“You want to charge me with something, go ahead,” I said. “Otherwise, you’re just using up good air.” I turned my attention back to Conlough. “Was the gunshot the only injury to Demarcian?”
Conlough didn’t answer. He couldn’t, I supposed, without giving away what little evidence they still had against me. I kept going.
“If Merrick tortured him first, then it could be that Demarcian told him something he could use before he died.”
“What would Demarcian know?” asked Conlough. The tone of the interview had altered. Perhaps Conlough hadn’t been convinced of my involvement right from the start, but now we had moved from an interrogation situation to two men thinking aloud. Unfortunately, Hansen didn’t care much for the new direction. He muttered something that sounded like “bullshit.” Even though Hansen was ostensibly in charge, Conlough glanced at him in warning, but the remains of the fire that had been lit in Hansen still glowed, and he wasn’t about to extinguish it unless he had no other choice. He gave it one last try.
“It’s bullshit,” he repeated. “It’s your gun. It’s your car the witness saw leaving the scene. It’s your finger-”
“Hey!” Conlough interrupted him. He stood and walked to the door, indicating that Hansen should follow him. Hansen threw back his chair and went. The door closed behind them.
“Not a fan of yours?” said Aimee.
“I’ve never met him properly before today. The state cops don’t care much for me as a rule, but he has a terminal beef.”
“I may have to juice up my rates. Nobody seems to like you.”
“Occupational hazard. How are we doing?”
“Okay, I think, apart from your inability to keep your mouth shut. Let’s assume Merrick used your gun to kill Demarcian. Let’s assume also that he made the call about your car. All they have is ballistic evidence, and no direct connection to you apart from the box of shells. It’s not enough to charge you with anything, not until they get a ballistics match, or a print from the casing. Even then, I can’t see the AG’s Office going ahead unless the cops come up with more evidence linking you to the scene. They won’t have trouble getting a warrant to search your home for the box of ammunition, so you may be right just to hand it over. If things turn bad, it might help us with a judge if you’ve cooperated from the start. If they have the gun, though, then we could find ourselves with real difficulties.”
“Why would I leave my gun at the scene?”
“You know they won’t think that way. If it’s enough to hold you, then they’ll use it. We’ll wait and see. If they have the gun, they’ll spring it on us soon enough. My guess, though, from watching you and Detective Conlough bond over the table, is that the gun went with Merrick.”
She tapped her pen on the table.
“Conlough doesn’t seem to like Hansen much either.”
“Conlough’s okay, but I don’t think he’d put it past me to kill someone like Demarcian either. He just figures I’d do a better job of covering my tracks if I did kill him.”
“And you’d have waited until he had a gun in his hand,” added Aimee. “Jesus, it’s like the Wild West.”
The minutes ticked by. Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty.
Aimee checked her watch. “What the hell are they doing out there?”
She was about to get up and find out what was going on when I heard a peculiar, yet familiar, sound. It was a dog barking. It sounded a lot like Walter.
“I think that’s my dog,” I said.
“They brought your dog in? As what, a witness?”
The door of the interrogation room opened and Conlough entered. He looked almost relieved.
“You’re off the hook,” he said. “We’ll need you to sign a statement, but otherwise you’re free to go.”
Aimee tried to hide her surprise, but failed. We followed Conlough outside. Bob and Shirley Johnson were in the reception area, Bob standing and holding Walter on the end of a leash, Shirley sitting on a hard plastic chair, her wheeled walker beside her.
“Seems the old lady doesn’t sleep so good,” said Conlough. “She likes to sit at her window when her joints hurt. She saw your guy leave the house at three a.m., then return at five. She swore a statement to say your car never left its garage, and you didn’t leave the house. The three-five window matches Demarcian’s time of death.” He smiled grimly. “Hansen’s pretty pissed. He liked you for the shooting.”
Then the smile faded.
“You don’t need me to remind you, but I will anyway. Merrick has your gun. He used it to kill Demarcian. I was you, I’d be looking to get it back before he uses it again. In the meantime, you ought to learn to take better care of your property.”
He turned on his heel. I went over to the Johnsons to thank them. Predictably, Walter went nuts. Another hour later, my statement duly signed, I was allowed to leave. Aimee Price drove me home. The Johnsons had gone ahead with Walter, mainly because Aimee refused to have him in her car.
“Any word on Andy Kellog’s transfer?” I asked.
“I’m trying to get a hearing over the next day or two.”
“You ask him about that tattoo?”
“He said there were no dates, no numbers. It was just an eagle’s head.”
I swore silently. It meant that Ronald Straydeer’s contact would be of no help. Another line of inquiry had ended in nothing.
“How is Andy?”
“Recovering. His nose is still a mess.”
“And mentally?”
“He’s been talking about you, and about Merrick.”
“Anything interesting?”
“He thinks Merrick is going to kill you.”
“Well, he wasn’t far off the mark, but Merrick had his chance. He didn’t take it.”
“It doesn’t mean he won’t try again. I don’t understand why he wants you out of the way so badly.”
“He’s a revenger. He doesn’t want anyone to deprive him of his chance of retribution.”
“He thinks his daughter’s dead?”
“Yes. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he knows it’s the truth.”
“Do you think she’s dead?”
“Yes.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
“I have another lawyer to visit, then I’m going to head up to Jackman.”
“Two lawyers in one day. You must be mellowing.”
“I’ve had my shots. I should be okay.”
She snorted but didn’t reply.
“Thanks for coming out here,” I said. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m billing you. It wasn’t charity.”
We pulled up in front of my house. I got out of the car and thanked Aimee again.
“Just remember,” she said. “I’m a lawyer, not a doctor. You tangle with Merrick again, and my services won’t be much use to you.”
“I tangle with Merrick again, and one of us won’t need a doctor or a lawyer. He’ll be beyond the help of either.”
She shook her head. “There you go with the Wild West stuff again. You take care of yourself. I can’t see anyone else willing to do it.”
She drove away. I walked over to the Johnsons and had a cup of coffee with them. Walter would have to stay with them for a few more days. They didn’t mind. I don’t think Walter minded either. They fed him better than I did. They even fed him better than I fed myself. Then I went home, showered to remove the smell and feel of the interrogation room, and put on a jacket and shirt. Conlough was right. I had to find Merrick before he used the Smith 10 again. I knew where to start too. There was a lawyer down in the Commonwealth with some questions to answer. I had avoided confronting him again until now, but I no longer had a choice. As I dressed, I thought about why I had delayed talking to Eldritch again. It was partly because I believed that he wouldn’t be of much help unless the stakes were raised, and Merrick ’s killing of Demarcian had certainly done that. But I also knew that there was another reason for my reluctance: his client. Against my better judgment, and against all of my strongest instincts, I was being drawn inexorably into the world of the Collector.