“We’ve found nothing that had blood on it that would have been used.”
“The killer might have used the knife to do it and then took it with him or her,” said White, who then noted the card in an evidence bag next to the dead woman. “The card was found here?” she asked.
Jacobs nodded. “It was actually placed on her body.”
White looked at the card in the clear plastic bag. “‘Res ipsa loquitor.’”
She glanced over at Decker, who was watching her.
“Any paper or pen here match the card and the ink?” asked Decker.
“The pen is generic, but we’ve found no match here on the card so far,” said Andrews. “The killer might have brought it.”
“Any prints on the card?” asked White.
“No.”
“If the killer brought the card, that does smack of premeditation,” noted White.
“Yes, it does,” said Decker. “But that coupled with the mask and the frenetic stabbing makes this a very contrarian crime scene.”
Decker looked around the space and noted a photo on the nightstand.
In the picture was the deceased, and on either side of her a man and a teenage boy.
Andrews picked up the photo with his gloved hand and said, “That’s Judge Cummins, of course. And that’s her ex-husband, Barry Davidson, and their son, Tyler. Looks like this was taken at the club, judging by the background.”
“The club?” asked White.
“Harbor Club. It’s right down the coast, about five minutes. They were members. Well, the judge was.”
“And her ex and her son? Where are they?”
“We contacted Barry Davidson. He lives nearby.”
“Alibi?”
“He was with his son. It was the week he had him.”
“So his son is his alibi?” said Decker.
“Yes. I understand the boy is devastated.”
“How old is he?”
“Seventeen.”
“Do you know the ex and the son?” asked Decker.
“I’ve met Barry Davidson.”
“And you know this club, obviously, since you recognized it in the photo.”
“Yes. I belong to the Harbor Club, too.”
Decker eyed the man’s costly suit and shoes. “Is that your Lexus outside?”
“Yes, it is. What about it?”
“Nothing. Is the Mazda Draymont’s ride?”
“Yes,” answered Jacobs, looking anxiously between the two men.
Decker said, “So, what’s your theory on what happened here last night, Agent Andrews?”
Andrews glanced at White and then took a moment to compose his thoughts. “I think it seems reasonably clear. Since there was no forced entry, either one of the doors was unlocked or the person or persons was let in. The fact that the judge was in her underwear leads me to believe that Draymont was shot first. The judge, on hearing something from her bedroom, put on a robe, came downstairs, and was attacked. She ran back to her room, probably to lock herself in, but wasn’t able to. They killed her here. Then they left the card and put the blindfold on her.”
“If Draymont let the person in he must have known them. Either on his own, or because they knew the judge,” said White.
“But if the murders occurred between midnight and two, that would be pretty late for a visitor,” observed Decker.
“Could Draymont have been in on it, let the person in, and then had a change of heart, or the killer intended on leaving no witnesses behind?” said White.
Andrews said, “That’s certainly possible.”
“Who called the police about the bodies?” asked Decker.
“They got a call from the neighbor next door, Doris Kline. She went out on her rear deck this morning to drink her coffee and read her iPad, and saw the back door of Cummins’s house open. She went over to make sure everything was okay. It was after nine at that point. And the judge was normally on her way to court before then. Kline walked in the rear door, went into the kitchen and then through to the study, where she saw Draymont’s body. She ran back to her house and called the cops. They found the judge’s body, too, and called us in because of her federal status. I’ve already contacted the U.S. Marshals Service to loop them in. I’ve been busy here, but I plan to interview Kline next.”
Decker nodded absently and surveyed the room once more, imprinting every detail onto his memory cloud, as he liked to refer to it now. When he’d first learned he had perfect recall he’d named it his “hard drive,” but times changed and he had to change with them.