Seams of Destruction (9 page)

“You like?” Giovanni asked as he pointed to a dress hanging on a hook on the wall.

“I like the design,” Jade said. “Let’s see how it looks on.”

She took the dress and went into a small room off Giovanni’s office. Before she closed the door, Mitch saw the model reflected from several different mirrors.

“What do you think, Giovanni?” she asked the question of Sorrento, but she looked at Mitch.

“Turn around,” Giovanni ordered.

She did as she was asked, moving slowly until she had made a complete circle. Giovanni took a box of pins and made a tuck here and a tuck there. When he was satisfied with the fit, he stood back and surveyed Jade with a pleased look on his face.

“Ees good,” he said.

He motioned her back into the changing room and turned to look at Mitch.

“She very beautiful. You think?”

“She is,” Mitch agreed.

“Is not possible she kill Reannan.”

“Do you have any idea who it might have been?”

Giovanni shook his head. “Many people not care for her.”

Jade came out dressed in her street clothes and Giovanni said no more.

“Do you need anything else from me?” Jade asked.

“I call if I do,” Giovanni said, standing up from his desk.

With a nod to the famous designer, Mitch followed Jade out of the office and back through the warehouse.

“I don’t know if I can continue to work here,” Jade said as Mitch drove out of the parking lot.

“Why is that?”

“Every time I go there, I see Reannan laying on the floor in a pool of blood. I will never forget it and I don’t want to be constantly reminded of that night.”

“That’s understandable. If you did quit Sorrento’s, what would you do?”

“Find a job with another fashion house or free-lance like a lot of models do. I would have to get an agent and put together a portfolio, but I would rather do that than continue with Sorrento’s.”

Mitch concentrated on the traffic, glancing up in his rear view mirror to ascertain if they were still being followed. He saw the familiar car and once again wondered who it could possibly be.

Obviously, it had nothing to do with Giovanni Sorrento. The Chief had ruled him out as a possibility. Mitch was anxious to get home and open up the packet he had picked up at Castillo’s office.

“Would you like to stop for lunch or go home and I’ll make you a sandwich?” Mitch asked.

“Let’s go home. I have some phone calls I want to make. I want to check with some of the other models and see if one of them can recommend a good agent. Also, I need to call my mother and let her know I’m back in town.”

“Did you call your parents from Milan?”

“I did. As I told you, they have perfect confidence in me and they are hoping you come up with the killer before long.”

“No pressure,” he said.

“I thought it would make them feel better if I told them now that we are back in LA, you’re going to be working on finding the real killer.”

“As soon as we have lunch, I’m going to start reading those reports.”

“Do you think you’ll find anything in them?”

“Maybe not who the killer was. Actually, I’m more interested in the autopsy report than I am the one filed by the arresting officers. I’m sure their report is a pretty open and shut one accusing you of the murder.”

“I’m hoping to find something in the autopsy report.”

“Do they always do an autopsy?”

“I believe so. Castillo told me it’s the law. In addition, you were so insistent that you hadn’t done it. That there was someone else in the warehouse when you went into the building that night. Also I think he wanted to believe Giovanni when he said there was no way you could have done it.”

“I hope you find something in the reports that will prove I didn’t do it.”

“Me, too.”

Mitch was glad to see they were home and he stopped in front of the house. He went around the front of the car and opened the door for Jade. After she had stepped out, he reached into the back of the car and picked up the brown envelope off the seat.

They walked into the house, and Mitch went to his office where he put the reports on his desk. Going into the kitchen, he saw Jade had already pulled the makings for sandwiches out of the refrigerator.

“Let me do that,” he said. “You set the table and put a bowl of chips out for me. Also fruit for both of us.”

“Don’t you like the way I make sandwiches?” she teased.

“I don’t believe you’ve ever made one for me. I guess I’m too use to doing for myself.”

“Just give me a slice of the ham and a piece of cheese. I’ll just have it with some fruit. As you’ve probably picked up by now, I don’t eat bread.”

“I noticed that.”

Mitch made himself a thick sandwich of meat and cheese between two slices of wheat bread. He took a beer out of the refrigerator and sat down across the kitchen table from Jade with her small plate of food and a bottle of water.

He was anxious to get started on the reports. Surely, there would be something in them to prove Jade’s innocence.

Chapter 9

Mitch settled into the chair behind his desk and took the two reports out of the envelope and placed them down in front of him. In the background he could hear Jade talking on the telephone. He picked up the arrest report and read through it. There was nothing new there, which was no surprise to him. He slipped it back into the envelope and laid it on the corner of the desk.

Leaning his chin on one hand he began to read the autopsy report. The first page was the date of the autopsy and data on Reannan Scott. The second picture was a photograph of the body as it had been received at the morgue and laid out on the coroner’s table. Mitch studied the photo carefully.

“Good news,” Jade said from the doorway.

Mitch quickly turned over the paper he had been looking at. He didn’t want her to see the photo. She had had enough stress without adding to it with a picture of Reannan with her throat slit.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’ve retained an agent.”

“That didn’t take long.”

“I talked to a couple of the models I know and they both agreed that Josh Robbins was the best in the business. I called him and he agreed to sign me up as a client.”

“That’s great. But I’ll bet Giovanni is going to be disappointed.”

“He’ll find someone just as good as me.”

“Does that mean you’ll be doing more traveling?”

“Probably. Have you found anything in the reports yet?” she asked.

“There was nothing in the arrest report that I didn’t already know and I’ve just gotten started on the autopsy report. It will take some time to read through since it is quite technical.”

“Will you tell me if you find anything?”

“I can’t do that without the Chief’s permission.”

She frowned. “How long is it going to take?”

“I’m not sure, but once I’ve read it, I will need to go back to the police station and go over my findings with Castillo.”

“Is there anything you want me to do while you’re reading it?”

“For starters, you can leave me alone and let me get on with it.” He smiled to soften his words.

“I think I’ll go in the kitchen and decide what to have for dinner.”

“Another thing you could do is weed the flowerbeds.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Look at these hands,” Jade said, holding them out for his inspection. “Do they look like they were made for weeding?”

He looked at her two hands with their long, slim fingers.

“I’ll get you a pair of gloves,” Mitch said, standing up.

“You really are serious.”

He smiled down at her as he walked past. Sighing, she followed him into the garage where he found a pair of gloves on a shelf.

“Here, try these on.”

They were a little big for her, but she decided they would work. They walked out into the backyard together.

“You do know the difference between a weed and a flower, don’t you?”

She grimaced at him. “It’s going to be your fault if I pull up a flower instead of a weed.”

“Do your best, but please don’t interrupt me while I read the autopsy report. I need to concentrate and I can’t do that if you keep bothering me.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. He grabbed her and gave her a quick kiss before he went back into the house.

That was only the second time Mitch had kissed her.

If you could call it a kiss
.

She walked toward the first bed of flowers and got down on her knees and began pulling weeds and stacking them on the grass beside her.

Who would have thought with the money she made that she would be weeding a flower garden at some cop’s house?

But after working for thirty minutes, Jade decided it was good therapy. She continued pulling weeds until she decided it was time to go in and prepare dinner.

She hadn’t seen Mitch since he had gone back into the house. She wondered if he was through reading the autopsy report. She wanted to find out but knew better than to bother him after what he had said. She could tell he took his job very seriously.

She put the gloves back on the shelf in the garage and went into the kitchen. Washing her hands at the kitchen sink, she took vegetables out of the refrigerator to make a salad. After she had finished, she covered the dish with cellophane and put it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and cool while she prepared the rest of the meal.

She decided to make a recipe of her mother’s, so she peeled potatoes and put them on the stove to boil. When she was sure they were done, she drained the water from them and mashed them up, adding sour cream and cottage cheese. She whipped the mixture until it was smooth and spooned it into a baking dish. After grating cheddar cheese on the top, she set it aside to put in the oven for twenty minutes before serving dinner. The cheese would be melted and it would make a delicious entrée.

She tiptoed quietly to the door of Mitch’s office. It looked like he was making notes on a tablet. He looked up.

“Almost finished,” he said.

“Good, then I’ll plan on serving dinner in about thirty minutes.”

He nodded and continued to write.

Going back to the kitchen, she turned on the oven. While it was heating she took out a frying pan and put some butter in it. Taking out a wrapped package from the refrigerator, she opened it and took out the salmon that was inside. She put it into the frying pan and popped the dish of potatoes into the oven.

She set the kitchen table with plates, water glasses, and silverware. Satisfied that the salmon was done to perfection and the cheese had melted on the potatoes, she took the salad out of the refrigerator and filled the glasses with bottled water.

“Mitch,” she called, “dinner is on the table.”

“Be right there,” he said, and a minute later he appeared in the kitchen. “Umm, this looks good.”

He sat down and she took his plate and served up the salmon, potatoes, and salad.

“These potatoes are delicious,” Mitch said.

“It’s a recipe of my mother’s.”

They ate in silence. Jade wanted to ask him what he had found in the autopsy report, but decided she had better not, knowing he had already told her he wouldn’t tell her anything until he had talked to the Chief of Police.

“I’ll do the dishes,” Mitch said.

“I don’t mind doing them if you need to finish up what you were doing in your office.”

“The rule in this house has always been, the person who does the cooking doesn’t have to do the dishes.”

“Okay. I know how important it is for you to keep rules. That’s what makes you such a good person.”

He smiled as he stood to clear off the table.

“I think I’ll go out and finish pulling weeds. I have most of the flower beds done.”

“After I finish the dishes, I’ll come out and inspect your work.”

Jade went back to the garage and picked up the gloves she had been using. She took a garbage can out to the back yard and loaded it with the weeds she had already pulled.

It took only a few minutes to weed the last flower bed and top off the can with the weeds. Picking it up, she took it back into the garage just as Mitch came out into the yard to look over what she had done.

“Good work,” he said. “I just might keep you on as my gardener on a permanent basis.”

“Do I get free room and board in payment?”

“Are you saying you want to move in here and give up that beautiful apartment of yours?”

“If you clear me of any involvement in that murder, I’ll be happy to be your gardener, your house keeper, your cook . . . you name it.”

“What an incentive.”

“Did you find anything in the autopsy report that might help?”

“I think I might have. But let me talk to the Chief tomorrow and we’ll see what he thinks.”

They walked back into the house together and later when Jade glanced into Mitch’s office as she walked by, the desk was cleared of the documents he had been studying and the large brown envelope was nowhere in sight. He had opened his laptop and appeared to be reading his e-mail.

He gave a loud exclamation and she stopped in the doorway, curious as to what had caused it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Matt and Amanda are getting married and we’ve both been invited to the wedding.”

Mitch had made an appointment to meet with Grant Castillo to discuss his findings of the previous day. He and Jade had completed their morning run, showered, and eaten breakfast.

They both were anxious for the meeting with the Chief of Police. Mitch wanted to go over the list he had made after reading the autopsy report and Jade wanted to find out if Mitch could tell her about his findings.

Mitch went into his office to get the packet of papers out of his desk. He opened a drawer expecting to see it there. The drawer was empty. Thinking he must have forgotten what drawer he had put it in, he opened another drawer, then another.

“Jade,” he called, “did you take the packet of documents out of my desk?”

She came to the doorway and stared at him in surprise. “I wouldn’t do anything like that without your permission.”

“Well, they’re not in here.”

“Did you take them into your bedroom for some reason?”

“If I did, I’m losing it,” he said, grimly.

He stood from his desk and went into his bedroom. He looked around, opening all his dresser drawers. Even looked under his bed, while Jade stood in the doorway watching him.

“I don’t understand this. Did I lay them down in the kitchen this morning,” he wondered aloud.

Jade went to have a look. He heard her calling him. He hurried into the kitchen.

“What is it?”

“Look,” she said, pointing at the back door.

It stood slightly ajar and Mitch could see by the scratches on the door frame that the lock had been jimmied.

“What the hell?” he asked.

“It looks like someone must have come in while we were out jogging.”

“Don’t touch anything. I’m going to have the Chief send out someone to dust this place and see if they can come up with any fingerprints.”

Mitch put in a call for Castillo. He was relieved when the Chief told him not to worry about the reports. They had only been copies. The originals were still at the police station.

“I had made some notes that I wanted to go over with you. Whoever took the packet missed the notebook.”

“I’m sending Emerson out to dust for prints. Once he is finished, come on in and let’s go over those notes of yours,” Castillo said.

Thirty minutes later, Emerson arrived. In order to eliminate prints which belonged to Mitch and Jade, he had them both give him a sample.

“Can’t find any prints except yours and the model’s,” Emerson told him as he packed up his case. “It’s obvious whoever broke in was wearing gloves.”

“How would he know about the reports I had?” Mitch mused.

“Maybe he was just looking around and happened to run across them. If that was the case, he could have known the value of them as far as someone pointing the finger at the real murderer.”

“So the Chief has told you that neither one of us think Jade is the murderer.”

“Yes, he did,” Emerson said. “And after this break-in, it looks more than ever like she is probably innocent.”

Mitch glanced over at Jade who was standing quietly against the kitchen counter. He could detect the look of relief that settled over her face.

Mitch saw Emerson to the front door and then went back to see if he could do a quick fix on the back one. It took a few minutes, and after doing the best he could, he turned to Jade who was watching him.

“I think we had better move over to your apartment,” Mitch said. “I believe it’s more secure than my house.”

“You’re probably right. But I like being here.”

“Let’s go and we’ll talk about it later. After I’m through talking to Castillo.”

She agreed and followed him out to his car. They drove to the downtown police station and after parking, they went directly to Castillo’s office. Jade sat down in the outer office with the Chief’s assistant, Megan. Mitch was told the Chief was expecting him and he could go on in.

Mitch pulled a chair up to the Chief’s desk and flipped open the spiral note pad he had brought with him.

“Let’s consider your list, one at a time,” Castillo suggested.

“We’ve already discussed and agreed on the fact that Reannan was not going to stand idly by and let Jade slit her throat.”

The Chief nodded.

“According to the autopsy report, her neck was slit right to left, which means whoever did it was left handed. Jade happens to be right-handed.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“I’ve watched her sign her name on checks and make grocery lists. She always does it with her right hand.”

“You’ve certainly convinced me that Jade is innocent,” Castillo said. “Have you discussed this with her?”

“No, I didn’t want to say anything until I talked to you.”

“I’ll notify Stephenson. It’s his responsibility to tell her. But in the meantime, I’m worried about someone breaking into your house.”

“That worries me, too. I have suggested that we move over to her apartment where it’s more secure. But now that no charges are going to be filed against her, she can go back to her apartment alone and I can stay at my house.”

“No.” The Chief shook his head. “That won’t work. I want you to continue to stick with her.”

“Why?”

“Doesn’t it occur to you that whoever did it, must be having you followed? I have a feeling he thinks Jade saw him the night of Reannan’s murder. Maybe when he got into Reannan’s car. Probably waiting for a chance to get her alone.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”