I introduced myself.
“Delaware—I know the name. You were involved with the Jones case, right?”
“Right,” I said, surprised. Rich defendant and a plea bargain; it had all been kept out of the papers.
“The defense called me,” he said, “when they were figuring out which place to send the bastard. Wanted me to testify on his behalf, get him a cushy bed. I said wrong number, counselor, my wife’s an assistant D.A. and my sympathies tend to run in the other direction. Did they put him away for long?”
“Hopefully,” I said.
“Yeah, you never know when there’s money involved. So, what can I do for you?”
“I’m working with the police on another case. A psychology professor who was murdered a few months ago.”
“I remember it,” he said. “Near the U. You like criminal cases?”
“I like closure.”
“Know what you mean. So what’s my connection?”
“Tessa Bowlby. She knew the victim. Accused another student of date rape and brought him up before a sexual-conduct committee chaired by Professor Devane. We’re talking to all the students involved with the committee but Tessa doesn’t want to talk and her problems make me reluctant to push it.”
“Sexual-conduct committee,” he said. His tone told me Tessa had never mentioned it. Walter Bowlby had said Tessa’s involvement with Emerson was sketchy.
“I haven’t seen Tessa in a while. Which is more than I should tell you in the first place.”
“I’ve got a signed release from her father.”
“Tessa’s over eighteen so that doesn’t mean much. So what’s the theory, one of the guys called up before this committee got mad and acted out?”
“With no evidence, theories abound,” I said. “The police are looking into every possible avenue.”
“A conduct committee,” he repeated. “And Tessa actually brought charges?”
“Yes.”
“Wow . . . it wasn’t in the papers, was it?”
“No.”
“Did the process get hostile?”
“It wasn’t pleasant,” I said. “But the committee didn’t last long ’cause the U killed it.”
“And then someone killed Professor Devane. Weird. Sorry I can’t help you, but let’s just say I don’t have much to offer.”
“About Tessa or her father?”
“Both,” he said. “I wouldn’t . . . spend much time on that aspect. Now, I’ve got a patient ringing in the waiting room so let’s cut this short while our ethics remain intact.”
So much for the conduct committee.
Back to Dr. Cruvic of the curious educational history.
That institute where he’d spent a year after he’d left Washington—Brooke-Hastings. Corte Madera—just outside San Francisco. Returning to his Northern California turf.
I called Corte Madera Information for a number. Nothing. Nothing in San Francisco or Berkeley or Oakland or Palo Alto or anywhere within a hundred-mile radius.
Next question mark: the hospital where Cruvic had resumed his training, this time as an OB-GYN.
Fidelity Medical Center in Carson.
No listing there, either.
Could the guy be a total impostor?
But UC Berkeley told me he was a member in good standing of the alumni association. Same with UC San Francisco Medical School.
So the funny stuff began after he’d received his M.D.
As I was thinking about that, Milo called. “No other murders that match, so far. Vegas is trying to get hold of Ted Barnaby, Mandy’s boyfriend, to see if he can shed light on her medical history or anything else. So far it’s no-go, they got him traced as far as Tahoe, then nada.”
“The casino circuit,” I said.
“Yeah. Interestingly, they know Cruvic in Vegas. Comes a few times a year, somewhat of a high roller.”
“Just the kind of guy Mandy would gravitate toward.”
“No one remembers them together, but I sent Mandy’s picture to L.A. Vice to see if she had any kind of history here, and I’m planning to visit a few clubs tonight, places on the Strip where the high-priced girls are known to party.”
“Casinos, clubs. Some lifestyle.”
“Rust never sleeps, why should I? I also received a FedEx this morning, humongous packet of alibi material on Patrick Huang from his father’s law firm. Photos, menus, notarized affidavits from the maitre d’, waiters, busboys, family members.”
“Nothing like a lawyer father,” I said. “Well, that’s good, ’cause Deborah Brittain still seems nervous about him.”