Apparently Rogan wasnt the only one in the room who struggled with names. Bob King, you probably remember J. J. Rogan.
Im told theres a tearstained note, King said.
Our guys or the EMTs? she asked.
Your guys. Two of them cowering on the front porch like bitch babies. I take it theyre a-scared of the mama grizzly out in the living room. Or the parlor. Whatever you call that big useless room down there.
So much for telling Katherine Whitmire to wait outside.
Yeah, theres a note, she verified. Bodys in the tub.
She noticed that he stooped slightly beneath the doorway as he crossed the bathroom threshold, a habit of the tall, she supposed.
While he was inspecting the body, Ellie rifled through the bright-orange Hermes handbag on the kitchen counter until she found an unlabeled vial of pills. She unscrewed the cap and held an orange-and-white capsule up to the light. Bingo.
When King stepped from the bathroom, she threw the capsule in his direction. Correct me if Im wrong, but Adderalls prescribed for depression?
Nah, more for ADHD-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-but, yeah, its a stimulant. Your extra-special law-enforcing eyes seeing anything that my awesome medical training is missing?
They shook their heads.
Havent seen slit wrists in a while, he noted.
Despite the well-worn paradigm, Ellie knew that a cut wrist was a surprisingly ineffective method of death. The vessels in a wrist just arent that big. And bodies fight to survive. The vessels usually close before death occurs. Thats why cut wrists are often followed by cut chests or necks. But, in this case, Julia had the bathwater to help keep the blood flowing. The empty bottle of Barolo on the marble floor indicated some alcohol-related assistance as well.
Ginger placed his hands on his hips. Well, I dont know about you two, but I get paid the same whether Im here or back at Twenty-sixth Street. If this were a subsidized studio at the Patterson Projects, Id be heading back to the office. But for Mama Grizzly out there? I plan on doing everything Id do if you told me this was fishy. Better the taxpayers dollars than my ass.
Then its unanimous, Rogan declared. Lets do it.
Yoo-hoo. Ellie waved a hand. Not unanimous yet.
Whats the big deal? Well get CSU to work the place up. Talk to a few of the girls friends. Canvass the neighborhood. Make sure were not missing anything.
Or we could get the hell out of here and eat lunch.
Again: Sensitivity and what not?
I dont know. A hamburger sounds pretty good right now. Or does your girlfriend still have you watching your cholesterol, old man?
Rogan shook his head. I never should have mentioned that shit to you. Like riding with my moms. A whiter, blonder, more freakily intuitive version of my mother. Its not like you to walk away from something so quickly, Hatcher.
I walk away when I know my times being wasted. You two stay up here if you want, but Ive got a court appearance to make. Im going to talk with the mother, then Im out of here.
Chapter Four
Ellie found Katherine Whitmire perched on an upholstered banquette at the bottom of the stairs, a cordless phone to one ear. The officer who was supposed to have accompanied her outside stood by. Ive been with her the whole time, he offered as a consolation.
Ellie was beginning to wish she possessed whatever power this woman seemed to exert over others.
Katherine used her free hand to wipe away smears of black mascara when she noticed Ellie approaching.
I have to go, Bill, she said into her phone. One of the detectives just finished up in the bedroom. She might have some news. But youre heading back into the city, right? Immediately? She muttered a soft thank-you before clicking off the line.
My husband, she explained. Hes getting a helicopter back from East Hampton. He was talking about a meeting out there. I think hes in a bit of shock.
Its not unusual.
Right. I guess youre used to dealing with these sorts of things, arent you?
You never get used to it. Tell me about your daughter.
She would never do something like this to herself.
Everyone thought they could spot suicidal tendencies. Ellie knew better. Some people advertised their misery with unshowered days spent self-medicated in bed, but just as many kept up appearances as workers, students, neighbors-fathers. It had taken Ellie nearly twenty years, but shed come to the truth the hard way.
So tell me about her.
I dont understand, Detective. What is it that you want to know?
She wanted to know how this woman saw her daughter. Mostly she wanted this woman to feel like she had been given the opportunity to speak before Ellie left her to deal with the long and messy aftermath of a suicide. I know you overheard a couple of the police officers talking to the EMTs. Obviously you believe they jumped to the wrong conclusions. So tell me what you want us to know about Julia, so we can have the whole picture.
Ellie followed the woman to the living room, where she removed a framed photograph from the mantel. This was two Christmases ago. Katherine Whitmire had not changed since the family portrait, but her daughter looked much younger with no makeup, plump cheeks, and pink lips struggling to cover her metal braces through a smile.
Is that your son? Ellie pointed to the preppy-looking boy seated next to Julia.
Billy. Bill Jr., yes. Hes a freshman at Colby now. And thats my husband, Bill. I havent called Billy yet. II dont know how to. He doesnt handle change well. Hes very regimented, very planned-like his father. Not like Julia at all. She smiled sadly. Julias more like me. Or was. Independent. Free-spirited. Stubborn as all hell, but so tolerant and accepting and loving of every person she ever met. She had the kind of heart that wanted to save us all.
Did you need saving?
Her wistful expression was replaced by an intense stare. I didnt mean myself personally, Detective. I meant-you know-society, the world. She wanted to save the world. I warned her. I told her that some people just couldnt be saved. They might have been decent people under other circumstances, but that kind of poverty, living on the streets-it makes people desperate. It makes them dangerous. Thats what happened here. One of those-animals-killed her. They probably stole a few bucks from her purse. Thats what this is about.
The words were tumbling out too quickly to follow.
You sound like you have someone in mind.
Theyre kids from the street. I found them here with her-maybe two months ago.
And who were these kids? In the world of the Whitmires, kids from public school might be considered bad influences.
I dont know if theyre orphans or in foster care, or maybe theyre just homeless. I dont know their names. There were maybe three of them here-two boys and a girl, I think. Ramona would know. Ramona Langston. Shes Julias best friend. I told Julia not to have those people over again, but, God knows, my daughter never did listen to me. Bill said shed only hold on to them closer if I tried to push them away. What can you do, though? She was all grown up.
I was told she was sixteen?
The woman blinked as if Ellies response was a non sequitur.
So these kids were here two months ago? Ellie asked. You didnt see Julia with them since then?
Ive only been back once since then.
Im sorry. You told us when we arrived that this was your house?
It is, but Bill and I only come in about once a month or so. Weve been going back and forth between here and East Hampton for years, but weve tapered off our city presence. When Billy went to college, Julia moved upstairs.
And before Billy was at school?
Then the two of them would be here. Oh, they were inseparable. I dont even know how to tell him whats happened. Julia followed Billy everywhere. She has never liked being alone. That was probably why she befriended such desperate people. You know, I was here more often before Billy went to school. She had me. She had him. Now-
So, Im sorry-Julia was basically living here alone?
Most of the time. Thats right. She preferred the city. Her school. Her friends. Everything is here.
And this woman had called the street kids the orphans.
What else would a good, thorough, concerned detective ask? Did she have a boyfriend?
And this woman had called the street kids the orphans.
What else would a good, thorough, concerned detective ask? Did she have a boyfriend?
A boyfriend? Like the word was foreign.
A guy in her life?
Well, my daughter certainly dated, Im sure. But no one special I know about.
I found birth control pills in your daughters medicine cabinet. I thought that might indicate she was seeing someone regularly?
Oh, those? Shes been on the pill since she was fourteen. Bills idea, actually. Better safe than sorry.
There was something about Julias fathers name that felt familiar to Ellie. Whitmire. Bill Whitmire. She couldnt quite place it.
What about other prescriptions? We found Adderall in her purse.
Adderall? Ive never heard of it. I mean, she would get headaches. Maybe-
Its a prescription stimulant used for ADHD.
Katherine shook her head. She didnt have anything like that.
Did she see a psychiatrist?
No. Lord knows I do, as do a lot of her friends. But Bill thinks therapy and antidepressants and all of that are overused by overindulgent rich people. I suppose to you we might seem to fit that description.
Your husbands name sounds familiar to me. Do you mind if
CBGB.
Excuse me?
Dont tell me youre so young you dont know about CBGB?
Ellie and her brother, Jess, had probably logged a couple thousand hours at the celebrated music venue before it succumbed to escalating rent prices. Of course I know it. Then the light clicked. Bill Whitmire was the famed producer behind bands that had played with the Ramones and Blondie.
Its a John Varvatos boutique now, the woman said sadly. Can you believe that?
Ellie stayed with the woman in the living room while CSU officers came and went. She heard about the school Christmas play Julia wrote in the fifth grade, where Santa Claus went to a doctor named Cal Q. Later to lose weight so the reindeer could still fly with him in the sleigh. She learned that Julia had been the one to write her older brothers college admission essays. She found out that Julia had organized the first chapter of Amnesty International at Casden, her Upper East Side prep school. That she loved dogs but was allergic. That she once met Bono through her father and got his autograph-not for herself, but to donate to a charitable auction for an animal shelter.