Root of All Evil — Dell Shannon

Lieutenant Luis Mendoza, Los Angeles Police Department, Homicide, is once again involved in a complex case. A Jane Doe is identified: she's Valerie Ellis, a spoiled rich kid, suddenly left penniless when her parents died. Lieutenant Mendoza, who likes nothing better than neat, logical investigations, must find out what Valerie die in order to maintain some semblance of the life she'd known, and finally, who would want her dead. Mendoza weaves together this case's many strands - Communists, six-year-old murders, illegal aliens, and nursemaids, into a surprising solution.