Perfect Murder, Perfect Town - Lawrence Schiller [30]
John Ramsey emerged from the church, and on his way to his car, he passed Thomas, whom he knew from the day before, when he had given blood and hair samples. Without looking directly at the detective, Ramsey shook his hand and said, “Thank you.” Thomas caught Ramsey’s eye and, looking squarely at him, said, “Good luck.” As the motorcade pulled away, Thomas was left with an uneasy feeling about JonBenét’s father. The detective had expected Ramsey to say, “Find the motherfucker” or “Bring the bastard to me.” Instead he got a thank-you and a weak handshake. Maybe Thomas’s reaction was due to frustration—the police had been unable to interview the Ramseys properly. The primary suspects were slipping out of their control, and the detectives were angry.
Several hours before the Ramseys left for Atlanta that Sunday, Detective Linda Arndt sent a fax to Bryan Morgan, the Ramseys’ newly hired criminal attorney. It was two pages long:
I realize the Ramsey family will be out of state for an unknown amount of time after this afternoon. If it is possible, would you meet with John Ramsey, Patsy Ramsey, and Burke Ramsey and see if [the police] could get answers to any of these questions. I appreciate your assistance. I am available through Dispatch at the above pager number.
Det. Linda Arndt
Questions: JonBenét’s immediate family
John, Patsy, and Burke Ramsey
What time did each of you go to your bedroom?
What time did each of you go to sleep?
Was your bedroom door open or closed?
Was there any TV or radio on when you went to bed?
What had JonBenét eaten before she went to bed?
Where, specifically, was the ransom note found?
What did Patsy do after she found the ransom note?
Who was the first person Patsy contacted after the note was found?
How did John find out that JonBenét was missing?
What interior house lights were on when the family went to bed?
What exterior lights were on when the family went to bed?
Who checked the doors and windows of the house to see if they were secure?
What was JonBenét wearing when she went to bed on Christmas night?
What time was the family planning on leaving the home on the morning of December 26th?
What time did each of you wake up on the morning of December 26th?
Did any of you get up during the night?
In the late afternoon of Sunday, December 29, a Lockheed Martin corporate jet left Jefferson County Airport, just south of Boulder, with the Ramsey family. JonBenét’s body left on a Delta Airlines flight from Denver International Airport. Two hours later, Fleet White called Detective Arndt and asked her to retrieve JonBenét’s favorite toy from her bedroom so the family could bury her with her Kitty. The day before, one of Patsy Ramsey’s sisters had gone into the house with police permission and taken out an oil painting, several American Girl dolls, a portfolio of JonBenét’s pageant photographs, a pageant medal with a blue ribbon, graduation photos of the older children, and a Bible from John Ramsey’s desk, but she had missed JonBenét’s stuffed cat, which Patsy had wanted retrieved.
Arndt did as she was asked and then delivered the toy to Priscilla White. The Whites would take it with them to Atlanta the next day.
On Monday, December 30, before the Whites and Fernies left Boulder for JonBenét’s funeral in Atlanta, Linda Arndt interviewed Fleet White again.
White believed that an intruder had gotten into the Ramseys’ house. “Somebody got into that house,” he told Arndt. “I don’t know how, but they got in. Somebody wanted to hurt that family and obviously hurt their daughter.” White suggested that perhaps some beauty pageant mothers might have resented the Ramseys. A few hours later, Arndt and Detective Jane Harmer met with Fleet White again, this time with John Fernie, in Fernie’s office. The Ramseys’ friends were worried that John Andrew was a suspect, and they wanted everything