“You can’t be right, Rich. You can’t be!” he was saying.
I fingered the adhesive tape on my face and tried to give him a confident grin. “If I’m not right, George, I’m in trouble.”
Just then Meg came in and said, “She’s here.”
Sharon walked in, hesitant, dressed in black, bluish circles under her eyes. She looked at my battered face and came over to me. Her fingertips felt cool on my cheek.
“What happened, Rich?”
George answered for me, saying, “He found out about Bob today. Had some trouble.”
She paused, and looked at me, her eyes wide. While she was looking I reached my hand up to her face. When it was close enough I slapped her. It knocked her down, and she scrambled to her feet, her eyes blazing, red marks beginning to glow on her white cheek.
“Just what the hell was that...”
“Skip it, Sharon,” I interrupted. “That was just a final present before they take you out of here. We sewed up Red and Nolan. The cops cracked Nolan when they showed him the confession Red made him write. The money was marked. We found some at Red’s place, and cracked him too. They’ve both signed statements that you were the one that slugged him. It’s a murder rap, baby.”
She stood, her face blank, her small hat on crooked. She looked like a puzzled child.
Then she began to talk, the words tumbling out faster and faster. “So that’s it! So that’s the way they want to do it! Listen, I saw Red kill Bob. The fat one held him. I told Red he had the money on him. They doped him and lifted it and put him in the car with me. One of the boys drove us back to my place. I was dating Red when Bob was out of town. When Bob came to, knowing I couldn’t drive, he got suspicious of me. He forced me to go back out there. Red was there. The fat man kicked the gun out of Bob’s hand. Nolan saw it. Red hit him with a leather thing. It was awful. I didn’t want it to happen. Red scared Nolan into writing out a confession to get his I.O.U.’s back. Red gave me two thousand. I wouldn’t take it. The fat one took Bob off in the car. Red made me walk back toward town. That’s where I saw the car smashed against the tree.” She faltered and stopped, probably wondering why she had told so much.
The door opened and the man in grey came in. “Thanks, boys. I guess we got it all. Come on, lady. We got to talk some more.” They left, Sharon looking more than ever like a bewildered, frightened child.
We sat for a time, and finally George said, “How did you figure it out, Rich? I can see that she hired us to take suspicion off her.”
“Little things,” I answered. “Things that didn’t fit. The hole in his head was the wrong shape. Nothing inside the car to make it. Nolan was too scared. Red-headed women don’t wait for hours for their dates to come to. Warren is a type who tries to have his cake and eat it too. The rest was guesswork and luck. Plus your help.”
I got up and walked out. He didn’t say anything more. First I had to arrange for the funeral. Then there would be time for the tears — for the mourning for what both of us had lost.