Cover

FOR STERLING LORD

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually . . . And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

GENESIS 6:5–7, BEFORE THE FLOOD

If it don’t splatter, it don’t matter.

SAYING AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

BOOK ONE

DIVSIX

1

A MURDER IN GEORGETOWN

MRS. PERRY COULD HEAR the dog barking. She thought immediately, Something’s wrong.

Mrs. Perry [Madelyn R., 47] stepped out onto the rear landing of her townhouse. From there she could see the animal below in the adjoining courtyard of the townhouse belonging to Michael A. Justman. It was Dr. Justman’s dog [didn’t get name of animal]—a ninety-pound Rhodesian ridgeback, a special breed bred in Africa to hunt lions.

The dog, Mrs. Perry stated, was normally very well behaved. It was now, however, “acting completely crazy,” making “violent rushes” from the ground-level courtyard halfway up the flight of steps that ascended to the rear landing and back door of Dr. Justman’s townhouse, barking furiously, then running back down, still barking, then charging back up again.

A characteristic of Rhodesian ridgebacks, Mrs. Perry said she had learned earlier from Dr. Justman, is that they don’t bark, or only a little.

Mrs. Perry was now seriously alarmed. She called to her husband, Ernest V. Perry, 51, who was inside their townhouse. “I told him to come out right this second and bring his phone.”

Mrs. Perry descended the flight of steps into her own rear court. She could see the ridgeback dog up close now, on the far side of the common wall between her yard and Dr. Justman’s. The animal’s ears were lying flat and saliva was dripping “in long strings” from its jaws. Mrs. Perry noted neighbors appearing on other landings above the common court behind the row of townhouses. She recognized one friend, Ms. Luterinaitis [Alicia C., 67], whose residence was on the far side of Dr. Justman’s. Mrs. Perry shouted to Ms. Luterinaitis to call 911.

[I have all this, by the way, from the local PD incident report (Georgetown V-663-61724) and from the detectives’ written statements. I have verified its accuracy by reviewing the townhouse association’s security video, Dr. Justman’s personal in-home security video, and my own notes. I interviewed Mrs. Perry and her husband, and three neighbors, including Ms. Luterinaitis, the following day, 18 April 2034.]