Eve studied the cleansers and realized what was bothering her. There was a string to follow here, but she wasn’t sure if it would lead anywhere. She needed to go back to the house to find out.

“Sure, we can do that,” Eve said. “Let’s get to work.”

She headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Duncan called after her.

“The crime scene,” she said. “I want another look.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

On the road leading to the cul-de-sac, she passed a Topanga State Park trailhead—a dirt parking lot and a foot trail that led up into the hills. The sheriff’s department K-9 unit was using the lot as a staging area and a half dozen deputies and their dogs were preparing to begin their search for Tanya and her kids. No, Eve corrected herself, they were looking for their bodies.

There were three TV satellite trucks parked at the mouth of the cul-de-sac, the reporters for each station getting ready to broadcast live for the midmorning newscasts, using the crime scene as a backdrop. Eve hoped to blend into the background like an extra and leave before they went on the air.

The CSU van and two patrol cars were parked in front of the house, which was surrounded by crime scene tape and manned by a deputy with a clipboard. She parked in front of the house, put on her gloves and shoe covers, and approached the uniformed deputy who guarded the empty house. It was Clayton, instantly recognizable by his wraparound shades, which there was no reason to be wearing this early in the morning. He recognized her, too, made a note of her name on his clipboard, and then handed it to her for a signature.

Eve gestured to the news vans as she signed the paper that kept track of everybody who entered the house. “How long have they been here?”

“Since daybreak,” Clayton said. “For the morning shows. Otherwise it’s been quiet. Only ones in and out have been CSU.”

Eve lifted the crime scene tape and went into the kitchen. She peeked into the hallway and saw Noomis cutting a sample from the living room carpet and another tech scraping something off the wall in the hallway. They both nodded at her, acknowledging her presence.

She returned to the kitchen and opened the pantry. There was a 40-ounce jar of Kirkland cashews, a 78-ounce box of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, a box of 3,000 square feet of Kirkland plastic wrap, a 45-pound bag of Kirkland dog food, a box of 48 assorted Nutri-Grain snack bars, and other bulk items, most of them from Kirkland, Costco’s own budget brand.

She opened the cupboard under the sink and saw a 135-ounce bottle of Kirkland dish soap, a box of 115 Kirkland Premium Dishwasher Pacs, an empty box of 50 Soft Scrub latex gloves, and a discarded wrapper for 21 Scotch-Brite scrub sponges.

Eve got up and went to the magnet-covered refrigerator, opened it, and looked inside. The items that caught her eye were the 30-ounce container of French’s mustard, the box of 25 Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers, the 64-ounce jar of Kirkland Signature Real Mayonnaise, the 48-ounce jar of Kirkland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, and a 48-ounce jar of Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly.