Chapter 9

When she returned to the Baumgard house, all the lights seemed to be on, upstairs and downstairs.All the light gave the place a bright, stark and gaudy appearance, not like the serene and comfortable atmosphere she had experienced earlier.Several police cars lined the drive near the front door.Liberty parked behind the last one in line.The air had cooled off since the rain and now she shivered as she got out of the Caddy. With little time to spare, she had simply donned whatever she found shoved in her closet, a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and an old pair of clogs, not exactly professional attire but this was not that kind of case where all parties involved sat around a state-of-the-art conference room with coffee and bottles of designer water, everyone dressed for success.This meeting took place in the dead of night, in a personal setting, with questionable players, and with death at the doorstep...literally.

When Liberty arrived at the front door, the uniformed cop stationed there told her to go around and enter through the side patio door.This was a crime scene.Stealing a quick glance around him, she noticed the blood stains on the beautiful terrazzo floor of the foyer.

With the aid of the glaring house lights, she skirted around a series of rose bushes until she found the side of the house and double French doors that led to the dining room.Another uniformed officer stationed there opened the nearest door for her and let her inside after she stated her business. "I'm the Baumgard family attorney, Liberty Sloane."She showed the officer her credentials, basically her driver's license.After glancing at it, he simply nodded and stepped aside to allow her to continue through the dining room and over to the living room where the parties involved had gathered.

Liberty stifled a yawn as she walked toward her destination.Wake up girl, she told herself, and get with the program!This was no time to be sleepy and muddle-headed.Entering the living room, she noticed that Rhett Baumgard sat beside Maddy Kime on the hunter-green sofa.Two plainclothes detectives, a man and a woman, sat in padded chairs opposite them, another uniformed cop standing stiffly behind the detectives.

As soon as he spied Liberty at the double doors that separated the rooms, Rhett Baumgard rose from the sofa and walked over to greet the attorney."Thank you, thank you," he told her in a lowered voice, his hands taking her right one and giving the top a light pat, just like his father had done."Thank you for coming on such short notice and with no information."

His flesh felt hot and clammy, and Liberty judiciously withdrew her hand from his grasp and wiped both her palms on her jeans."I'm sure I'll get all I need here."She lowered her voice."Now, tell me truthfully, Mr. Baumgard, do the police have reason to suspect that you or Ms. Kime had something to do with your father's death?"

Rhett Baumgard swallowed a big lump of apprehension."I'm not sure, but they act as if we're both guilty.Madeline...Maddy, Ms. Kime will tell you her story.I can't verify its validity since I wasn't here.In fact the last time I saw my father was about eight o'clock when he left the restaurant where we had been dining.It's my tenth wedding anniversary.He left right after he ate, but my wife and I stayed on to enjoy a bottle of complimentary champagne."

The banker/politician didn't look or act drunk, but some time had passed, and the sudden death of a loved one usually sobered up even the drunkest person.

"All right, all right," Liberty soothed, "you just relax now, Mr. Baumgard, while I ask the questions.Don't say anything more.That goes for Ms. Kime as well.I'll speak to her next, in private."

"Please, call me Rhett."

"Okay, Rhett."Liberty followed him into the living room.

The two police officers rose as she entered.Liberty made a quick assessment of them both.The male detective appeared to be pushing forty with a tumbled mass of sable hair and smoky eyes.He stood about six-three and possessed broad shoulders and large, rough-hewn hands.He wasn't bad looking for a white guy, she thought, what she would call ruggedly raw and darkly attractive.He possessed a firm chin with a slight scar veering to the left, and a no-nonsense mouth, nothing weak about him.

The female officer looked about five years younger, with a round, full face, hazel eyes, and brunette hair worn straight and shoulder-length.Two silver barrettes kept her hair from falling in her face.Liberty wouldn't call her large, but she was definitely big-boned with wide hips and an ample bosom.

The male detective spoke first."You're the lawyer Mr. Baumgard requested?"

"My name is Liberty Sloane, and I've served the late Dr. Baumgard in the capacity of consulting attorney.I'm here at the request of his son, Mr. Rhett Baumgard.And you are?"She didn't offer her hand for a shake and neither detective bothered with the polite niceties, although both produced their official ID folders and handed them to her.

"I'm Sergeant Keats," the man informed Liberty and then nodded to his partner."And this is Corporal Serrano.We're from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, Special Operations Division."

Liberty took the time to glance over their IDs.Ms. Serrano went by the moniker of Gloria, and Keats' first name happened to be Byron.Byron Keats?Liberty speculated for a moment that his parents must have been poetry geeks.Both Keats and Serrano served as plainclothes deputies with Sergeant Keats a grade above Corporal Serrano.And both wore dark jackets and slacks, with Gloria Serrano choosing a silk-blend floral blouse to add some color to her somber outfit, while Keats paired his with a gray shirt and olive-green tie now slightly askew.

"Before we go any further," Liberty warned as she handed back their IDs."I wish to speak to Ms. Kime in private.I am now her attorney of record."

Keats arched his thick brows."All right, but make it short.We need to put in the report and get a jump on this investigation."

Liberty glanced back at the foyer with its blood stains on the floor."Has the doctor's body been taken to the morgue yet?"She hadn't seen an ambulance.

Cpl. Serrano spoke in a husky, alto voice."Yes, about a half hour ago.He's gone on to the coroner's office for the autopsy.Hopefully we'll have some results as early as tomorrow afternoon."

Madeline Kime produced an audible intake of breath as she read the corporal's lips.She rose from the sofa and stood a bit unsteadily in her gray running shoes, the toes of each shoe peppered with a series of dark red drops.With the information Rhett had provided over the phone, Liberty surmised that Daniel Baumgard's blood had stained Maddy's shoes after she discovered the doctor's body lying on the foyer floor.

Maddy wore gray jersey sweats, a zip-up jacket and pants with elasticized ankle hems, no socks.Several dark blotches stained the front of her jacket and also the edges of the sleeves.Blood as well?

Liberty moved to the woman and took her gently by the arm."Maddy, let's find a private place to talk."

"The dining room should be private enough," Rhett advised, as he glanced to the double oak doors that matched the ones that opened to the study.Liberty thought about using the study but that meant crossing the foyer, cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape.

The dining room would have to do."All right, let's go in there."

With her hand on Maddy's back, Liberty walked her in that direction.As soon as they entered, she closed the doors and then faced her new client."Have a seat," she advised and then glanced at the polished Chippendale table adorned with a white lace runner and two silver candelabra.

Maddy took the nearest seat, while Liberty chose the captain's chair at the head of the table.She leaned closer so that PR manager could read her lips.

"Thank you," Maddy acknowledged."I am very grateful for your help and for agreeing to represent me...us."

"I'm sorry that I don't know sign language.Will you be comfortable talking this way, or would you prefer to have a signer?"

Maddy nodded."Perhaps, Rhett could help.He knows sign language.I can read lips and speak in return, but sometimes people don't understand what I say.It's easier to sign.This way there will be no miscommunication."

"Okay."Liberty went back to the doors and slid them open to call Rhett Baumgard."Mr. Baumgard...Rhett.Ms. Kime requests your assistance to sign for her."

"All right."But Rhett glanced at the deputies first, looking for the go-ahead."I'm going to help Ms. Kime with her statement," he informed them."I'll be her sign language interpreter just as I have been doing."

Keats glanced at his watch and then nodded."Okay, but make it as brief as possible."

"Yes, sir."When Rhett entered the dining room, Liberty closed the doors behind him and then directed him to the chair opposite the one Maddy occupied so she could have an unobstructed view of his hands.Taking a seat, he sat straight with his hands clearly visible above the table top.

When everyone was situated, Liberty took out her mini-recorder and placed it on the table, roughly in the center of their informal triangle."This serves as my notebook," she told her clients as she switched it on."Now, I want Ms. Kime to repeat the statement she gave to the detectives.Don't leave anything out, and take your time."As she spoke, Rhett formed the appropriate words.Liberty glanced at Maddy."Would you like a glass of water or something before we begin?"

The woman shook her head."No, thank you."

"Okay, as you sign back and forth, Rhett will do the talking and I'll do the listening.I don't want to interrupt you, but I might have to.Bear with me.Of course, I will have questions later.For the record it's four a.m., the fifth of April, at the home of the late Dr. Daniel Baumgard, 225 Gloucester Road, Randolph Hills, Maryland."

Maddy signed something and Rhett interpreted."Do we have to answer your questions tonight?Could we do it in the morning after we get some sleep?"

Liberty nodded, aware of how exhausted her clients looked.They had been drilled, no doubt relentlessly, by the sheriff's deputies until things started to slur together, speech and thoughts."Let's meet in my office tomorrow to go over the facts.But I need basic information right now.So, let's begin, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can all go home and get some sleep."