used an old Samsung flip phone, and it wasn’t in his car or his home.”
“Too bad. How about Elaine? Did she have a phone?”
“Yes. Also missing. It was an inexpensive Android phone. She used it for email but it wasn’t connected to her Cloud account.”
“Huh. So his wad of cash and her expensive watch were untouched, but both of their phones are missing.”
Metcalf nodded. “That’s about the shape of it.”
“I’d like to see Elaine’s house. Would that be possible?”
“Yes. It so happens we have a key. We got it from the school. She listed them as her emergency contact after her divorce.”
“Good.” She stood up. “I’d like to go now. Right now.”
Metcalf smiled. “Of course you would.”
* * *
Less than half an hour later, Kendra and Metcalf pulled up to the modest one-story Mediterranean house in San Marcos, a community located in northern San Diego County.
“Nice place.” Metcalf turned off the engine.
“A few of the teachers from Woodward live in this area. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive from campus, and the housing is still somewhat affordable.”
“Affordable? In Southern California, that’s a relative term.”
They climbed out of the car and walked toward the front door. Metcalf started to put the key into the lock, but Kendra stopped him, pressed her fingers against the door, and gave it a shove. It swung open.
“The door was ajar,” Kendra said. “Is it possible one of your people forgot to lock up behind them?”
Metcalf pulled his automatic from his shoulder holster. “No. Our guys don’t make that kind of mistake.”
She went still. “Is that really necessary?”
“Probably not. But stay here while I clear the premises.”
“Sure.”
Metcalf stood ramrod-straight with his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed. He looked like a different person, she realized. Not the sweet, amiable Metcalf, but someone else entirely.
It was a good look for him.
He extended the gun and called out: “FBI! Anyone in the house, show yourself immediately.”
He disappeared into the back rooms, repeating his message twice more before falling silent.
The silence continued for a moment longer.
And a moment after that.
She cocked her head. No trace of his footsteps or any motion at all.
“Metcalf?” she finally called out.
No response.
“Metcalf?”
She felt a tapping on her back. “Worried?”
She whirled around and instinctively cut loose with a kick and a pair of punches.
It was Metcalf, and he doubled over in pain. “Oww!”
Kendra grabbed his arm. “What in the hell are you doing?”
Metcalf straightened up and holstered his gun. “I wanted to make sure no one ducked out the back door after we got here. So I checked out the yard and came around.” He gingerly touched his stomach. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Sorry, but you kind of had it coming. That was idiotic.”
“I knew you’d say that.” He nodded toward the open front door. “After you. The house is clear.”
Kendra stepped inside. “No idea why the door was ajar?”
“No. Nothing looks disturbed or out of place. I wasn’t part of the team that came here before, but I saw the photos.”
“Yeah, I saw one of them in your PowerPoint. Evidence Response didn’t remove anything?”
“An address book, a laptop, and a wireless telephone. They’re back at the fourth-floor lab. We’ve already pulled some numbers from the phone’s caller ID memory, and we should have IDs worked up for everyone on the list soon.”
Kendra glanced around the kitchen and living room. She hated this part probably more than any other stage of a murder investigation. Even worse than seeing the corpse, she thought. This is who Elaine Wessler was. It’s where she spent her last morning on Earth, never dreaming her life would soon come to a horrific end.
Kendra looked at the coffee cup and oatmeal-encrusted bowl in the sink, right where Elaine had probably left them before dashing off to work. On the kitchen counter, mementos of a life cut short. A Symphony by the Bay subscription package. An invitation to a baby shower. Reminder card for a hair appointment.
Kendra looked at a collage of framed photos in the short hallway that bridged the kitchen with the living room. Elaine appeared to come from a large family, kept a broad circle of friends throughout her life. She obviously loved to travel, mostly in western Europe.
Kendra moved into the neat living room, taking in the potted plants and stacks of gardening and pet care magazines.
Kendra shook her head. “Things hadn’t been easy for Elaine since her divorce.”
“What makes you say that?”
She gestured toward a bookshelf. “Lots of recent self-help books, all in the love and relationship category. Titles