Half an hour later, Alex settled into a chair in one of their interview rooms, facing an attractive black-haired woman who looked like she might own stock in Botox. Jacqueline Cabrera's patrician features were pulled just a smidge too tight, in Alex's opinion, and rather than making her look younger than her fifty-odd years, the cosmetic work had just given her a slight air of desperation.
The money invested in the woman's face was matched by the money invested in her clothing. Even with her relatively untrained eye, Alex noted a pair of charcoal gray Michael Kors trousers, a white knit Escada shell, and a pale pink fitted blazer by St. John. The whole thing had probably cost the woman over two thousand dollars, and that was without counting shoes or jewelry.She glanced over her shoulder to where Goren stood, leaning between the two walls of his favorite corner. When they finished with Mrs. Cabrera, he would probably be able to give her a complete accounting of each piece and its value, she reflected, trying not to smile at the thought.
"Mrs. Cabrera," she began gently, "thank you for coming to speak with us today."
The woman shook her head, her calm facade collapsing into an expression of bereavement at the sound of Alex's voice. "It's . . . Don't thank me. Just please, tell me there's something you can do to catch that . . . that bastard."
"We're still trying to assemble the facts at this point, ma'am, but I can promise you that we're going to do everything we can to find the person who killed your friend. If you're ready, let's start with how you knew Mrs. Young."
"We . . . went to college together. We were roommates senior year, and then we went into similar lines of work here in the city."
"So that would make it . . . what . . . twenty years that you've known each other?" Goren asked, managing a tone of complete earnestness although he knew that it was more like thirty years that the women had been acquainted.
His subtle compliment hit its mark when the woman cracked a weak smile and waved her hand at him. "No, unfortunately. Closer to thirty."
Alex refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing that behind the glass, Deakins was probably yukking it up enough for all of them at Goren's deliberate flattery. "So you met her around the same time she began her relationship with Norman Young?" she asked. "He told us they'd been married about thirty years."
She nodded. "Norman was pre-law with us. They started dating our junior year, got married right after graduation."
"So you . . . continued to socialize with Gabrielle and Norman, then?" Goren asked. "Right up until, uh, recently?"
"Yes. Samuel - that's my husband - and I, we used to have dinner with Gabby and Norm every few weeks."
"How did Gabrielle and her husband get along when you saw them?" Alex asked. "Were they the type of couple who fought a lot, were they very affectionate . . .?"
"They were . . . they were, well, understated. I never saw them be cold to each other, even when they happened to argue in front of us, but they weren't . . . obvious about their relationship in public, either."
"So they were an, uh, ideal couple?" Goren asked, injecting a note of wonder into his voice. "That's, uh, impressive. Usually we . . ." He glanced at Alex, shrugged humorously, and looked back at the other woman. "Well, usually we only see the relationships that go bad."
"They loved each other," she said firmly. "I'm as sure of that as I can be from what I knew about both of them."
"Ok," Alex said easily. "We're just trying to fill in all the blanks that we can. So, Mrs. Young's relationship with her husband was solid . . . did she have any personal problems with anyone else? Anyone - friends, family members, co-workers . . ."
"Are you asking who might have killed her?" Mrs. Cabrera asked cautiously.
"Well, that's the ultimate goal," Alex replied, "but for now, I'm interested in anyone you can think of. It will give us insight about her character."
"It's called, uh, victimology," Goren supplied from behind her. "Understanding the type of person the victim was helps us form a theory about what type of person might have wanted to harm her."
"I watch CourtTV, Detective," Mrs. Cabrera snapped, then immediately looked aghast and put a hand to her face. "I'm sorry. I'm just so . . . on edge . . ."
"It's fine, Mrs. Cabrera," Alex told her, drawing the woman's attention away from Goren, who she knew needed to observe the woman to prepare his next volley. "We know that this is a very hard time for you, but . . . can you tell us about any personal problems Mrs. Young might have been having?"
The woman sighed deeply. "She didn't get along with Isaac Lawson. He worked with her, but he resented her for getting a promotion before he did. She was uncomfortable with the tension, and I know she tried to talk to him at least once about it and he blew her off."
"Would he have gained by her death? Would the promotion have passed to him or anything?"
"No. No, I don't think so, but firm business tends to stay firm business, so don't rely on my opinion."
"Ok," Alex replied, making a note on her pad. "Anyone else Mrs. Young had problems with?"
"She had a friendly rivalry with Allan Gray at Gray, Smith, & Williams, but it was just that - friendly. They used to meet for lunch to see who could win the most unlikely cases."
"Is that 'Gray' spelled G-R-E-Y?" Alex asked idly, fiddling with her pen.
"No, with an A."
"Got it. Can you think of anyone else?"
The woman shook her head a little too quickly, which didn't go unnoticed by the detectives. "Mrs. Cabrera?" Goren said from behind her. "There's . . . someone else. Someone you . . . someone you don't want brought into this?"
"No. No, I -"
"How was her relationship with her daughter?" Alex broke in pointedly, interrupting the woman's protestations. "Claire's boyfriend implied that her parents didn't approve of him . . ."
Mrs. Cabrera's mouth snapped shut and she looked at Alex in surprise. "Claire's a good girl. She wouldn't . . ."
"Victimology, ma'am," Goren repeated softly.
"Claire and Gabby loved each other. Very much. They . . . Gabby sometimes called Claire her best friend, and she said it so proudly . . . she was so happy that they had that . . ."
"But something went wrong," Alex said.
"Not . . . not completely. It was just, when Claire met Anthony, she didn't have as much free time to spend with her mother. I mean, that's normal for a young girl, and Gabby understood that, but after a year it hadn't tapered off. They still had their Friday night get-togethers, but they started getting . . . shorter. Before, Claire would spend the night in her old bedroom some weeks, but in the last year or so, she was leaving earlier and earlier. Usually she said she had to do something with her boyfriend."
"So Gabrielle felt . . . abandoned?" Goren suggested. "Resentful of Claire's relationship?"
"Sounds to me like she'd be frustrated more than resentful," Alex said, turning around to face him. "The daughter she loves finds someone who loves her . . . if it were me, I'd be frustrated at losing her, but feel guilty for not just being happy for her."
"Yes," the woman said with an vehement nod, "exactly. And that's why she never mentioned it to Claire, as far as I know. She told herself that it was just part of Claire growing up."
"So . . . Claire wasn't aware of her mother's feelings?" Goren asked, wrinkling his brow.
"I . . . don't know. I kind of got the feeling that she knew about it, but I hardly ever see her in person, so . . ."
". . . so you don't feel confident saying," Alex finished. "That's understandable. How about this: based on what you know about Claire, how do you think she would react if she thought her mom disapproved of her dating Anthony?"
Mrs. Cabrera closed her eyes for a moment, looking like she was gathering her thoughts. "Claire's at that age where . . . where she wants to be independent, but at the same time she still wants her 'mommy' sometimes. I think if she felt like Gabby disapproved . . . she'd pull away."
" 'I'll hurt you before you can hurt me'," Alex said with a knowing smile. "I remember that stage."
Goren gave her a surprised look - You were once that vulnerable! - while Jacqueline Cabrera nodded and returned Alex's smile. "Seems so silly when you're my age looking back at it," she said with a sigh. "But that's my guess about how Claire would act."
Alex nodded. "It makes sense. Thank you. Can you think of anyone else Mrs. Young may have been at odds with?"
The woman shook her head. "No . . . really, Gabby got along with most people. She wasn't a snob or anything."
Alex glanced over her shoulder at Goren, who shrugged to indicate that he had no more questions. Turning back to Mrs. Cabrera, she handed the woman a card and asked her to call them if she thought of anything else that might be helpful.
She agreed, and the two detectives leaned back in their chairs and watched a uniformed officer escort Jacqueline Cabrera to the elevators. "Interesting," Alex said thoughtfully, resting her chin in her hand as she studied her notes. "What do you think about the daughter?"
Before Goren could answer, the door of the room opened as Deakins and Carver walked in. "Well?" Deakins said expectantly, looking at Goren.
He shrugged and gestured to his partner. "Ask her. She's got the experience with female angst."
Two pairs of eyebrows shot up at the dismissal, but Deakins moved his eyes to Alex and obediently asked, "What do you think of the daughter now?"
She pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears and glanced at Goren. "I think I know who we're inviting to visit us tomorrow morning. I also want to speak to Claire's friends. They're much more likely to have dependable knowledge of her feelings."
Deakins sighed. "Women. You know," he said, looking from Carver to Goren as though looking for support, "I have a hard enough time with my girls at home, I don't need this crap here, too."
"Well, then," Alex said archly, "you should be glad you have me to take one for the team." Giving the captain an overly bright smile, she stood and brushed past him, leaving three surprised men behind her in the room.
Goren smirked. "For once I'm not the one who made the, uh, faux pas. You should know better than to complain about women in front of Eames."
"Yeah, well, you're the one who has to handle her. So," he said, waving Goren out of the room, "go do it. Oh, and I want a transcript of this interview. What's next?"
"For today, catching up on paperwork and waiting for, uh . . . Logan and Barek to report back."
"How's that going?" Deakins asked slowly, trying to be cryptic but instead just earning himself a suspicious look from Carver.
Goren gathered up his portfolio and stood. "It's going well. Eames and Barek seem to have made friends. Now, if you'll excuse me . . ." He nodded distractedly to the men and followed his partner's path out of the room.
As they watched Goren's retreating back, Carver turned to Deakins with raised eyebrows. "Well, that was odd."
"Yeah, well, welcome to my world," Deakins said with a sigh.