patted his shoulder and he got a hug from his mother.

She’d known the family disliked Noelle, but not mentioning her at her husband’s memorial service was a new kind of low.

A subtle murmur went through the crowd. Alice wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.

She glared daggers at the back of Catherine’s head, surprised that the woman, who was so concerned about everything her family did in public, would allow this to happen.

No doubt there were reporters in the audience; Noelle’s absence from the speech and photos would be noted.

And the press will speculate about the murder investigation. Noelle was avoided because the Bells believe she’s involved in Derrick’s death.

Catherine and Stan had never asked to see photos of their son’s body. The medical examiner had started to give a minimal description, but Catherine had tearfully cut him off, saying she couldn’t hear any more. Alice understood that. No one wanted permanent mental images of their battered child.

The medical examiner had confirmed that Derrick died instantly when the iron elephant struck him in the face.

The elephant’s trunk had left a distinctive mark, and Derrick’s tissue and saliva had been found in the elephant’s crevices.

He reported that all the battering from the crowbar and kicks had occurred after death, and Alice recalled that there’d been little or no blood where the crowbar had broken the skin, indicating the heart had stopped pumping blood.

The medical examiner had determined the bruises were all postmortem by analyzing the damaged tissue, where he discovered a lack of both inflammation and a specific leukotriene, a molecule found in bruises that occur before death.

Fingerprints from Noelle, Derrick, and their house cleaner plus other prints that couldn’t be identified were found on the elephant. No prints were on the landline. The woman caller must have wiped it down.

They never found a crowbar, and no one knew if Derrick had owned one.

Cellular signals indicated that Noelle had driven home from the city after her lunch with Eve.

She might not remember much of the drive, but evidence showed she’d done what she thought she had.

More signals and credit card charges showed Noelle had gone to a mall before lunch.

Once this evidence was presented to Noelle, she managed to recall that she’d bought shoes and two silver bracelets that morning. And Starbucks.

“I wore the bracelets to lunch,” she’d slowly added, clearly thinking hard.

Two silver bracelets had been sent with her clothes to the lab.

It appeared Derrick hadn’t left the house that day—or at least his phone and car indicated he hadn’t.

His staff had confirmed that he’d called early to let them know he was taking the morning off, but he hadn’t shared his reason with anyone, even his assistant, Jon.

That morning Noelle had left to go shopping and meet Eve under the assumption that Derrick was going to his office.

She recalled that he’d been in the shower when she left and that he hadn’t told her he wasn’t going to work that day.

Law enforcement didn’t have a suspect, and that fact grated on Alice.

Especially since she was getting pressure from higher up and from the media.

Tips had rolled in and were being dissected by her team.

More people were sifting through a stack of threatening emails going back an entire year, senders being traced.

Alice was surprised at how many people used their regular email addresses to send hate. For some reason, they felt safe at their keyboards while writing angry and sometimes violent emails.

She scanned the mourners. It was a silent and attentive crowd. Sad faces. Many tissues. Several people holding hands.

I bet some of those emails came from these people.

Alice had met many liars in her job. Their faces rarely gave away the ugly thoughts dancing in their brains.

I don’t care about catching liars.

I want to catch his killer.