The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska, #5)(42)

“But the burglary aspect looks like several others in the area,” Mascherino said.

“I put Tippen and Elwood on that.”

“I spoke to them already. There are two cases that could very well be connected to this one—similar method of entry, neat and efficient burglary. The difference being no one was home at the time.”

“All the more reason for the Chamberlains to have had their security system armed,” Taylor pointed out.

“I’ve spoken with the security company,” the lieutenant said. “According to their computer, the Chamberlains’ system was armed last night a little after seven, and disarmed around twelve thirty. Of course, they can’t tell us who disarmed it or why. Disarming the system with the pass code doesn’t raise any red flags with the company.”

“The code number was on a label on the keypad in the kitchen,” Taylor said. “I took a picture of it.”

“The electronic-age version of leaving the key under the doormat,” Mascherino said, shaking her head.

“People accidentally set the alarm off, they panic and can’t remember the code,” Taylor said. “It’s not hard to imagine that happening with Mrs. Chamberlain’s drinking habit. Next thing, the cops are there. And if that happens a couple of times, they’re getting fined.”

“That wouldn’t have gone over well with the tyrant,” Kovac said.

“So she made a little label and put it on the keypad,” Taylor said. “People do it all the time. They write the number down on a notepad on the counter. They write it on the corner of their message board by the kitchen phone.”

“They’re afraid of the people they don’t know,” Kovac said. “They think danger comes only from outside their world, not from their own circle of acquaintances.”

“So the perpetrator broke in through the French doors,” the lieutenant said. “They had no glass-break detectors. Professor Chamberlain felt they were an unnecessary expense, since all the openings were wired. No motion sensors, either. No video cameras. He bought a good basic package and left it at that.

“After the bad guy was inside, he had thirty seconds to get to the keypad and disarm the alarm before it went off,” Mascherino went on. “So he had the alarm code, but not a key to the house.”

“Anyone who has been in the house could have had that code,” Kovac said. “The cleaning lady, the handyman with the grudge. We’re on to that angle next. The professor had a beef with a handyman service. He trashed them online and got into it with the owner of the company, according to the son. They were scheduled to come back to the house and redo some work a couple of days ago.”

“Handy Dandy Home Services,” Taylor said. “They’ve got all their paperwork: registered, licensed, insured, etcetera. They’ve had a few complaints against them on the various websites that rate these businesses. Nothing violent. No big red flags. From what I’ve read, they rank somewhere in the middle of the pack for price and quality.”

“In keeping with the professor’s penny-pinching,” the lieutenant said.

“We’re on our way to talk to the owner,” Kovac said. “Who knows where he gets his workers. Some of those companies are on the up-and-up, and all their workers are on the books. Others—not so much. Guys that work that kind of job can be transient.

“And I want to take a harder look at the family and the professor’s associates, too,” he said. “The daughter is a trip. We know she and the dad were at odds.”

“But could you see her beating her father’s head in?” Mascherino asked. “That beating was brutal. Does she seem like she could be that strong?”

“She’s athletic,” Kovac said. “And she’s tall. Bigger than her father. And the brother says she’s bipolar. Maybe she just snapped.”

“Bipolar is not the same as psychotic,” Taylor pointed out.

“But bipolar people can be violent.”

“Violent people can be bipolar,” Taylor corrected him. “Contrary to what the movies and TV would have us believe, the overwhelming majority of people with mental illness are not violent. Statistically, they’re more apt to become victims.”

“We’re not talking about statistical probabilities,” Kovac argued. “We’re talking about Diana Chamberlain. Is she or is she not a weird chick?”

“She’s a weird chick,” Taylor agreed. “And she’s sleeping with the enemy. But could she hack up her mother with a sword? If she attacked her father with nunchucks in a blind rage, and hacked her mother up with a samurai sword, could she just turn that rage off and coldly stage a burglary as slick and professional as this? Not likely. Either she snapped and went ape shit crazy or she didn’t. No one can turn that on and off like a faucet.”

Kovac blew out a breath and sat back in his chair, already regretting the pizza. Now he was getting too f*cking old to eat pepperoni.

“The daughter’s apartment was a pigsty, but at a crime scene she’s meticulous?” Taylor went on. He shook his head. “The burglary points to a pro.”

“And the other professor?” Mascherino asked. “The one the daughter is sleeping with?”

“Ken Sato. It’s easy to argue motive for him,” Kovac said. “Eliminating the competition for a big promotion.”