“No, I didn’t think of that,” I said. “My house isn’t that far away, so I just hopped in the car and came here.”
Bates nodded, and I continued telling my story for the second time.
During all this, I continued to worry about Justin. Surely Julia had arrived by now. She’d be upset at the news too, but the most important thing right now was looking after her son.
Bates sat examining his notes, and I ventured a question.
“Is Deputy Berry in charge of this investigation?”
Bates nodded, his expression unreadable. “Acting Chief Deputy Berry,” he said. “Chief Deputy Dan Stout is out on medical leave right now.”
“I see.” And I did. This case could be a big break for Kanesha if she managed to solve it quickly. She was the only African-American woman deputy in the department, and I knew her well enough to understand how ambitious she was.
Justin and I both were probably in for a rough time. Kanesha wouldn’t put on kid gloves for us, even though I’d bet her mother would have a few things to say if she pushed us too hard.
The door opened, and Bates rose to his feet. I turned in my chair.
Kanesha stood a couple of paces inside the room. She held up a plastic bag with a cell phone inside. A purple cell phone.
“Mr. Harris, did you lose this?”
NINE
My eyes fixated on the cell phone in the plastic bag. “No, that’s not mine.” The land mines lay ahead, and I had to avoid them.
“Do you know whose it is?” Kanesha lowered the bag but her gaze did not waver from my face.
“I do not.” That much was true. I thought it was Justin’s, but I didn’t know for sure.
“Do you know someone named Justin?”
I did not reply for a moment. Kanesha ought to know very well that I had a boarder named Justin. She lived with her mother, and I couldn’t imagine that Azalea hadn’t mentioned Justin to her.
“I do,” I finally said. “Justin Wardlaw. He boards with me.”
“Where is he now?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” That was the truth. Justin might still be waiting in the hotel restaurant, but it was likely that Julia had arrived and taken him away. “If you want to come by my house tonight or tomorrow, you’ll probably find him there.”
Kanesha nodded. She moved closer to the desk and set the bag down. Deputy Bates vacated his chair, and Kanesha took his place. She held out a hand, and Bates gave her his notebook. She read through his notes, and I saw her frown a couple of times.
When she finished, she pushed the notebook aside, and Bates retrieved it. Kanesha settled back in the chair and regarded me, her eyelids slightly hooded.
I tried not to squirm in the chair.
“I believe that’s all we need for the moment,” Kanesha said.
What the heck? I thought. She can’t be serious.
“I’ll have more questions for you and young Mr. Wardlaw later, but I know where you live.” The ghost of a smile played across her lips.
It wasn’t a benevolent ghost.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll be at home tonight.” As I rose, I nodded at both deputies. I knew I’d eventually catch hell from Kanesha for not telling her I wasn’t alone when I discovered Godfrey’s corpse. But I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Justin needed time to recover from the shock of Godfrey’s violent death before he had to deal with the law. I had bought him some time, though it could cause me trouble.
I made a beeline for the hotel restaurant, but the table where I left Justin was unoccupied. I hurried to my car. When I reached home a few minutes later, an aging Honda was parked near my mailbox.
In the kitchen, Julia and Justin sat at the table. Diesel was ensconced in Justin’s lap, and the boy cuddled the cat to his chest. Teapot, cups, spoons, and cream pitcher were neatly arranged on the table between mother and son.
Julia looked up at me, her face troubled. “Oh Charlie, what an unholy mess this is. I’m so sorry you and Justin had to see something like that.”
“I’m okay,” I said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Justin, how are you?”
“Okay,” he said, his voice muffled. He was rubbing his head against Diesel’s neck. Diesel’s purr rumbled through the room.
I fetched a cup and saucer from the cupboard, and when I sat down Julia poured me some tea. I added cream and sugar and sipped. The warmth of the tea soothed and comforted, as always.
After a few sips, I set the cup down. Neither Julia nor Justin had spoken, perhaps waiting for me to break the silence. I could feel the tension in the room emanating from both mother and son.
“I spoke with the investigators from the sheriff’s department,” I said. “The person in charge of the investigation is Kanesha Berry.”
“Azalea’s daughter?” Julia frowned. “I hadn’t heard she was promoted, but that’s good for her, I guess.”
“It’s apparently temporary.” I shrugged. “The chief deputy is out on medical leave, and Kanesha is the acting chief deputy.”
“Why aren’t the police in charge?” Justin asked.
“In a big city, they would be,” I said. “But here it’s the sheriff’s department that investigates homicides. Our police department isn’t equipped for a major crime.”
“Thank the Lord things like this don’t happen very often in Athena.” Julia cradled her teacup in both hands and gazed down into it.
“I didn’t tell Deputy Berry that Justin was with me at the hotel,” I said. There was no gentle way of doing this.
“Thank you.” Julia smiled, but the lines across her forehead deepened.
“But they’re going to know, of course, that Justin spent time with Godfrey in that room today,” I said.
“Yes, he did. But other people could have visited him. Obviously, someone else did.” Julia’s tone was as sharp as her gaze at me.
“Obviously.” I looked at Justin. “When was the last time you used your cell phone?”
Justin didn’t meet my gaze. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and stuck his hand in his jeans pocket. He pulled out my cell phone and returned it to me without a word.
“Thank you.” I put the phone on the table. “Now how about answering my question?” My tone was as cutting as Julia’s had been, moments ago. Justin’s lack of response annoyed me.
“Don’t speak to him that way.” Julia glared at me. “He’s done nothing wrong.”
“I didn’t say he had.” I returned Julia’s fierce look. “But he needs to answer my question. It’s important.”
Julia leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. I thought she was going to speak again, but after an intake of breath, she remained silent.
I repeated my question to Justin.
Diesel rubbed his head against Justin’s chin, and the boy finally looked at me. “I dunno, sometime this afternoon, I guess.”
“Do you have your cell phone now?”
Julia watched me intently.
“No, sir.” Justin pushed his dark bangs back from his face. “I lost it.”
“Why is this so important?” Julia leaned her elbows on the table, her hands clasped together. “People lose cell phones all the time.”
“Because they found Justin’s cell phone with Godfrey’s body.” I watched them both carefully to gauge their reactions.
Julia blinked rapidly, and Justin remained mute.
“Justin, was Godfrey alive when you left him this afternoon?” I made my tone neutral, unthreatening.
“Yes, sir,” the boy said.
“But you went back to his room and found him dead. How long was it between the time you left him and came back?”
Justin thought for a moment. “About an hour, I guess.” He glanced at his mother, clearly concerned about something. She avoided his gaze.
“Why did you go back?”
“I wanted to talk to him some more.” Justin focused on me again. “He didn’t answer when I knocked, so I used the key and went in.” His voice caught. “I thought maybe he’d gone somewhere, and I was just going to write him a note. But . . .” His voice trailed off, and I thought he might start to cry.