He would have to have another go at both Doris Kline and Maya Perlman, to see if they knew of any other romantic partner out there. Or one who had been spurned or dumped by the dead woman.
Decker looked at his watch. It was late, but Kline might still be up. Perhaps Maya Perlman, too, despite her travels, and the crushing news of her friend’s death. At least it was worth a shot.
He decided not to bother White, who had mentioned that she was going to help her kids with their homework over a Zoom call tonight.
He left the hotel and drove to the gated community. He had to show his ID to the security service via a video link, and then was allowed in.
He drove to Cummins’s house and parked in the driveway. All police presence was gone, but the crime scene had not been officially released yet. He supposed Davidson, as the executor and trustee of his wife’s estate, would have to come over at some point and decide what to do with the property and its contents. He doubted Tyler would want to keep a house where his mother had been brutally murdered.
Both the Kline and Perlman homes had lights on. He decided to try Kline first.
He knocked on the door but she didn’t answer. He peered in the sidelights but saw no movement. Her car was in the driveway.
Is she lying in there drunk?
He had no cause to force his way in, so he walked over to the Perlmans’ home and knocked. A few moments passed before a woman’s voice said, “Who is it?”
“Amos Decker, FBI. Do you have a minute?”
“It’s very late.”
“It won’t take long, and we’re doing our best to find out who killed your friend. Speed is of the essence.”
He figured a little guilt trip might go a long way.
“Oh, all right.”
She opened the door. Maya Perlman was dressed in gray slacks, a light blue shirt, and sandals.
She motioned him in and closed the door. They sat in the living room, where the walls were the same color as her slacks.
“Is your husband around?”
“He’s asleep. The trip took a lot out of us, and he’s quite a bit older than I am. Second marriage,” she added in explanation, not that Decker had asked for one. “So, what is it that you need?”
“Do you know if Judge Cummins was seeing anyone?”
“Seeing anyone, you mean as in dating?”
“Yes.”
She sat back and let out a long breath. “After the divorce, Julia hunkered down, as it were. She and Barry had it bad the last few years. Lots of fights and arguments. She tried to make it work, she really did, but Barry had some sort of midlife crisis and thought he was twenty again. Right after Julia went on the bench there was some big tax issue because Barry had done something that, if not criminal, went right up to the line. After that, Julia was done.”
“Yeah, I heard all that from others. And after she hunkered down for a bit?”
“I know she used one of those online dating apps. She had a few dates from those. None of them worked out, at least that I know.”
“I’m sure she would have attracted interest around here.”
“You’d think. But lots of older men like to be the center of attention and they also like to be the ones with the money. And her being a judge probably didn’t help matters. They also like to be the professional king as well. And the men who don’t care about any of that? Well, they bring their own issues.”
“Getting her to fall for them so they can raid her piggybank?”
“Exactly.”
“So, anyone she might have just run into somewhere and seemed to like? Or someone she ran into and it became a problem?”
Perlman sat forward, looking nervous. “You mean a big enough problem that he might have killed her?”
“The crime did have elements of being one of passion, of rage. You don’t usually get that when someone is just trying to rip someone else off. And it’s hard to fake, because, well, to do to Cummins what someone did? You have to be pretty damn angry.”
She shuddered and sank back against the chair cushions. “Julia did tell me about someone she had known from her past. I mean, her past before she came here.”
“Who?”
“Someone from New York. That person moved down here, while Julia was still married. After she was divorced, they went out for a while. It didn’t last, but…”
“But what?”
“Well, Julia was upset when she spoke about it. She said he seemed very controlling.”
“Do you know his name?”
“That’s just it. I don’t. She never told me for some reason, which was odd. She just spoke generally about it. And then it was over, and I never asked any more about it.”