Where's the Body?

The rumor in Laguna Niguel, Calif., was that Building Contractor Frederick Penney, 57, embittered by a divorce contest, wanted to hire a hitman to kill his wife. So an agent of the Orange County sheriffs department, posing as a killer for hire, arranged a meeting with the suspect. The upshot, say investigators: a $3,000 contract to kill Susan Penney, 35. Half was paid up front; the balance was due after the deed, which was supposed to look like an accidental fall in the bathtub.

To prove that Penney was willing to make the final payment, police asked Mrs. Penney to pose as her own corpse in a fake coroner's photograph. Technicians created a deathly pallor with makeup. Said one officer: "She looked just like a corpse." Indeed, Penney tearfully identified his wife when police showed him the photo of the "deceased." Within hours, investigators say, he agreed to make the final payment. He was arrested when he arrived at the sheriffs office to take custody of his two children, who had been living with his wife.