Dead In The Water (Rebecca Schwartz Mystery #4) (The Rebecca Schwartz Series)

they hadn’t found it in Sadie’s house or office?
    Her office stank of various odors I don’t want to describe, or even remember. I saw now that there were bruises all over Katy—on her arms, on her face, everywhere I could see. She had been strangled with a curtain tie that was still wound round her neck, and her hands were tied behind her with another. There was disorder here, too, a lot of books on the floor, as if her assailant had banged her against the bookcases time and again. I thought the coroner would find more bruises under her blouse and slacks.
    If she had let this happen to protect Ricky, she must have loved him.
    The phone was off the hook, on the floor. But my illicit desire to examine the crime scene had dissipated. I’d find another phone. Protecting fingerprints with the tail of my T-shirt, I replaced the receiver and beat it to the kitchen, where there was a wall phone like Marty had.
    I called the Monterey cops, asked for Jacobson just for form’s sake, and was stunned when she came on the line.
    “I didn’t think you’d still be there.”
    “We work on a homicide till it’s solved.” She sighed wearily and a little smugly. “Weekends, nights, whatever. What can I do for you, Miss Schwartz?”
    Quickly I ran down the situation. Jacobson was beside herself. “You did right to call us. Technically it’s the sheriff’s case, being in Pebble Beach, but we know you, so we’ll come along to smooth things along.”
    I had to admire her euphemism: “Smooth things along” clearly meant horn in on the sheriff’s case.
    Who cared? For once, I was in the good graces of an officer of the law. It probably wouldn’t last, but I’d enjoy it while I could—and hope it helped my client.
    Jacobson said she’d notify the sheriff’s office, so my only other chore was to call Ava and tell her everything was okay, she wouldn’t have to send police. She was avid. I was brusque. I’d probably pay for it.
    Outside, Ricky was sitting on the bench, looking bushed, and Mellors was curled up at his feet as if nothing had happened.
    “Okay, Ricky, get ready for bad stuff.”
    “Oh, man. The worst has got to be over. Seeing her like that …”
    “A couple of things. Where’s Amber?”
    “Home with a babysitter. Grounded. On account of that little bit of thievery.” His inflection was bitter, as if Amber was the cause of his problems.
    “They may keep you a long time, and they may even arrest you. You need to know that.”
    He nodded.
    “You’re going to tell them the truth exactly as you told me—don’t worry, I’ll be there with you the whole time—but you’re going to leave out two things. The reason Katy asked you over tonight, and any mention of the pearl. Any mention at all. Tomorrow is soon enough to tell them.”
    “Why?”
    Jesus, I thought, sometimes the wrong people get to be parents. But I knew that was just my own worry and guilt over my conflict.
    “Because I don’t want the cops talking to Amber tonight—going to your house and saying, ‘We’re holding your father in a murder and we want to question you about a missing pearl.’”
    He turned pale, and I was sorry for my nasty thought of a moment before. “Omigod.”
    “Things will be better for her tomorrow. I promise.”
    “Why? What makes you think so?”
    “Trust me on this, Ricky. I can make it better. But one thing—do me a favor and don’t tell anyone I advised you to withhold information, okay? It’s not really cricket.”
    He nodded, looking as if he hadn’t the least idea which end was up. I didn’t blame him. If he was innocent, it had certainly been a perplexing hour or so, and it was about to get worse.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
    It did get worse, but not as bad as it could have gotten. Ricky fell apart and cried and howled about the lost woman he loved and generally came off as such a baby no one in his right mind could have suspected him of murder.
    But of course, that’s not how cops and sheriffs think. They didn’t arrest him only because they didn’t have anything on him. They placed the time of death as earlier that day, about the time Ricky was with Julio and me, and he had other alibis for just before and after that would have to be checked. They didn’t have a witness, and they didn’t have fingerprints or other physical evidence. And, not knowing about the pearl, they didn’t have a suggestion of a motive beyond the usual lover’s quarrel. Actually, that had a lot of merit for