'Blood Matter', chapter 13: 'You always called them first...'

Chapter 13

'You always called themfirst...'

Los Angeles

The receipt faxed from Adam Johnson's new school in Canada was another contribution to the case from Mike Berryhill. Steve's old friend and mentor kept proving to be indispensable whenever Joe needed to speed things up or go around official channels. Joe stared at the numbers. Sixty percent of Adam's tuition was paid by an undisclosed contributor, which traced to a private entity Phoenix Enterprises. The company belonged, as Berryhill's more in-depth digging revealed, to the much lately mentioned Dr. Lubovich.

Joe had no intention of questioning Asia Johnson about this if he could help it. He trusted she honestly believed Dr. Lubovich's support was strictly non-pecuniary, and he respected the latter's obvious effort to keep Adam's mother in the dark about her full involvement. Sixty percent of the tuition totaled nine thousand dollars-a decent chunk of money for someone who, like Dr. Lubovich, made, according to her IRS records, around seventy five thousands last year in her consulting practice. Not unbearable, but certainly not a reasonable amount one would shell out whenever a charitable urge came over.

Flabbergasted, Joe took out and studied the second photo from the Garden Lane apartment. He imagined he could sense more than average capacity for empathy in the lovely features of Gabrielle Lubovich's face. Then he caught himself and became embarrassed, as if someone watched him. He put the photos away and started pacing in the tight space again. Why did Gabrielle Lubovich pay for Adam Johnson's tuition? Why did she try so hard to ship him off to a school in another country? The compassion for a family that had lost a son she got to know briefly may have played a good part. But what else? Was there more than incidental connection between her and the Johnsons? Or more concrete, between her and Blake?

He stopped to write another note to himself. Talk to the counselor Bosko and Blake's classmates. He thought a bit and then added, See how Gayle handles the questioning. He suspected the glib rookie was amply suited to the task.

Another thought struck him. The discarded photo of Blake's severed, bloodless thigh...How serious was the threat the blackmail package contained? Obviously serious enough to prevent Gabrielle from going to the authorities. Did she know the killer blackmailing her personally? Did he menace her and the Senator's lives, or threatened more killings of the innocent?

Was Lubovich eager to remove Adam Johnson from harm's way, the only remaining child of the woman she met and in whose life she became involved? And, come to think of it, did she have any reason to feel guilty for what happened to Blake Johnson and to atone for it with her charity? Would the boy still be alive, even if he ended up with an undeserved juvenile sentence, if Dr. Lubovich had never crossed his path? Was she afraid the killer would go after the victim's brother to prove a point, whatever it was? Did Gabrielle Lubovich hide her sponsorship of Adam to reduce the boy's risk of attracting the killer's interest? A reasonable explanation if the blackmailer, as it appeared from the photos, kept close tabs on her and Sheppard.

Earlier, Joe called the number Asia gave him of a private research institution in New York. After a few redirections, he managed to reach someone in the know. The lady told him that Dr. Lubovich was on travel and couldn't be contacted. She did not elaborate on Lubovich's plans and timeline, but invited Joe to leave his information. Now he wondered if Dr. Lubovich was making herself scarce and unreachable for a reason.

He worked till seven p.m., when he normally left work and grabbed something to eat. But he wasn't hungry. One more thing, he thought, and called Berryhill's private cell. A couple rings and the answering machine came on.