Esti looked troubled. “Maybe her father wasn’t having sex with her after all. Maybe that was just a story she told Klemper. To get his sympathy.”

“Sympathy, my ass! She probably figured it would turn him on.”

Esti’s expression moved slowly from revulsion to agreement. “Shit. Everything I think about that man keeps getting worse.” She paused, made a note on her pad. “So Alyssa’s a possible suspect. And so is Jonah. What about Kay’s boyfriend?”

Hardwick shook his head. “Not in the preemptive strike structure we’re talking about. I don’t see Carl taking out a contract on him. I don’t think he’d waste the money. There’d be easier ways to get rid of him. And I sure as hell can’t see young Darryl in the position of discovering that he’s the target of a potential hit and reacting by organizing a faster hit.”

“Okay, but forget about the preemptive thing for a minute,” said Esti. “Couldn’t Darryl have killed Carl in the hope that his relationship with Kay might grow into something better for him once Kay had all the money? What do you think, Dave?”

“In the video of the trial he doesn’t look like he’d have the smarts or the guts for it. A little perjury—maybe. But a well-planned triple murder? I doubt it. The guy was a minimum-wage lifeguard and pool boy at the Spalters’ country club—not exactly Day of the Jackal assassin material. Also, I’m having a hard time picturing him smashing an old lady’s head or hammering nails into somebody’s eyes.”

Hardwick was shaking his head. “This is fucked up. None of it feels right to me. The three murders have three completely different methods and styles. I don’t see a straight line running through them. Something’s missing. Anybody here share that feeling?”

Gurney offered a small affirmative nod. “There’s a lot missing. Speaking of the MO issue, there’s no record in the case file that it was ever explored through ViCAP. Am I right?”

“In Klemper’s view,” said Esti, “Kay shot Carl. Period. Why would he fill out the ViCAP form or look into any other databases? It’s not like the bastard had an open mind.”

“I get that. But it would be helpful if we could run the key data now—at least through ViCAP. And it would be nice to know if NCIC has anything on any of the key individuals, dead or alive. And Interpol, too, at least for Gus Gurikos.” Gurney glanced from Esti to Hardwick and back. “Can either of you do any of that without creating a problematic trail?”