The Color of Greed (Raja Williams 1) (7 page)

“Beating the bushes at the governor’s
private party. I am thinking there is a connection. The whole thing
has the feel of PR damage control. For what, I don’t know. Now
there are two dead bodies. I’m thinking we ought to find out
why.”

“Okay, I’m interested. But we don’t
yet have proof of one murder, much less two.”

“We will as soon as Dr. Becker gets here.”

“Where is she?” asked Rafferty. “She
should be here by now.”

“I sent Vinny over to her office with the new
evidence from Hope’s boat. She may be doing tests.”

“What about this one?” Rafferty pointed
to the dead girl.

“There are two bottles of wine in the kitchen,
but no glasses. You should find evidence of her being forced to drink
the wine. The rest was poured into the sink. The scene was staged to
look like an overdose.”

Detective Rafferty marveled at Raja’s
intuitive confidence. “How could you know all that?”

“It’s a gift. I call it connect the
dots. Something I’ve always been able to do. I’m a big
fan of Ockham’s razor.”

“I use a Norelco tripleheader myself.”

“Ockham’s razor is a method of
philosophic logic.”

“Yawn.”

“If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck
…
” Raja paused.

“I see. Why didn’t you just say so?”

Raja’s phone rang. It was Vinny. “I’m
at the lab. Dr. Becker didn’t want to take a chance on losing
the sample, so she had me hand deliver it and wait for results. We
got what we needed,” Vinny said triumphantly. “Hope was
murdered. The tox panel showed a potent compound on the cap that
could easily have killed Randall Hope. The doc can tell you more
about it. She’s on the way to you now.”

“Good work, Vinny. Why don’t you go back
to Studio City. I’ll meet you there later.” Raja ended
the call.

“It’s official,” he said to
Detective Rafferty. “That was Vinny at the lab. They found a
drug that killed Randall Hope. He was murdered.”

“Are you sure?” asked Rafferty.

“Yes, he’s sure,” said a confident
female voice.

Both men turned to see Dr. Becker walking through
the apartment door.

“I told Vinny to call you with the news. After
all, she was the one who found the evidence at the crime scene.”
Dr. Becker gave Rafferty a disapproving look. “The compound
contains tyramine, which in large enough dose causes an adrenergic
storm.”

“A what?” asked Rafferty.

“It spikes blood pressure and heart rate.
Tyramine has been used to temporarily increase blood pressure in
emergency blood-loss patients. The amount Randall Hope ingested would
kill a healthy man, yet look like a stroke from an aneurism.”

“Sharon, good work,” said Raja. “I
think we have another related murder here.” He pointed to the
girl’s body.

“Could we at least let the doc decide?”
asked Rafferty.

Dr. Becker examined the body. “The pills on
the table and smell of alcohol would make toxic overdose the obvious
COD.” She looked at the back of the girl’s arms and
inside her mouth. “However, there is perimortem bruising
evident in several places. This girl was in a physical struggle with
someone right before she died. Based on my preliminary observation, I
think you can assume foul play.”

“Now we’ve got two murders, Tommy,”
said Raja.

“Don’t sound so damn happy,” said
Rafferty.

Chapter Nine: Loose Lips

After Rafferty dropped Raja at the Studio City
building, Raja stepped into the elevator and used his key to unlock
and activate the 4th floor button. That took him to the private suite
that covered the top floor. The entire floor had been gutted and
redone with an open floor plan and raw brick, much like the factory
lofts so popular in many cities. The place looked like an art
gallery, with paintings and sculptures everywhere. Raja loved
surrealistic art, and several of the pieces were expensive Matisse
and Dali originals. Vinny sat in front of a large glass screen
featuring the latest tech in computing interfaces. There was a
keyboard, but most of the action could be controlled directly through
the touch screen. Vinny looked like a symphony conductor.

“You having fun?” asked Raja.

“Of course. But you do know I don’t need
all this equipment. Not with my cloud computing program.”

“Yes, you explained that to me. Virtual
computing, right?”

“Basically. It’s the reason I can do so
much with so little on the fly.”

“I just thought you might like the new toys I
had installed.”

“I appreciate the effort. It is great stuff,
thanks,” she added, after noticing Raja’s disappointment.

Raja smiled. “We found enough evidence to call
the girl’s death a murder, as well. So, Detective Rafferty is
now fully on board.”

Raja called Clarice Hope to tell her the news.
“Clarice. Raja Williams. Thought you would like to know. You
were right. Randy was murdered. We found some sort of poison.”

“I knew it.”

“I know it’s no consolation for your
loss, but I am going to find out who did it and why. For now, I’d
like you to stay at your ranch in Santa Barbara until I know more.
You settled in okay?”

“I’m doing more horseback riding at the
ranch than I have in years. I feel good, other than the sore ass I’ve
got. I feel like I’ve been dating the USC football team.”

“I won’t ask how you know what that
feels like.”

“It’s a figure of speech, Mr. Williams.
The riding keeps me occupied, at least.”

“Good girl. Just lie low for now. Call me if
you need anything.”

“I will. Do me a favor. Be careful.”

“Thanks.” He thought about her words.
Being careful was not something Raja often considered. He made a
career out of taking chances. Being smart, on the other hand, was a
firm policy. And right now the smart thing for him to do was get some
rest. “I’m going to get some sleep, Vinny. Wake me at
seven, okay?”

“As you wish.”

Raja didn’t bother to tell Vinny to get some
rest. Vinny had the rare ability to get by on less than three hours
of sleep a night. Raja knew she would work late and still be up at
dawn ready to go, looking better than he did with a full night’s
rest. She was an amazing and sometimes challenging person to work
with.

Raja slept soundly and woke up at nine, feeling
refreshed and ready to go. He pulled on a pair of jeans, a polo shirt
and his favorite Rockport loafers. He found Vinny at the computer.
“Why didn’t you wake me when I asked?”

“You were still sleeping.”

“That is understood in the phrase ‘wake
me up’ don’t you think?”

“No doubt. But, you looked tired.”

Vinny’s straightforward logic could be
exasperating. But she never equivocated, and that Raja loved about
her. “I suppose I was. Now I’m hungry. Is that sausage I
smell?”

“And eggs. They should still be warm.”
She pointed to a plate on the counter.

Raja didn’t care and wolfed down every bit. He
thought about Randy Hope and Jennifer Gowan. Two lives he could not
save. Never regret yesterday. Life is in you today. He had to move
forward. He studied the computer screen while Vinny collected and
organized information on the case.

At ten Raja got a phone call.

“Mr. Williams?”

“Yes.”

“It’s Ramona Griggsby. I thought of
something you might want to know. Something I told Randy about a
phone call I overheard. The judge was on the phone in the library. He
started yelling at someone. I don’t think he realized the door
was open. I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard enough.”

Raja listened intently until she was done. “Who
was he talking to? ... All right, I understand. Where are you? ...
Stay put and I’ll be right over.”

Raja turned to Vinny. “That was Ramona
Griggsby. She remembered something from a conversation she overheard.
She sounded scared. I’m going to see her.”

“Want me to come along?”

“No. You keep working on the party guest
list.” Minutes later, Raja squealed out of the parking garage
and headed to the 101 freeway.

Ten minutes after her conversation with Raja, the
front doorbell rang. Ramona was relieved not to be alone. “That
was fast,” she said, as she opened the door.

It wasn’t Raja. Fernando stood in the doorway.
The look on his face didn’t promise playtime.

Ramona knew she was in trouble. She checked the
strong impulse to slam the door, knowing he could easily overpower
her. Instead she forced a smile. “I’m so glad you came
over.” Fernando stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
“I’ll bet joo are.”

Ramona was desperate to buy some time. She moved
closer and put her hand on his crotch.

Fernando did not respond. “Show me joo love
me,” he said coldly.

Ramona got on her knees, touching his thighs. She
expected him to unzip his pants.

Instead, he whipped off his belt, cinched it around
her neck and pulled it tight. “Who did joo tell?” he
demanded.

“Tell what?” Cough. “Stop it,
you’re scaring me.”

Fernando dragged her out through the back onto the
patio by the pool. He dropped her on the flagstone like a sack of
potatoes.

Ramona’s face was bright red and she looked
scared. She clawed at the belt to loosen it. Gasping and choking, she
pleaded, “Stop, please. You are hurting me.”

“What did joo tell him?” demanded
Fernando.

“Who?” Ramona instinctively knew she
must not answer.

Fernando backhanded her hard across the face,
sending her sprawling across the flagstone deck.

The throbbing in Raja’s temples told him he
needed to hurry. He redlined the Ferrari as he raced to Thousand
Oaks. He called Vinny. “I’m on the way to the Griggsby’s.
I think what she heard may be the reason Randall Hope was killed. And
I think she is in danger. Can you get the police there?”

“You want a police alert?”

“That would be great. Make it an armed B&E
in progress.” Raja’s confidence in Vinny knew no bounds.

“You want fries with that order?” she
asked, expecting no response. Her fingers were already flying.

Ten minutes later, Raja skidded the Ferrari to a
stop in front of the Griggsby house. The police had not responded yet
and the yawning front door meant trouble. Inside Raja saw signs of a
struggle and several spots of blood on the floor. He followed the
blood drops out to the pool area. His heart sank when he saw the limp
body of Ramona Griggsby floating silently on the lighted aqua
surface. Raja jumped in. He dragged her to the side and pushed her
onto the edge of the flagstone deck. After climbing out of the water,
he knelt down over her, checking for any sign of life. She was
already dead. He looked at Ramona’s swollen face. She had been
a beautiful woman. Not anymore. She was beaten and choked before
being dumped in the pool.

Raja started to stand up when a sharp pain exploded
down his spine that made his fingers tingle and his ears buzz. A
bright flash of white faded into darkness.

Raja dreamed he was waiting in line to get into
heaven and had inexplicably lain down by the side of the road and
dozed off while everyone else walked through the pearly gates. For
some reason he couldn’t wake up even though he knew the gates
were slowly closing. A beautiful angel hovered over him, slowly
flapping her wings and telling him to wake up. When Raja opened his
eyes, Vinny was staring down at him with a fearful look.

Raja blinked twice, grimaced in pain and then smiled
at her. “I didn’t quite make it through,” he said.
“Guess it’s not my time.”

Vinny was simultaneously relieved and annoyed. “What
are you talking about?”

“Never mind.”

“You are such a cowboy, Raj. Promise me the
next time you’ll wait for help, will you?”

Raja smiled. “You know I don’t like to
make promises I can’t keep.” He looked around at the
policemen marking evidence at the scene.

A young Ventura County detective stepped up to Raja
and Vinny. “Raja Williams, right?”

Raja sat up, feeling the back of his head. “That
sounds about right.”

“Is that your name, or not?” demanded
the detective.

“Can’t this wait?” asked Vinny,
getting more annoyed.

“No, miss, it can’t. We have a murdered
woman and this guy lying right next to her dead body.” The
detective zeroed in on Raja. “We gonna find your DNA on the
dead girl?”

“Probably. I pulled her out of the pool—but
she was already dead.”

“And you know this woman how?”

“She called me. I was coming here to talk to
her.”

“About what?”

“A case I’m working on. I’m a
private investigator.”

“What case?”

“Did I stutter? I said private—as in, my
client’s information is private.”

The detective was about to read Raja the riot act
when Detective Rafferty showed up.

“He’s working on a case with me,”
said Rafferty.

“That may be,” said the young detective,
“but we got a B&E call to this address, and on arrival my
officers found him and Mrs. Griggsby laid out on the deck. We haven’t
yet located or contacted the vic’s husband, Judge Griggsby.”

Rafferty touched the back of Raja’s head.

“Ouch.”

“Do you think he did this to himself?”
asked Rafferty.

“We-l-l-l.” The detective didn’t
have an answer.

“Okay, then,” said Rafferty. “What’s
your name?”

“Detective James.”

“Detective James, this is your case and your
jurisdiction. But, I can vouch for this man. I suggest you get his
statement and start looking for whoever did do this.”

Rafferty was well known and respected even in
Ventura County. Detective James thought better of challenging him.
“What can you tell me?” asked the young detective, now
with a decidedly less hostile tone toward Raja.

“As I said, I came to meet with Mrs. Griggsby
at her request. When I found the front door open and blood on the
floor, I went in. Her body was floating in the pool. I pulled her out
hoping to revive her, but she was already gone. Then someone hit me
and I blacked out. I didn’t see or hear anything.”