“Where is she?” Decker asked.

“In one of the squad cars, catching her breath,” Baum said.

“The smell might have been the coup de grace,” Martinez said.

“Did she touch anything?” Decker asked.

Martinez had to think a moment. “Maybe the bed frame for support. Then I propped her up and escorted her out. I was gloved.”

“We’re dusting for prints,” Baum said. “It’s going to take some time.”

“What about the photographer?” Decker asked.

“She’s in the unit as we speak,” Baum said. “I’ll get you copies of everything. I’ve got six of my people canvassing the area for witnesses. I’ll forward you their reports.”

“Thank you,” Decker said. “And what about Dee Baldwin’s car?”

“It’s the Range Rover in the lot,” Baum said. “We’ll impound it and dust it for prints.”

A four-wheel drive, Decker thought. Maybe she did go up. Or someone went up using her car. He said, “I’d like the tires gone over, see what Forensics can pull from the treads. Then, I’ll need an imprint. I want to find out if she was up at the camp recently.”

“Consider it done.”

And if she had been up, what would that prove? A fat zero, but that didn’t matter. Now was the time to gather information. Behind them, a news van pulled into the parking complex, its tires bumping along the gravel road.

Decker said, “We’d better speed it up.”

Baum led them to the unit. “It’s this one.”

Planted against the front wall of the building was a compact flower garden abloom with showy multicolored impatiens and leafy, purple-flowered statice. A cop was stationed at the front door of the Baldwins’ unit, yellow crime scene tape stretched across the jambs. Baum peeled it back, and they walked into a petite entry hall with a powder room off to the left. Ten paces forward and two steps down put Decker into an open space: a living room/dining room combination, and a well-equipped kitchenette punched out of the side wall. The decor was mild and warm like sand, done up in ecru and white with slipcover muslin furniture resting upon soft, muted oatmeal carpeting. The coffee and end tables were free-form shapes of high-lacquered elm burl resting on stands of driftwood. The dining table was a slab of country oak. The walls were adorned with prints of terns, ducks, pelicans, game fish, blue whales, and dolphins. Large pieces of black coral as well as cowry and conch shells sat in bric-a-brac shelving units that sided a large fireplace. A wall of sliding glass doors led out to decks and provided an unobstructed full-range view of the Pacific—blue and infinite, a testament to the insignificance of man.

Another cop held guard at the foot of the stairway. He nodded to Baum as they ascended the steps.