The smell of burned flesh became even stronger; it seemed to be driven right into their pores.
As they watched, a small flickering flame rose from the cloth hood before dying out, along with the occupant of the chair.
“Oh my God,” hissed Davenport. She jumped up and rushed from the room. They could hear her being sick outside in the hall.
Next came the sound of the generator providing the electricity powering down and growing silent.
The curtains were drawn and the image of the dead man, smoke still rising off him, was gone. They heard more rushing feet and then the sounds of a fire extinguisher being deployed.
It was over.
Chapter 23
That was the longest few minutes of my life,” said Davenport, who still looked gray and nauseous.
They were sitting around a table in the lobby of the hotel where they were staying near the prison.
Decker shot her a glance. “Imagine how it was for Montgomery.”
She looked at him and turned a bit pink in the face. “I know. I didn’t mean it that way. It was just... horrible.”
Although Jamison hadn’t attended, she seemed as distraught and subdued as the others. “Did they confirm he was actually dead?”
Bogart nodded wearily. “By law they have to. The doctor came in and did his tests. Montgomery was pronounced dead at five minutes past the hour. Regina Montgomery was revived and checked out by a doctor at the prison. Then a state trooper drove her home.”
Decker turned to Mars, who hadn’t said a word since they had left the prison. He looked like he had no idea where he was.
“You okay?” Decker asked.
Mars shook his head. “Dude was on fire,” he said dully.
“That’s why they don’t use the chair anymore,” said Decker. “Too many things can go wrong. I think the state of Alabama should stop giving the condemned a choice.”
Davenport said fiercely, “Or better yet, just abolish capital punishment.” She looked at Mars. “They came close to executing you, an innocent man. That’s reason enough just to do away with it. There are no second chances.”
Mars nodded curtly and looked away.
Bogart said, “Well, that’s way above my pay grade and not an argument we’re going to settle tonight. I think we all need to get some sleep and then regroup tomorrow.” He looked at Decker. “What else did you want to do while we’re here?”
“Talk to Regina Montgomery again. We need to find out where the money came from.”
“She’s not going to willingly tell us anything,” pointed out Jamison. “She almost kicked us out last time.”
“But she might slip up, or by not telling us something she might just answer our questions.”
Bogart rose. “Well, again, nothing else is going to happen tonight. So let’s just call it an early evening. I don’t think I’m good for anything else. Witnessing an execution leaves you utterly drained, at least it does me.”
Bogart headed off and a still shaky Davenport followed.
As Jamison was about to leave, Decker snagged her by the arm.
“Hold up, Alex.”
“What is it?”
Decker looked first at her and then at Mars. “You two up to going somewhere? Right now? Because I don’t think that we should wait.”
They knocked for a long time, and only when it was clear that they weren’t going to leave did Regina Montgomery answer the door. She stood there defiantly in the doorway still dressed in the clothes she had worn to the execution.
“What do you want?” she snapped.
Decker said, “We just had some questions for you.”
“My husband was executed tonight. Can’t you leave me in peace!” she added shrilly.
“I can understand how you feel, Mrs. Montgomery, but I wouldn’t be here unless I thought it really important. Can we come in? It won’t take more than a few minutes.”
She looked at Jamison, and then her gaze fell on Mars and her face twisted in disgust.
“What, you mean him too?”
“Him especially,” said Decker. “He’s—”
“I know who the hell he is! I just... I mean I don’t have...”
Decker said, “It’ll only be a few minutes. And since this pertains to Mr. Mars, he needs to be included. Please, Mrs. Montgomery.”
Jamison stepped forward and took the woman by the hand. “Let’s just go in and sit. Have you had anything to eat? Maybe a cup of tea to help settle your nerves? I can only imagine what you’ve had to deal with today. I’m so sorry.”
“I... that would be... I can’t eat anything, but some hot tea. Yes.”
“Just show me where and I’ll fix it right up.”
Jamison smoothly steered Montgomery inside while Decker and Mars followed. When Jamison turned around, Decker shot her an appreciative look.
After Regina Montgomery showed Jamison where things were in the kitchen, she and Mars settled around a coffee table in the small, cluttered living room. Back in the kitchen Jamison put a kettle on the cooktop to heat up the water. Then she found a cup and a box of tea bags. While the water was heating she rejoined them.
When she sat down across from Montgomery, Jamison’s gaze flitted over Montgomery and held briefly on her wrist. She looked surprised.
Montgomery was staring at Decker. “Well?” she said crossly.
“Is your son here?” asked Decker.
“No,” she said sharply. “He’s staying at a friend’s. I thought it best. No reason for him to have to deal with... this.”
“That was a good idea.”
She glanced at Mars sitting next to Decker and her mouth curved into a frown.
Mars stared right back at her. He seemed about to say something when Decker spoke.
“Tommy told us about the insurance money.”
She was startled by this. “What? When did you — how did you know where he was?”
“Howling Cougars,” said Decker, pointing to the photo on the table across from them.
“Well, so what? Chuck had life insurance. I’m the beneficiary. Nothing wrong with that.”
“For thirty thousand dollars?”
She jerked again. “Who told you that?” she demanded.
“We’re the FBI, Mrs. Montgomery, we can find out things.”
The teakettle whistle blew. Jamison rose and went into the kitchen to prepare the tea. She poured it into a cup and then, looking around for some crackers, pulled aside a curtain covering a small niche in the kitchen. What she saw inside made her start. She snagged a box of crackers and some peanut butter off a shelf, and walked back over to the sink.
“Hey, Decker?” she called out. “Can you give me a hand? I know Mrs. Montgomery doesn’t need us to be here any longer than necessary.”
A bit put out by her request, Decker rose and went into the kitchen. While Jamison was spreading peanut butter over the crackers she jerked her head toward the open curtain. “Check that out,” she said quietly.
Decker turned, saw what was there, and glanced quickly at Jamison, who hiked her eyebrows. “And there’s something else I saw,” she said.
A minute later they came back into the room, Jamison with the tea and Decker with the plate of peanut butter crackers. They placed them in front of Montgomery, who was staring stonily at Mars.
“Thank you,” she said. She took a sip of the tea and nibbled at a cracker, her gaze now downcast.
While Montgomery was doing that, Jamison glanced around the room and her gaze fixed on a coat tree by the front door. This time she didn’t look surprised.
Montgomery put her teacup down. “Why do you care about the insurance money?”
Decker said, “Tommy also said that you were planning to move from here to wherever he ended up going to college. That you were going to buy a place and not have to work.”