Chapter 16

Liberty thought for a moment as she munched on her drenched salad.Daniel Baumgard was of average height for a man, probably registering around five-foot seven or eight.To bear down on him with the knife meant the killer had to be a bit taller, around six feet.Madeline Kime stood an inch or so taller than Liberty, about five-four.To make such an incision the woman would have had to stand on tip-toe or wear high heels, although Maddy had been wearing running shoes with her sweat suit.Of course, she could have taken a pair with her, but it seemed unlikely.

According to her testimony, after Dr. Baumgard called and urged her to come over, she quickly dressed and drove over to his house.She hadn't anticipated his call and so wouldn't have planned his murder beforehand, unless she was merely waiting for the right time.But then again, she would have had to plan it so that Daniel Baumgard answered the doorbell while she ran around the house wearing high heels and carrying a knife.That meant she would have had to utilize the services of an accomplice in order to ring the doorbell while she ran in heels. Over all, such a scenario seemed far-fetched, especially the idea that Maddy could run in heels through the grass.Women in heels rarely or never ran if they didn't have to, including Liberty who had yet to try the feat in the dozen or so stiletto heels she owned.

Now as she explained all this to Keats, he merely took another sip of his wine and waited as Miguel returned with their entrees.When the waiter set down their hot plates and whisked away their salad bowls, the detective resumed his train of thought.

"We've toyed with the same assumption, but Ms. Kime could very well have stood on her toes in order to give the impression that a man, a stranger at the door, stabbed the doctor.And who was at the door?"He shrugged."Maybe Ms. Kime had a remote control device that triggered the doorbell.Who knows?At this point, even your scenario could be valid.I certainly won't discount it."

Liberty re-positioned her cloth napkin on her lap."But why would she stage such an obvious if not elaborate ploy?Although I just met her, I find Maddy Kime to be highly intelligent and in possession of normal emotions, not high strung.For instance:why would she grab a knife from the kitchen and go through such an elaborate ploy in order to stab the doctor when he went to answer the summons of someone at the door?Why didn't she just stab him in the kitchen?"

As he cut a piece of his juicy steak, Keats frowned."Why do you say the knife came from the doctor's kitchen?"He held up his own steak knife for emphasis.

"I didn't.I'm just assuming.I have no idea where the knife came from or what it even looks like."

Keats returned to cutting his steak."It's a standard kitchen knife with a long sharp blade and a black silicone handle.We talked to Dr. Baumgard's housekeeper who comes in twice a week, and she confirmed none of the kitchen knifes were missing.And of course, we have Mrs. Kime's fingerprints on the handle, the only ones there."

"That's because she pulled out the knife without thinking."

"Her actions might be considered high strung," Keats pointed out, "and perhaps done to give the illusion that she discovered the doctor after he was stabbed.Then, in the midst of shock, she pulled out the knife before calling 911."

"I heard a copy of her 911 call," Liberty confirmed before spooning up a plump pink shrimp and saffron rice.After calling Brandon this morning and giving him instructions, she had that very tape available when she came into the office."Ms. Kime certainly sounded distressed, but I also sensed that she tried to keep her head as she gave the emergency operator the necessary information."

"I agree, but that's hardly conclusive evidence."Saying nothing more, Keats consumed several hearty forkfuls of his baked potato.When he finished he washed it down with a gulp of wine.

As she ate her meal, Liberty pondered her next question.She wanted to steer the conversation, hopefully in her favorand that of her client's."Are you looking for any other suspects?What about the pro-life group?I was at the dedication yesterday when one of the pro-lifers interrupted the proceedings by shouting slogans against Dr. Baumgard.She called him Dr. Death and a Nazi killer of babies.To my way of thinking, those are strong words, even threatening."

"Yes, we've interviewing the members of the Save the Babies group, plus all of the doctor's employees and volunteers.That's a lot of people, and it takes a lot of man power to do the investigative work. The sheriff has assigned most of our staff to the case which puts the deputies' regular and important duties as well as our other cases on hold.In the process, we're asking if anyone knows of someone who might have had a serious enough grudge against the doctor to make himor hercommit murder."

"Do you believe Ms. Kime had a grudge against Dr. Baumgard?"

Finished with his meal, Keats placed his fork and knife on the plate."I don't know, not at this time.There's a lot of background checking that needs to be done."

"So you are actively looking at other suspects."

The detective took his time dabbing his mouth with the napkin."Of course, although Ms. Kime is certainly on our top ten list."

"But do you feel you have enough evidence to arrest her?"

"If we do, I'll let you know."

After throwing her napkin on her plate, Liberty pulled back and placed her palms squarely on the table."Please do, detective.I'd appreciate your cooperation."

He gave her a confident smile."And I appreciate yours."

"Thank you, Keats, for the dinner and wine.This has been an interesting if not illuminating evening.I have a good idea now where my client stands...and that does not make me a happy camper."

"I know, but I have a job to do just as you have, counselor.If it makes you breathe any easier, Rhett Baumgard is also on the list.I heard he and his father had a falling out recently, a serious one at that."

Now it was Liberty's turn to frown.Why hadn't Rhett mentioned this little tidbit during their meeting?"Do you know over what?"

Keats poured more wine in his glass, effectively finishing off the bottle."I'm not quite sure.Detective Serrano did the investigative work on that.Now, Mr. Baumgard is your client, so why don't you ask him?"

"Oh, I will.But tell me, did Ms. Serrano talk to Rhett Baumgard directly?"Liberty had cautioned both Rhett and Maddy about talking directly to the police, but often such advice went unheeded when a possible witness or suspect came in contact with such overwhelming authority.Intimidation did strange things to people, put fear in their hearts and minds.And in some cases, her clients spilled their innermost secrets when a detective asked the most benign questions, whether they were guilty or not.

Keats shook his head. "Nope.She figured that you already warned him off talking to the cops.Instead, Gloria went right to the font of information:the wife."

Savannah Baumgard.Liberty had the woman on her list to interview, but now would place her at the top.Funny though.The majority of wives stuck up for their husbands, even giving them alibis when hubbies had no real explanations for their whereabouts and actions.Liberty figured Savannah would be one of those supportive wives, willing to do anything for her man which meant withholding any information that hinted at familial discord.Then again, many couples acted loving and supportive on the surface, but fought like wildcats in private, willing to betray each other if the benefits of doing so outweighed any marital commitment.

Maybe that's why Liberty had a less-than-enthusiastic regard for marriage.She had witnessed so many bad ones, defended wronged wives against philandering, abusive, and duplicitous husbands, and on rare occasions vice versa.Now as she picked up her glass of wine and drank it, she felt it go down warm and dry, making her cough.She quickly traded it for the glass of water to appease the tickle in her throat.Then she grabbed her purse and stood.

Figuring she planned to end their dinner and conversation, Keats added, "Anything else you want to know?"

Liberty offered a wry smile."If I do I'll call and ask."

Sitting back in his chair, Keats gave her a cagey look."For you, counselor, I'll make the time, any time, day or night.You have my cell phone numbers, personal and business, but my personal phone goes with me everywhere."

Was that a come-on?She couldn't be sure with the detective.One minute he seemed the gruff, non-nonsense cop, all business, and the next he wanted to bandy words with her, particularly those that had more than one meaning, suggestive and puzzling at the same time.Either way, Liberty found him unsettling.Of course, she wouldn't admit it to him, or even bother to figure him out by plumbing the depths of his psycheif he even had one.

Instead, she offered a parting note:"Well, thanks again, Keats, for the meal and the pleasure of your company."With that, Liberty turned on her heels and walked away.