I steel myself. “I’m not convinced that MJ was the murderer,” I say. I’m not completely comfortable saying this.
“But Sam,” Susan says. “You were right. You’ve been saying all along that we had to keep putting the pressure on MJ, that she wasn’t telling us everything. You weren’t fooled by Mark Epstein, either. You called this one. Now’s the time to close the case and move on.”
I shake my head.
“No,” I say. “This doesn’t feel right.”
There’s a knock on the door. It’s Grady. “Congratulations,” he says to me. “You kept on it, and followed your instincts. Good work.”
I look from Susan to him. “I’m not done,” I say. “This isn’t closed yet.”
I see a glance pass between them.
“What is it, Sam?” asks Susan. She is trying to be patient, I can tell.
“For starters, how would MJ know about a potassium overdose? And where would she even get it.”
Grady shakes his head. “Sam, as you said yourself, it’s common knowledge that an overdose of potassium can be fatal. I mean, for chrissakes, that’s what a lethal injection is in death row cases.”
I feel stubborn. “Well, where did she get it from, then?”
Grady laughs. He motions to Susan’s computer. “May I?” he asks. She nods. He pulls the keyboard toward him and types in l-i-q-u-i-d p-o-t-a-s-s-i-u-m and hits enter. I can see the list of sites from where I’m standing. “Sam, it’s a common health supplement for both people and pets. Hell, for all we know, Dr. Taylor prescribed it for himself or MJ.”
I shake my head. “We checked their pharmacies. No prescription for potassium chloride had ever been filled.”
“So she called a Canadian pharmacy,” says Grady.
I turn to Susan. “Does this mean you won’t allow my request to see MJ’s phone and email records?” I ask.
She sighs. “Sam . . .”
“I don’t feel we can let this one slide,” I say. “We’ve put too much into the investigation. Just do me this favor, and then I’m done. I promise. I’ll accept that MJ was the perp.”
Susan hesitates, then pulls out a pen and signs the forms. “Okay,” she says. “Go ahead and submit these. But after this, it’s back to the burglary beat, Sam.”
“You mean the barking dog beat,” I say under my breath, but I suspect Susan hears me because she turns her head sharply.
“And one more thing,” I say, meekly.
“What’s that?” Susan asks, visibly annoyed now.
“I’d like permission to interview Deborah Taylor one more time.”
Susan shakes her head. “Absolutely not. City Hall is roasting my butt on that. According to Deborah, you’ve been harassing her. For no good reason. Asking the same questions over and over again. She’s well connected in this town, Sam. I can’t let this continue.”
“Just one more interview,” I say. “To tie up some loose ends.”
65
Excerpt from Transcript
Police interview with Deborah Taylor, September 5, 2013
[Preliminary introductions, explanations of police processes and procedures, notification that the session would be videotaped]
Samantha Adams: I take it you’ve heard the news.
Deborah Taylor: Yes. Yes, I have. It was MJ all along. I wouldn’t have thought she could engineer such an elaborate plot. And I wonder how she found out. Or what she found out. Was it just that John had other wives? Or did she find out about Claire, too? That her little idyll was coming to an end?
Samantha Adams: We’ll never know.
Deborah Taylor: Why have you asked me here yet again? I understand that the case in closed. Certainly you must have everything you need. I don’t know what I can add, except that I’m glad you have settled this very unsettling situation.
Samantha Adams: We feel there are some holes.
Deborah Taylor: Such as?
Samantha Adams: Such as MJ assuring her brother in the note that he would get the garden, get the money, get “everything.” What did she mean by that?
Deborah Taylor: I assume she meant that I agreed not to claim any equity in the house in Los Gatos.
Samantha Adams: Isn’t the equity worth more than two million dollars by now?
Deborah Taylor: Yes, but as I told you, I have enough to be comfortable. John had the insurance policy, and with our savings I could afford to be generous. It was the least I could do, given the . . . unusual . . . household arrangement I had set up. With Helen, there were no issues, she wanted nothing and asked for nothing. But MJ was anxious about this until we settled it.
Samantha Adams: When did you have a discussion with MJ about money?
Deborah Taylor: Oh, not until a month or so after John’s death. I told her she could keep the house, that as John’s sole beneficiary I would sign the deed over to her. She could also keep what was in their joint bank account, a considerable sum. She would have been taken care of financially. And if she decided to pass that along to her brother, I have no reason to object.