After a quick briefing from Casselman, who had filled them in on the identities of the deceased, and having to wait for the lab techs to finish with their careful examination of the carpet before they could study the scene, their next step was to interview the neighbours who had found the bodies.
Mike had his star and I.D. in hand as he and Steve approached the two still distraught women waiting near the curb with a patrolman. Mike glanced at the uniform with a 'We'll take over now' nod and, with an empathetic glance at the women, the officer backed away.
"I'm Lieutenant Stone, this is Inspector Keller," he introduced, sliding the leather case back into his pants pocket as Steve nodded. "We know this is a difficult time but we need to ask you a few questions, if that's all right?"
The middle-aged blond woman, a tissue crumpled in her right hand which was up near her mouth, her eyes red-rimmed, nodded quickly. Breathing through her nose, she sniffed loudly. "Yes, of course…"
"Thank you." Mike smiled encouragingly. "You are…?"
The woman flustered. "Oh, ah, Marjorie Taylor… I live across the street…" She pointed to the large beige stucco house on the other side of the road then nodded at the younger Hispanic woman beside her. "This is Carmen Moreno, my housekeeper."
Both detectives acknowledged the information with grateful nods. "You found the, ah, the Goodmans?" Steve asked gently and watched as both women visibly reacted.
Taylor nodded, clutching the tissue even tighter. "Yes…. Yes, um, Jane had asked us to come by this morning to help her…" She smiled almost involuntarily with a slight shudder. "Um, their tenth anniversary is next week and she was planning a party. We, ah, we knocked on the door but she didn't come to open it. I knew they were home, I knew something was wrong…" She gasped, catching her breath.
Moreno, who had been staring at her employer with tear-filled eyes, looked at the detectives. "We went around to the back of the house and the patio door was unlocked. We went in…". Her face crumpled and fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. "That poor little boy…" she whispered, looking down.
Mike, nodding sympathetically, put a gentle hand on her forearm and squeezed. He gave the women a moment to pull themselves together. "The Goodmans… did they have a good marriage?"
Taylor's head came up quickly, her eyes flashing. "What? Are you trying to suggest Charlie did this?"
Surprised at being sussed out so quickly, Mike smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but we have to ask…"
Taylor's face softened. "No, I'm sorry… I know you do…." She shook her head. "Charlie couldn't do this… they had a wonderful marriage." She smiled wistfully. "They married late and then Jane had trouble conceiving…. Robbie was a surprise, a very pleasant surprise, and they were over the moon, both of them…" She looked from Mike to Steve and back again, her features hardening. "Charlie wouldn't kill his wife and baby… never…"
Mike nodded with a slight smile, encouraged by her adamance. "What did Mr. Goodman do for a living?"
"He owns a…. He owned a financial advisory company. He was very successful."
"Do you know if he had any enemies, any clients that he maybe steered in the wrong direction?" Steve asked carefully, trying not to sound accusatory.
Taylor shook her head, frowning. "I have no idea, but Jane never mentioned anything…" She smiled sadly. "But we, ah, we never discussed that kind of thing, I'm afraid…. Sorry I can't be of much help."
Mike smiled again. "You're doing fine."
"Do they have any family in The City?" Steve asked, glancing from one woman to the other.
Taylor nodded. "Charlie has a sister in town, I know that. Ellen. And he has a brother that lives in Los Angeles. Robert." She smiled wistfully again. "Robbie was named for him…" She whimpered and Mike touched her arm in sympathy. "She, ah, she lives in Presidio Heights somewhere. I'm not sure…" She shrugged and both detectives nodded.
"And Mrs. Goodman?" Mike prompted.
"She has a brother, Walter Northcott. He and his wife live over in Marin somewhere. Sausilito, I think but I could be wrong."
"Did Mrs. Goodman and her brother get along?" Mike asked casually.
Taylor's eyes narrowed and she hesitated. "Yes… yes. I mean, I've only met him a few times but he does come to visit. He was here the day before yesterday, visiting Robbie. I saw him. He was here for a couple of hours, and when I talked to Jane yesterday, she didn't say anything was wrong, she just told me he came over for a visit." She shrugged.
"Would she have told you if there was something wrong?" His blue eyes were boring into hers, belying the slight smile that curled his lips.
She tilted her head, studying him before she spoke. "Jane and I were good friends… we talked about everything. Yes, I think she would've told me."
"Good," Mike nodded.
"Did either of you see anyone around the Goodman house yesterday? Anybody you knew or didn't know?" Steve asked, looking from one woman to the other.
Both of them shook their heads. "No," Moreno said, her focus turning inward as she tried to recall. "I was here for several hours and I don't remember seeing anyone over here…"
"Any strange vehicles in the neighborhood in the past few days?"
Again both women shook their heads.
"Mike!" Casselman's voice cut through the low murmur of the voices of the gathering throng of neighbours and the incongruous chirping of happy and oblivious birds. Both detectives turned. The sergeant was standing on the porch and he nodded over his shoulder into the house.
Mike turned back to the women. "Thank you very much," he said pleasantly. "If we need anymore information, we'll be in touch." He started to move away then turned back. "I'm very sorry for your loss…"
Taylor looked into his soft blue eyes and nodded, bringing the wad of tissue to her mouth once more. "Thank you…" she whispered.
The two detectives joined the sergeant on the landing. "The techs have finished with the carpet." He shrugged noncommittally. "They didn't really get anything concrete… nothing they think they can use anyway."
Nodding with a slightly frustrated sigh, Mike led the way over the threshold and into the living room. Peter Murphy was on his knees beside the body of Mrs. Goodman. He glanced up as the detectives entered the room. "I'm done with him," he said, nodding at the body in the chair. "One gunshot to the right temple… bullet's still in his head. It's only preliminary, of course, but I'd put the time of death between 8 and midnight last night." He glanced at the body on the floor. "From the looks of her, she took one to the chest, but we'll know more, of course, when the autopsy is done." He paused and looked down, as if composing himself. "I, ah, I haven't done the baby yet…"
Grim-faced, Mike nodded as he and Steve approached the easy chair. Mike got down on his hands and knees and looked under the chair. Murphy was watching him, frowning.
"Are you looking for a gun?"
Mike raised his head slightly and nodded.
"I didn't find one. It could've slid down between him and the chair. When we remove the body, we'll be able to tell for sure but if you want to check right now, go ahead. The pictures have all been taken."
Getting to his feet, Mike glanced at Steve then stepped closer to the chair. He slid his hand between the body and the inside of the chair arm, frowning and shaking his head at his partner when he found nothing. He removed his hand and took a step back, staring at the body, trying to figure out where the gun could be.
"Lieutenant."
He looked up to see one of the lab techs standing in the hallway entrance.
"Sir, there's something I think you should see." The young man gestured over his shoulder with his head.
Mike glanced at his partner and took a deep breath. As he started towards the hallway, he gathered Murphy with a glance. "Peter…"
Almost reluctantly, the assistant coroner got to his feet and began to follow, glancing at Steve. They could read each others minds; nobody wanted to face the devastatingly horrific scene in the nursery.
Mike paused in the doorway, taking a deep breath before stepping into the room. Colin Baer, the tech who had summoned them, stepped close to the crib, trying not to look at the small body on the mattress as he pointed through the crib rails at the wall.
The two detectives moved closer to the bed, following the pointed finger. Just beyond the edge of mattress, in a direct line from the door and the baby's head, was a hole in the drywall.
Frowning, Mike looked at Baer. "A bullet hole?"
Baer tilted his head. "Looks like that to me. We'll know for sure when Peter finishes with the body and we can move the crib."
Mike looked at Murphy, who nodded. "Let me finish with the woman and then I'll… I'll come in here…"
"Good." He dropped a hand on the obviously upset assistant M.E.'s shoulder and squeezed. "Steve and I'll wait till you're done."
With a grateful nod, Murphy left the room.
After watching him go, Steve turned to his partner. "So what do you think?", the younger man asked. "The shooter stood in the doorway?"
Mike inhaled deeply. "That's what it looks like, doesn't it? Like he didn't have the nerve to get any closer…" He looked at Baer. "What can you tell us about the angle, Colin?"
The young tech looked from the hole in the wall to the door then at the lieutenant. "Well, when Peter gets finished, we'll be able to figure out the angle and I might be able to give you a projection on how tall the shooter might be. But it'll only be a guess, you realize, right?"
Mike nodded. "If a guess is as good as we're gonna get, I'll take it."
"Yeah…" Steve sighed heavily. "So where did the gun go?", he asked semi-rhetorically as they turned away from the crib and it's disturbing contents and out into the hallway.
"Yeah…" Mike growled as they stepped back into the living room. He stopped and looked around in frustration. "Where is the damn gun…?" He paused to glance around the room then at the front windows. Frowning, he strode towards the still open front door and stepped out into the bright sunshine again, looking around. Spotting Taylor and Moreno where he had left them, he almost jogged down the steps and approached them with a slight frown and a brief smile.
"Mrs. Taylor, a couple more questions if you don't mind?"
The still upset woman nodded. "Of course…"
"Were you home last evening, say between 8 and midnight?"
Frowning, she nodded quickly. "I was home all day."
"Ah, do you remember hearing any loud noises?", he asked gently, gesturing at the Goodman house with a tilt of his head.
She stared at him for a long second. "You mean like gunshots?", she asked almost breathlessly. He nodded. She shook her head sadly. "No, Lieutenant, I didn't, but they had a block party one street over last night and someone set off some firecrackers…" She shrugged helplessly.
"What time was that, do you remember?" Steve asked.
Her stare turned inward briefly. "Oh, ah, 9 o'clock maybe…at the latest I think."
"Thank you," Mike smiled, patting her upper arm. "Thank you very much." He turned on his heel and started back towards the house, Steve falling into step beside him. "Let's get all the neighbors interviewed and see if they can agree on the time. That'll nail it down for us, I'm sure." He stopped on the porch and took a deep breath. "Find out where Goodman's sister and the wife's brother live. I want us to do the notifications. And I want to go through Goodman's business… find out if he really was a successful financial advisor."
He stopped and took a deep breath, then looked deep into his partner's eyes. "I want him, Steve, and I want him now…. I want to be the one that slaps the cuffs on the cold-hearted bastard that could kill a baby…"