composure if her husband was dead - or if she knew about the bomb.'
'What I don't understand is why the shooter allowed Herrera to answer the door in the first place. Why not just wait for you to leave?'
'I think the answer lies in the sequence of events,' Fletcher said. 'Let's start when I pulled into the driveway. I saw the lights for one of the upstairs bedrooms turn off. The blinds had been drawn - the blinds for all the windows facing the street had been drawn. That happened before I arrived.
'I rang the doorbell twice, and, when no one answered, I went to the garage. I saw both cars and decided to return to the house. I think the shooter was watching me from the bedroom window. The lights were off, it was dark in there, and she could watch me undetected. The shooter saw me coming back and at some point made the decision to escort Theresa Herrera downstairs to send me away.'
'And now we know the husband was inside the house that night.'
' And we know the shooter didn't bring the husband downstairs,' Fletcher said. 'I didn't see or hear him. After she killed Theresa Herrera, after she tried to kill me, she fled out the back. I returned to the front andpicked up the spent cartridge. Again, I didn't see or hear anything to give me an indication the husband was inside the house.'
'And then you drove away.'
Fletcher nodded. 'I didn't hear the bomb go off, so a significant period of time elapsed before it detonated. When it did, Barry Herrera must have been right on top of it or very close to it, for his head to have been thrown such a distance. That suggests a fixed position. That he couldn't move.'
'You think he was tied up somewhere, maybe the upstairs bedroom?'
'And gagged,' Fletcher said. 'Remember, I didn't hear him.'
'What if he was already dead by that point?'
'The woman in the fur coat was inside the house before I arrived. If she had killed the husband, why didn't she also kill the wife? Why wait? And if the husband was already dead, why escort the distraught and terrorized wife downstairs to answer the door? Why take the risk?'
'Because something was in progress when you arrived, and you interrupted it.'
Fletcher nodded. 'Whatever was happening inside the house, whatever this woman in the fur coat had planned, it was important enough to risk allowing Theresa Herrera to answer the door. She wanted to send me on my way so she could get back to it.'
'Only Theresa Herrera warned you with that bit about not being able to afford my fee.'
Fletcher nodded again.
'Then the shooter killed Theresa Herrera, tried to kill you and fled the scene.'
'And after she was a safe distance away, she detonated the bomb,' Fletcher said. 'I don't think she came back with it. Too risky - someone might see her. I think she brought it with her to the house, possibly concealed in something inconspicuous, something that wouldn't arouse any suspicion - a handbag, possibly.'
'It must have been one hell of a big handbag.'
'Bringing a bomb to the house ... if her goal was simply to kill Theresa Herrera and her husband, she could have driven up to the house, left the bomb at the front door and detonated it from a safe location any time she wanted.'
'Agreed,' Karim said. 'So why use the bomb? To erase evidence?'
'Using a bomb doesn't completely erase evidence. It only makes the pieces of the puzzle more difficult to put together. I think she used it because she couldn't afford to let anyone know what she was doing inside there - she needed to hide what she was doing inside the house.'
'What do you think she was trying to hide?'
'That she's done this before,' Fletcher said.
15
'What makes the Herrera family so unique?' Fletcher asked. 'What sets them apart from anyone else?'
'Their missing son,' Karim said. 'Rico.'
Fletcher nodded. 'We know Rico Herrera was abducted from his bedroom while he was sleeping. Four years have passed, and the police have failed to find him or to uncover any new investigative angle or piece of
'What I don't understand is why the shooter allowed Herrera to answer the door in the first place. Why not just wait for you to leave?'
'I think the answer lies in the sequence of events,' Fletcher said. 'Let's start when I pulled into the driveway. I saw the lights for one of the upstairs bedrooms turn off. The blinds had been drawn - the blinds for all the windows facing the street had been drawn. That happened before I arrived.
'I rang the doorbell twice, and, when no one answered, I went to the garage. I saw both cars and decided to return to the house. I think the shooter was watching me from the bedroom window. The lights were off, it was dark in there, and she could watch me undetected. The shooter saw me coming back and at some point made the decision to escort Theresa Herrera downstairs to send me away.'
'And now we know the husband was inside the house that night.'
' And we know the shooter didn't bring the husband downstairs,' Fletcher said. 'I didn't see or hear him. After she killed Theresa Herrera, after she tried to kill me, she fled out the back. I returned to the front andpicked up the spent cartridge. Again, I didn't see or hear anything to give me an indication the husband was inside the house.'
'And then you drove away.'
Fletcher nodded. 'I didn't hear the bomb go off, so a significant period of time elapsed before it detonated. When it did, Barry Herrera must have been right on top of it or very close to it, for his head to have been thrown such a distance. That suggests a fixed position. That he couldn't move.'
'You think he was tied up somewhere, maybe the upstairs bedroom?'
'And gagged,' Fletcher said. 'Remember, I didn't hear him.'
'What if he was already dead by that point?'
'The woman in the fur coat was inside the house before I arrived. If she had killed the husband, why didn't she also kill the wife? Why wait? And if the husband was already dead, why escort the distraught and terrorized wife downstairs to answer the door? Why take the risk?'
'Because something was in progress when you arrived, and you interrupted it.'
Fletcher nodded. 'Whatever was happening inside the house, whatever this woman in the fur coat had planned, it was important enough to risk allowing Theresa Herrera to answer the door. She wanted to send me on my way so she could get back to it.'
'Only Theresa Herrera warned you with that bit about not being able to afford my fee.'
Fletcher nodded again.
'Then the shooter killed Theresa Herrera, tried to kill you and fled the scene.'
'And after she was a safe distance away, she detonated the bomb,' Fletcher said. 'I don't think she came back with it. Too risky - someone might see her. I think she brought it with her to the house, possibly concealed in something inconspicuous, something that wouldn't arouse any suspicion - a handbag, possibly.'
'It must have been one hell of a big handbag.'
'Bringing a bomb to the house ... if her goal was simply to kill Theresa Herrera and her husband, she could have driven up to the house, left the bomb at the front door and detonated it from a safe location any time she wanted.'
'Agreed,' Karim said. 'So why use the bomb? To erase evidence?'
'Using a bomb doesn't completely erase evidence. It only makes the pieces of the puzzle more difficult to put together. I think she used it because she couldn't afford to let anyone know what she was doing inside there - she needed to hide what she was doing inside the house.'
'What do you think she was trying to hide?'
'That she's done this before,' Fletcher said.
15
'What makes the Herrera family so unique?' Fletcher asked. 'What sets them apart from anyone else?'
'Their missing son,' Karim said. 'Rico.'
Fletcher nodded. 'We know Rico Herrera was abducted from his bedroom while he was sleeping. Four years have passed, and the police have failed to find him or to uncover any new investigative angle or piece of
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