Free Knight 02.5 - If I'm Dead by Marcia Clark Page A

on a more personal style of welfare reform. Melissa had announce d her intention to get a divorce that same night.
    Three weeks later, Saul reported her missing. And when her SUV had been found abandoned on a lonely stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, the contents of her purse strewn across the passenger seat and the glove compartment rifled, it was initially believed that Melissa had been the victim of a robbery-murder, and that her body had been dumped in the ocean.
    But that made very little sense to Bailey and me. Why would a robber accost a woman in an SUV out on th e Pacific Coast Highway? And even if he did, why bother to dump the body? Why not just kill her and take her money? We’d been skeptical, and so when Dorian Struck, our favorite criminalist, finished with the SUV, we made fast tracks to the house where Saul and Melissa lived. Sure enough, we found evidence of a struggle in the garage. And then Dorian went back over the car with a fine-tooth comb. Not only did she find a wad of money zipped into a pocket in Melissa’s purse (What robber would’ve left that money behind? Or the purse, for that matter?) but she also found blood on the passenger side of the car. Though we didn’t yet have DNA confirmation, preliminary tests indicated it was likely Melissa’s. And then we’d learned that Melissa had a prenup stipulating that in the event of divorce, Saul would only get a share of the money Melissa had earned on her own after the marriage—which was basically zilch. And finally we’d found out that Saul owned a boat that was docked in the marina close to their home but far from the place where Melissa’s car had been found. Which meant it would’ve been easy for Saul to dump her body in the ocean and then leave her car many miles away, north of Point Mugu. So even if a witness happened to see him in the marina that night, it would play like an alibi—putting him far from the scene of Melissa’s murder.
    In short, we had a pretty decent case: evidence of a violent confrontation, a blood trace to show how the body had been moved, access to the means of body disposal, and motive up the wazoo. If it hadn’t been for the fact that we didn’t have a body, it would’ve been a no-brainer. But that fact was a real headache in this case, given Melissa’s globe-trotting lifestyle. And there was one additional wrinkle to the “she’s not dead” defense that was problematic: Melissa, having found Saul in bed with another woman, had a reason to disappear and let him take the fall for her murder. Besides, she didn’t have to be vindictive enough to send him away for life. She could always show up after a few months and tell everyone she hadn’t known what was going on over here; that she’d decided to cool off and spend time working for some new charity no one knew about in… Malaysia. It was a reasonable-doubt case that was tailor-made for a “not guilty” if the defense found the right jury. So Bailey had spent months contacting every friend, relative, and acquaintance who’d ever known Melissa, then scoured every database for hospitals, jails, and charities of all stripes around the world to prove that Melissa wasn’t just out feeding the starving children in Angola. But would it be enough to convince the jury? That was the big question.
    â€œDamn it, have you heard a word I said, Knight?” Bailey asked, hands on hips.
    â€œAlmost all of ’em,” I lied. “Got any particular one in mind?”
    Bailey gave me an exasperated look and pushed the photograph of the SUV facedown on the table next to my desk. “Quit staring at that thing and listen. I’ve got good news.”
    I sat up straighter. “Why didn’t you say so?”
    â€œI swear to God, Knight, I’ll hurt you.”
    I crossed my arms, unimpressed. Bailey might be taller than me—and, okay, maybe she’s got a