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“As to Gale,” she continued, “from what we can gather… from your contact with the Narcotics Anonymous member, his purpose for being in your area is, at the very least, unusual. Contrary to the image of vengeful paroled felon, in light of what we now know, I would suggest he was a remorseful, recovering addict. Typically such people working through the twelve steps are upbeat, even optimistic, remorseful, forgiving and in need of forgiveness. Can they turn violent? Of course. I’m not saying I can predict that one way or the other, but statistically I would not put Gale very high up the list of Caroline Vetta’s likely killers, and I’ve told the sergeant as much. If he was there on a ninth-step call, then I think we need to see him more in the light of a reconciler. He would have come to apologize, to make amends, to atone. And the thing is, he’s already internalized this. Already accepted his failures, which is central to his state of mind. He’s turned control of his life over to another, and has likely distanced himself from that other man, the Gale of the past. No matter if a person like Caroline Vetta ranted and vented, blamed him, screamed, threw a tantrum, he would likely have two reactions: stand there and take it, accept it; or turn and leave. I just don’t see him beating her to death, especially not in the capacity this crime was carried out.
“How does that inform your investigation?” she asked rhetorically.
“It goes to state of mind of the deceased. Let’s say he met with Caroline Vetta. Let’s say when he left her, she was very much alive. Let’s say he then learns of her death, her brutal death, and understands the system well enough to know he’s going to be first in line. This puts him in a difficult, even desperate situation. He’s assuming someone like the sergeant is coming after him. He still has the step calls to make. That may sound absurd, but recovering addicts get focused, Sheriff. They get into the program, and for some, it’s all they know. All they live for. He’s there in Sun Valley to get a job done. Maybe he trespasses on that agent’s property. Maybe he’s contemplating making contact, but also fearing the word is out ahead of him. His state of mind is fragile. He’s in the process of rebuilding, redefining himself. Someone shooting at him. Who knows how he might react to that? My informed guess is: he’d walk away. He might return another day, far into the future, to make that step call, but he’s not going to press it. Contact would have started and stopped right there. If the agent had then contacted him, would he have agreed to meet? I think so, yes. And remember: he’s full of forgiveness and in need of forgiveness. Despite being shot at, I doubt he’d be suspicious of the meeting.”
“He’d walk right into it.”
“It’s possible. The point being, he’s in an almost naïve state. That first year in recovery… it’s kind of a pink cloud. He could have walked right into anything, his guard down. And by the look of it, that must be close to what happened. Someone snuck up on him and dispatched him. He was a very big man. We both know it had to be a decisive blow and executed without warning. Gale had his back to the killer and did not expect the blow. I think both are important considerations for you.”
Walt found himself jotting down notes. “Yes,” he said. “Thank you.” “Have you found the crime scene?”
“We have not.” I was denied the warrant, he thought.
“Consider this an act of stealth,” she said. “I can’t imagine the area was well lit. I would think there would have been obstacles to hide behind in order to creep up quite close, both unseen and unheard. The sergeant said you’d found his rental in the woods. But it’s difficult, if not impossible, to sneak up like that in the woods.”
“Maybe the killer was the one hiding, and Gale happened across him.”
“A lot of things to consider.”
“He wouldn’t have necessarily known his killer, would he? Coming up from behind like that.”
“I’d consider that two different ways: the first, it was a random attack; possible, I suppose, but a blow like that… a single, killing blow… implies intent. Second, if it was in a remote location where he didn’t hear or see the killer, and I may be being a city girl here, but that suggests to me he was led there, invited there. It suggests, to me at least, premeditation.”
“Someone he knew.”
“I’m not always right. I’d be making a lot more money if I were.”
He gri
“I hope so. I don’t mean to confuse your investigation.”
“To the contrary.”
“The sergeant and I… we’re here if you need us. Available any time.”
“If Boldt put you up to this, he must suspect it co
“I can’t speak for the sergeant.”
“Did he tell you about the nursery? About our witness?”
“He did.”
“And your opinion? Can I trust her? Can I trust what she saw?”
“She has everything to lose by lying to you.”
“That’s how I saw it.”
“The dumping of the body. I’m not real clear on that. On the one hand we have a physically powerful assailant, possibly premeditated; on the other, a roadside dumping. We see such dumping along secluded highways, certainly. Easily accessible by vehicle. Someplace people don’t frequent. I suppose this location of yours fits with that. But the way the sergeant described it, there are a lot more places over there to dump a body than alongside the valley’s only traffic artery. From what your witness said, the driver of that truck didn’t appear to dump something so much as collect something.”
“That’s one way to read it.”
“The sergeant mentioned a carjacking. A viable scenario, certainly. Athletes carry baseball bats in vehicles. It would have presented itself. It fits with premeditation and the dumping of the body.”
“But then we’re faced with a single set of tire tracks. Just the one set. And if what she saw is what she saw, then that truck didn’t dump him, and I don’t even know what that means,” he said, exasperated. “I suppose she got it wrong, the one set of tracks being the key.”
“Possibly. Witnesses are, if anything-”
“Unreliable,” he said. “We’re going around in circles. Besides, I have a suspect. The blood evidence from Wy
“I wouldn’t be looking too closely at Vince Wy
He didn’t want to hear any more. He wanted to disco
She volunteered, “Of all the people, Gale’s agent would have known better than anyone the degree of threat Martel Gale represented. The kind of trouble he could make. He saw him through the assault trial. The conviction. He saw him on the playing field. All the trouble in the locker room.” She’d done her homework. “Gale had forty pounds and several inches on Vince Wy
“That is contradictory,” he said.
“Maybe I’m just trying to cover myself.” She laughed, somehow finding it amusing.
Walt felt uncomfortable. He was thinking maybe a woman could deliver a blow like that-an incredibly angry woman-angry at men like Martel Gale who had a record of violence against women. Never mind that it had been a single blow-the human being was capable of extraordinary acts of violence.