“In science, we prioritize parsimony. That means the simplest explanation. In this context, she’s the parsimonious suspect. It’s the partner, everybody knows that.”
I decided not to remind him that, an hour ago, he’d been gunning for Trevor Vogel. “It would help to hear your impressions of their relationship.”
“They seemed happy,” Liz said, “as far as I could tell.”
“Dr. Valois?”
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to answer that given everything you’ve told us,” he said.
“Whatever you remember.”
“That is what I remember. Nothing. She was a nonentity.”
“We could have made more of an effort,” Liz said. “To... welcome her.”
I said, “Did Adam ever mention having conflict with her?”
“Not to me.”
“Did you ever see her act violently toward him?”
“She’d have to be some kind of idiot to hit him in front of us,” Rick said.
He raised an educational index finger. “That’s not how it works, with female abusers. Nobody talks about it because no man is going to admit it.”
“Once Adam disappeared,” I said, “did you notice any changes in her behavior?”
Liz shook her head. “She was nothing but helpful.”
“That could be her way of trying to divert attention from herself,” Rick said.
“How long did you keep in touch with her?” I asked.
“We were texting for a bit,” Liz said. “And she called occasionally, to check in.”
“Did she ever say anything that struck you as unusual?”
“Such as what?”
“Fishing for information about the investigation, for example.”
Rick said, “So you do suspect her.”
I said, “I’m keeping an open mind.”
“Not that I can recall,” Liz said.
“Okay. Along those lines, I wanted to ask about the person who gave Adam a watch.”
“Allegedly,” Rick said.
“To me, that suggests someone with money.”
Silence.
Time to push. “Someone from your club, possibly?”
“You’re asking if one of our friends was whoring our son?” Rick said.
“I’m thinking about who Adam had relationships with. Mrs. Valois?”
Liz shook her head.
“You helped Adam drum up business,” I said.
“I did when he was starting out. Not as much these days.”
“Would that have brought him into contact with wealthy individuals?”
“I suppose.”
“It could be someone that lives up in the East Bay, closer to where his car was found. Maybe Piedmont? Does that ring any bells?”
“Not for me,” she said.
“Dr. Valois?”
“I told you, no,” he said. “The very idea revolts me. My son didn’t need to, to... He had everything he could’ve wanted and more. Why he would...”
He trailed off, put his head in his hands. In profile he bore an eerie similarity to Trevor, pounding himself in the skull.
Liz said, “Shouldn’t we bring this to the police?”
“We can,” I said. “I doubt it’ll move them. As I said, we have to overcome the presumption that this was an accident. And, for the record, that’s still the most likely scenario. If someone did harm Adam—”
Big if, Alan Mendes said in my ear.
“—then it’s either connected to these other cases or it isn’t. If it is, we’re spread across three jurisdictions and several years.”
Rick raised his head. “I don’t understand why you’re bothering with all of this other nonsense when it’s obvious that you should be focusing on her.”
“They’re not mutually exclusive.”
“Really? What are the odds?”
“I can’t and won’t put a number on it,” I said. “What I can tell you is that persuading the cops to get involved will require additional evidence. That takes time and money.”
“Ah.” He snorted. “Now it comes out. You want us to give you a blank check.”
“Not in the least. I work at your discretion.”
He smiled sardonically. “My wife and I will discuss it and get back to you.”
“No,” Liz said. “We won’t.”
She met my eye. “Do what you need to do.”
Chapter 18
The next day, I got another hit.
A reedy baritone said, “Clay Edison, please.”
“Speaking.”
“This is Inspector John Pettit with SFPD. The ME forwarded me your email about drowning vics.”
“Hi, Inspector. Thanks for calling. Do you have a case that fits?”
“Why don’t you start? That way I can see if we have anything to discuss.”
I kept it brief and broad, aiming to pique his interest with Jake Brenner’s fancy-pants computer program. “Do we have something to discuss?”
“Possibly. Let me think it over.”
Subtext: I ain’t telling you shit.
“Sure,” I said. “Mind sharing your vic’s name?”
Pettit must’ve realized I could find out that much; or maybe he figured he was throwing me a bone. “Linus Hao. H-a-o.”
“Thanks. Looking forward to talking soon.”
He clicked off without answering.
Google News scraped several articles from SFGate, the first dating to six months before Adam’s death.
January 9, 2026
An investigation is under way after a body washed ashore near India Basin Shoreline Park yesterday.
A woman observed a body floating in the water and called 911, investigators stated.
At this time authorities have not released the identity of the person, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
One week later:
January 16, 2026
San Francisco police today released the name of a man whose body washed up in India Basin Shoreline Park on January 8.
He is Linus Hao, 27, a resident of Mountain View.
Camille Radovic, who called 911 to report Hao’s body, described noticing something unusual in the water.
“We were by the slides and I saw this thing sort of swimming toward us.”
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate Hao but were unsuccessful and pronounced him dead at the scene.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner stated that they are uncertain at this time as to what caused Hao’s death.
The next development was major and took longer.
March 11, 2026
The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Friday that the death of a Mountain View man whose body was discovered in January was a homicide.
On Thursday, January 8, San Francisco firefighters responded to reports of a human body at India Basin Shoreline Park. The individual, later identified as Linus Hao, 27, was unresponsive to medical efforts and pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a preliminary report released by the medical examiner’s office on Monday, Hao’s cause of death was drowning, with blunt force trauma as a secondary cause of death. The report did not state what caused the injuries.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department declined to provide additional information, citing the ongoing investigation.
Originally from San Diego, Hao worked as a software engineer. His sister Agnes described him as a “gentle soul who had never hurt anyone.” A private memorial is planned for March 23.
In April, SFPD appealed to the public for help — without avail, it seemed. An anniversary article noted the lack of progress.