“Are you friends with him?”
“You mean socially? Good grief, haven’t you seen him?”
“When did you last see him?”
"As a matter of fact, he sprayed my apartment this week.”
He picked up the red-striped bag from the table behind him. He opened the clasp and carefully shook out the gun box onto the table. On the cover of the box was a picture of a small revolver resting on an American flag. “Have you ever seen this before?”
“Yes! I threw out that box. It was weird. That empty box was stuffed down in a small shopping bag on the floor of my bedroom closet in the middle of all my shoes—I keep saying I’m going to straighten out that shoe mess one of these days. I assumed it was a shoe box in the bag at first, but it’s the wrong shape.”
“What did you do with the gun?”
“Never saw any gun.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“For what? Sure, now that I see that box in a police interrogation room, in an official bag marked ‘Evidence,’ in front of a frowning homicide detective who’s pointing at it, and staring at me, yes, it looks suspicious. But at my apartment, it was just something in an old shopping bag—an empty toy box someone stuck in there at some store thinking it was trash. Look at it, Chip. It’s bright red white and blue with a flag on it, I’m supposed to get excited about that? I shook it to be sure it was empty. I don’t know. I was preoccupied, late for work. It meant nothing to me. I tossed it and forgot all about it.”
“When was this?”
“Let me think—Friday.”
“When is your trash pickup?”
“Tomorrow. I feel so dim-witted now. I goofed didn’t I? It’s important isn’t it? Was the murder weapon in that box?”
“Would you be willing to take a lie detector test?”
“Of course, hook me up, sir.”
“Maybe later, thanks for coming in, Tammy.” He stopped the recorder. “Before you go, I’d like to give you some advice, just old friend to friend. Stop using Sonny Barner for exterminating. In fact, don’t let him in your condo ever again and never be alone with him.”
"Sounds like he's a suspect.”
“The man is sexually obsessed with you.”
“I’ve dealt with that phenomenon since middle school. I’m accustomed to overactive imaginations, is it more than that?”
“My advice is to keep him out of your place. That’s not official, just my personal suspicion.”
“Okay thanks, and I have my own suspicions about Ray Reid."
Chapter 25
After dark on that Monday, Sandy sat in her car behind the Jardin Café waiting for Norma Martin. In truth, she wanted the mother and her daughter, Elena, to be possible suspects. Nothing personal, Sandy actually wanted everyone in the world to be a suspect.
When they accuse you of murder, you can’t have too many others who are also suspects. They don’t have to be first-class suspects or even logical suspects, although that would be even better. They just have to be people somehow connected to the case. Kagan would attempt to get them mentioned in the trial. Then he could talk about them in front of the jury. He probably couldn’t make each person appear to be a possible killer, but he could raise some doubts in the jurors’ minds. If in doubt, you must acquit.
The first time Sandy drove out to the Jardin Café, she had encountered Elena whose explanation of her affair with Towson was fascinating, but perhaps contrived. Was her affair nothing more than a campaign dirty trick against Towson? Or was the affair a setup for an assassination? Sandy wanted to talk with Norma Martin. Maybe she would at least give a hint as to whether Elena had actually been in love with Towson. Sandy would very much like to get her, her daughter, or the family connected somehow to the murder.
Sandy’s plan was to light a fuse by mentioning La Familia, wait, and see what blows up. That’s what she did, and that’s what happened. The mother became visibly agitated and screamed for Sandy to wait outside.
Her phone buzzed. It was the law firm in Philadelphia. “Hey, Joanna. You’re working late. How’s Walde & Walde doing without me?”
“Honey, you’ve got a big problem up here. Your absence has not gone unnoticed, to put it mildly. Ron is coming all apart. He told me to get you on the phone. Be gentle with him, he’s been covering your cute little tail all week. Here he is.”
Her boss came on the line. “Sandy, what are you doing to me? Eberhard didn’t miss you until they started discussing two of your field cases at Friday’s staff meeting, then it hit the fan. Are you listening?”
“Yes, Ron, go on.” She guessed what was coming.
“He chewed me out. In short, he said you’re fired. I stretched things and told him your fieldwork on those cases was complete. I said everything was cool, and you’d be back for this Wednesday’s staff meeting. You have to be there or else.”
“Thanks for the cover. I love you guys and my job, and I’m not going to give it up, but….”
“But, nothing! Get your ass back up here by Wednesday, or you’ll blow it. Law students from all over the east coast are lined up waiting to replace you, and they’ll work for free just for the internship.”
“Ron, I know it’s not your problem, but my brother is in deep shit. I think I’m doing some good, but it’s going to take awhile longer unless I get a break of some kind.”
“Sandy, you’re smarter than this. Pack and leave right now.”
She thought back to when she had started with Walde & Walde as an unpaid intern. They liked her and gave her a paid position. All the lawyers worked at least ten-hour days, and she worked hard to keep up with her field support. It paid off when the firm offered to finance her remaining tuition so she could finish her law studies at Penn part time. She’d be on her way. She’d have it made. Her dream was there on the other end of the line, right there in her hand.
“Do you want to keep this job? Yes or no?”
She wanted the job and she would go back. She had to. Yet she was somehow reluctant to say, yes. Not everything was straight in her mind. “I need to sleep on it. I’ll phone you in the morning.”
She looked at her watch. She’d go back to Raymond’s apartment and pack. A few hours of sleep and she would be ready to head north on I95. If she drove straight through, she’d make the meeting on time. There were two additional awkward situations: Raymond and Chip.
She knew that her brother would accept her leaving without complaint—he was expecting it at anytime. However, visiting hours weren’t until tomorrow afternoon. There was no way to see Raymond before she left town.
She wanted to explain how she wished she could stay. Wanted to tell him that she was beginning to like him and hoped they could be friends, and that her leaving had nothing to do with him. That she hoped she had helped and would be in contact from Philly. She could explain it all eventually, but how much would he believe if she left without even a goodbye?
Chip was another story. A story that would have a predictable ending. And the ending would start tonight. She punched speed dial #1.
He was in Chief Oehlert’s office. “Hi, Sandy, we’re working late. What do you want?”
“Get the edge out of your voice, Chip. I have something important to tell you.”
“Well, I’ll be tied up for most of the night. Call me in the morning, okay?”
“Chip—I’m leaving. This is goodbye.”
“What, wait let me step out into the hall. Go on.”
“I was just given an ultimatum from my employer. I have one day to get back up there or they’ll terminate me. I know my brother appreciates my efforts, but I don’t know if I’m doing any good or not down here.”