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  Sam stepped up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, law enforcement has no further comment on this matter in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.” She stepped down, and John and Jim pushed their way through the reporters to the building entrance where agents prevented anyone through as the four disappeared into the building.

  No one was prepared for what had caused the screams on the upper deck of the Bonaventure Hotel parking structure. Violet was running with the others behind her. As she rounded the last corner going up the steep structure, she spotted a woman engulfed in flames, running back and forth, screaming and pleading for help.

  “Dear God, help me. Someone please help me. I’m on fire.” There were several fire extinguishers on the wall near the woman, and Violet put her elbow through the glass and grabbed a unit, pulled the pin, and began to spray the screaming woman with it.

  The valet as well as the other two men froze, and Violet screamed at them, “Get the other extinguisher off the wall, damn it, and help me help her.” Carry grabbed a unit and began to spray the woman down until the flames were out. There was a moment of clarity in the face of the woman who had been on fire. Her hair was burned off as well as her clothing. Her skin was deep purple and black, and her eyes were a pale grey.

  Violet ran over to her as she collapsed. She was about to say something when a dark van came screeching out of a parking spot in the direction of the victim and Violet. She was able to get to her feet and run out of the way as the van with blacked out windows roared across the lot and right over the burned woman’s head. Violet watched as it exploded like a watermelon being struck with a sledge hammer. Carry and Violet were standing next to each other as the van struck the woman and both were covered in brain matter as the driver gunned the engine and took off.

  Carry was looking at the headless body and then bent over and threw up near the edge of the garage. Violet followed, both retching up their lunch, as the valet and Carry’s colleague ran down the ramp to the safety of the hotel.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Are you going to babysit Ms. Harper,

  or are you going to question her?”

  It was five thirty p.m., and John and Jim stood near the elevator entrance looking at each other without saying a word. Sam walked up to them and asked, “What the fuck were you thinking, Jim? Jesus Christ! You can’t throw your goddamn temper tantrums with the media because I’m the one who inherits your legacy, and that legacy is one of really, really bad relations with those damn people.” John nodded as Jim looked on at Chris, who was running across the lobby of the building with his cell phone in his hand.

  “It’s done.” Saul Winston was holding his phone to his ear as the words resonated in his mind. There was a moment of silence, and the female voice on the other end repeated, “It’s done, Saul. Did you hear what I just said?”

  A tear ran down Saul’s face, and he said, “I heard you. Where did it happen?”

  “Is that really important, Saul? The less you know about how your wife died the better. Police are on scene, and it’s only a matter of minutes before the FBI and Sheriff’s Department are there, too. They will be coming to speak to you, so get ready. There will be a knock on your front door any minute.” Saul staggered across the kitchen where he had been making a sandwich for himself and Terry, who was sitting at a small table staring at him with a confused look on her face. The line went dead, and Saul walked out of the room.

  Violet and Carry were seated on a bench near the valet stand as two LAPD detectives interviewed them about what they had seen. Violet was covered in blood and brain matter. She wasn’t very talkative and was trying to wrap her head around the goings on of the past half hour. It was ten to six, and her life was changed, and she heard in a fog one of the detectives say those words to her.

  John and Chris pulled up on scene with Sam and Jim in a follow-up car with an FBI CSI team behind them. John parked and walked over to one of the LAPD officers standing guard and asked where the witnesses were. The officer pointed in the direction of the valet stand, and John and Chris started walking over. He didn’t walk more than a few steps when he saw Violet sitting on the bench. He started shaking his head, and Chris looked at him and asked what he was thinking.

  “You’ll understand in a few seconds.” John walked up to the bench, and Violet looked up to see them standing in front of her.

  She looked at John and asked, “This is your case?” John nodded and asked the other officers to leave and told Chris to take Carry into the hotel and interview him. He was about to speak when he heard Jim’s voice calling out for him. Jim walked toward him but didn’t see Violet right away.

  John pulled his tablet out of his suit coat as Jim saw Violet and said, “You? You’re the damn witness?” Violet nodded slowly. Her black hair and alabaster skin were speckled with blood and brains. She slouched on the bench with her legs crossed and cleavage showing, yet she had no regard for any of it. John asked a nearby ambulance driver for a towel and some water, and the EMT handed them to him.

  He sat down next to her and began to gently wipe the blood off her face as Chris returned and said, “Professor Harper? You witnessed this?” She nodded, taking the towel from John’s hand and then grabbing his arm and burying her face in his chest. She began to scream, and he put his arms around her and held her.

  He felt her body shudder as she wept, and Chris looked confused while Jim pulled a cigarette out of his top left pocket, lit it, and asked, “Are you going to babysit Ms. Harper, or are you going to question her?”

  Violet pulled her head away from John’s chest and told Jim, “Go fuck yourself, O’Brian.”

  Jim let out a laugh as the smoke rose in front of him and said, “You first, Vi, you first.”

  Chris looked at the two men and his former law professor from Pepperdine sitting on the bench together and asked, “Does someone want to catch me up?”

  Jim said, “John and Vi over here are old friends, aren’t you John?”

  John pulled Violet back, his huge arms holding her shaking shoulders, and said, “Tell me what happened, Violet. Do you know who the victim is?”

  She shook her head, wiping her face with the towel, “Um … no. I was here giving a talk to an attorney group for the ABA, and I was just getting into my car when I heard a woman scream. It was the most horrible scream I have ever heard, John. I ran up the parking ramp, and she was on fire. She was screaming and pleading as she flailed her arms and kicked her legs, fully engulfed in flames.”

  “And what did you do?”

  “I grabbed a fire extinguisher as did one of my colleagues who was at my talk, and we put out the flames.”

  John was holding his tablet near Violet’s face and asked, “And then what happened?”

  She started to shake and said, “A van pulled out from a parking spot near the top of the structure and gunned the engine right at me and Carry. We jumped out of the way as the van slowed and ran over the woman’s head. Jesus, John! The driver ran over her head. It just popped like a grape, and then the van was gone, and the police showed up.”

  John asked, “Did you get any information? A plate number? Did you see the driver?” She shook her head and said no. “Did the woman say anything other than asking for help?”

  Violet shook her head and said, “Begging … she was begging … she knew she was on fire. She said that when we got the fire out. She stared for a few seconds before the van pulled out but said nothing.”

  Jim walked away and started up the ramp to the crime scene. Chris looked at John and Violet and asked, “I can see that you two know each other. May I ask how?”

  “Ms. Harper was a close friend of my late wife Amber and a friend of Sara’s as well. Violet was very active in the community in her early years as a lawyer.”

  Chris asked, “Were you two intimate?”

  Violet looked up. Her green eyes filled with tears
as John looked up to the upper level of the parking structure where there was a great deal of light and said, “Now is not the time for those questions. Violet and I haven’t seen each other in many years.” He looked at her and asked, “I want you taken to the hospital. I’ll call Sara and let her know that you’re coming in. One of our younger doctors is an ER specialist and a psychiatrist. I want you to talk to her.”

  Violet nodded and asked, “Will I see you again?”

  John nodded and said as he walked away, “Yes. You can count on it. We have a lot to talk about.” He called out to the EMT and told him to take Ms. Harper to Northridge Hospital for observation then called Sara. He saw Jade and Jessica near the body and asked, “Do we have a note? Anything from the killer?”

  Jade said, “No, but we know who the victim is.”

  “And how do we know that? She has no head. I mean, we can’t even do dental records on this one.” Jade handed John a pair of latex gloves, which he put on, and then handed him a black Fendi purse that was open. He looked inside and pulled out the wallet and said, “Well, isn’t this an interesting turn of events?”

  Jade nodded and said, “Yes … it is.”

  Jessica looked at the two of them and asked, “Who is going to call the husband?”

  John stood up and said, “Jade, work with my team and Jim’s. I’m going to leave Sam here with you as well. She needs to learn to deal with this type of situation.”

  Jade laughed and said, “I’m sorry, John, but this is one I don’t get too often. A body with a crushed head.”

  He looked at her as Jim and Sam approached and said, “Well, I don’t think we need to look too far for a cause of death, and we all know that we are dealing with Caldwell and Harris’s killer.” Everyone nodded. John looked at Jim and said, “This victim is none other than the wife of Saul Winston.”

  Jim got a big smile on his face and said, “Really? Well, what are we waiting for? We need to go give Mr. Winston the devastating news.”

  Chris looked lost, and John said, “Yes … the devastating news that the wife who left him and was divorcing him in a high profile case is now dead in the parking structure of the Bonaventure Hotel. I’m certain he will just be devastated.”

  Jim laughed and said, “I have a feeling Mr. Winston is going to be devastated, but I don’t think it is going to be by the news of his wife’s murder.”

  Chris shook his head and said, “Really, Jim? Really? You’re going to make a veiled reference to the Eagle here?”

  “You’re right. That was too fuckin’ subtle. I have ten bucks that says that Saul Winston will end up in the arms of the Eagle. Any takers?”

  Sam looked down at Jade, who was looking at the meat thermometer in Janet Winston’s liver. As Jim and John walked off, Chris was left standing with the women. Sam looked at him and said, “The damn case isn’t going to solve itself, mister FBI man, so you want to put on a pair of gloves and start investigating?” Chris did as she said and began shooting pictures with his tablet as Jade and Sam worked on the scene with the others.

  Sandy Hyde was watching the news conference on a flat screen TV with her feet up on her desk. Ken Miller saw the intense look on her face and knocked on the office door. She jumped, and Ken said, “I’m sorry, Sandy. I wanted to talk to you, but you were on the phone when I passed the first time, and now you look pretty intense.”

  She put her feet down and pressed the button on a remote control in her hand and said, “I just watched the FBI and Sheriff’s Department give a … colorful news conference about Howard’s death.”

  Ken sat down in a chair across from her desk and asked, “Colorful?”

  Sandy laughed while blowing her nose. Her eyes were red, and she said, “Well, yes. Agent John Swenson was giving a news conference and not answering questions, and a reporter blurted out a nickname for the killer that the media has been running stories with, and then Jim O’Brian took the stage and basically cursed a blue streak on live TV.”

  Ken laughed to himself and said, “That’s the one thing about Jim. He’s not a people person.”

  “No shit, Ken. That’s not a news flash.”

  He sat silent for a moment and asked, “Are you okay? Is it the call or the news conference?”

  Sandy stood up and straightened out her skirt and blouse and said, “A little of both, Ken, but nothing I can discuss right now.”

  He looked at the antique clock on the wall behind her and asked if she had plans for dinner. She shook her head, and he said, “Well, then, why don’t we grab a bite at El Campo Restaurant, so we can catch up?”

  She looked around the office and then said, “I wish I could, but I have an appointment. How about a rain check?” Ken nodded, standing up, and could see that Sandy was more distraught than she wanted him to know.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Okay? Oh hell, Ken. I’m not okay. Are you?” He shook his head gently. She picked up her purse and grabbed her coat and said, “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Thanks for the invitation. Have a pleasant night.” And with that, she walked out of her office and into the darkening hall of Cohen, Miller & Hyde.

  Dusk was just setting in when Philly pulled up to Saul Winston’s security gate and pressed the buzzer. A few seconds went by, and the gate opened, and he pulled his car around the circular drive and parked. He looked up at the clear evening sky, and the first stars had begun to show through the light blue filter of night.

  Saul was standing by the front door in a robe, and Terry was walking up the right side of the double staircase that led to the second floor. She called out to him, “What do you want me to do while you’re working?”

  He looked up at her and said, “Use your imagination. Take a Jacuzzi or go out on the upper deck and swim in the infinity pool. Just make sure you leave the clothes at my bedroom door.” Terry pulled the robe off slowly, revealing her slender frame and perky breasts.

  She held it at her side and said, “You’re the boss. I will do as you instruct.” She walked up the stairs in four inch heels, dragging the white silk robe next to her thighs, and walked into the bedroom. The doorbell rang, and Saul waited to answer until he heard the bedroom door shut behind her.

  Violet was arguing with the EMT as the ambulance pulled up to the ER entrance of Northridge Hospital. “I don’t need to be wheeled out on a damn gurney, for crying out loud. What I need is a shower.” The back doors opened, and Sara and Karen were looking into the back of the ambulance.

  “It’s city ordinance, ma’am. I can’t just let you walk out of the ambulance. You have to be carried. I can get in a lot of trouble.” The driver was walking around from his side of the vehicle and telling her the same thing. By the time the driver had reached the back, Violet was out of the ambulance and standing in front of Sara and Karen.

  Sara shook her head and said while turning her back to Violet, “It’s been a long time.” Karen walked behind Violet as she walked into the emergency room. Violet didn’t respond. Sara pointed to an exam room and said, “In there.” Violet obeyed, and Karen followed the two women into the room and shut the door behind them.

  Sara pulled a blood pressure cuff off the wall and took Violet’s vitals while asking Karen to start a chart. Karen took out her tablet and began to ask Violet the usual medical questions until she was interrupted.

  “Goddamn it, Sara. I’m five six and a hundred and fifty-five pounds. I’m not a damn construction worker. Why do you have the cuff so tight?” Sara let the air out of the cuff and told Karen the readings as she put a thermometer in Violet’s ear and finished off all of her vitals.

  She looked at her and said, “Please disrobe.”

  Violet got off the exam room table and started removing her clothing while asking, “Is this really necessary?”

  When she removed her skirt and top, which left only a bra, Sara looked at her and said, “I see you
still like to go commando.”

  Violet laughed as she removed her bra and handed it to Sara and said, “You know I’m not an underwear fan. I never have been.”

  “Yeah. I recall. Easy access just in case the moment strikes, right?”

  Violet sat back down and asked, “Jesus, do I at least get a hospital gown?”

  Sara stared at her for a few seconds and then said, “You need a shower. You’re a mess.” She threw her a robe and led her down the hall to the doctor’s locker room and into the shower. She handed Violet a regular robe and said, “After your shower, come to the doctor’s lounge. You know where it is.”

  Violet batted her eyes at them and asked, “You’re not going to bathe me to make sure all of the human remains are off of me?” Sara shook her head, and Violet said, “I know it’s been a few years, but how about a shower together for old time’s sake?” Sara just shook her head as she walked to the doctor’s lounge with Karen behind her.

  “You want to catch me up, Sara? Who the hell is that woman?”

  Sara pulled a coffee cup from a dispenser and said, “That woman? That woman is the one before me … before John’s first wife Amber. That woman is someone I thought was gone from my life forever.”

  Karen took a cup and poured some coffee and said, “So … you two were lovers, too?”

  Sara sat down at one of the tables. There were three other doctors talking in the lounge a few tables away. Sara looked at her and said, “It was a long time ago, Karen. Amber and I were in medical school. John and I had met a few times but weren’t intimate back then. John was deployed with his unit. God knows where he had gone for several months.” She looked around and then leaned in to Karen and whispered, “Her name is Violet Harper, and she is an attorney here in LA. I didn’t know it, and I didn’t know John that well, but it turns out Violet is bi. One weekend, I was stressed over school and patients, and Amber was stressing, too. Violet came out to hang out, do some shopping, just girl shit. We ended up at a bar near the hospital. We got drunk, and the next morning the three of us woke up in bed together.”