One Deadly Sister

him in with my brother.”

“He is dead, Sandy. Found below Elena Duarte’s window. She claims it was an accident. Want to hear her statement?”

“I’m listening.”

Chip started reading, …we were such good friends. We had quite a few drinks and were making out on the couch, then we danced a little. We were waiting for my mother to come over after the restaurant closed. Then he said he wanted to make Mentiritas, he just had to have Mentiritas. I told him I thought I was out of rum. I said I’d look again. When I came back out of the kitchen, he was gone. I assumed he had gone out to get the rum. That upset me terribly because he was in no condition to drive. I was worried about him. I sat down and turned on the TV. Then I heard the sirens and saw all of the lights outside.

“Well, I’ll be damned. You’ll never know just how much trouble she saved me. Give her a medal. She made up that statement. She hated him. Apparently, the story she told me about Pirro was true.” Sandy laughed. “She danced him right off the balcony. She probably pretended he was getting her hot and then pushed the bastard over the railing straight down to hell. Applause please. I hope he died a slow death. I’ll bet she turned up the TV to not hear his moaning down there.”

“I don’t know about you. It’s a crime and if it were my case, I’d go after her for murder.”

“Wait a minute, when did this happen, last night? Geez Louise! Chip, it was in my dream. She did it for me. Elena heard about my accident and knew immediately who ran me off the road. Pirro might even have bragged about it. Twenty-four hours later, he’s dead. Chip, she killed him for me.”

“That’s a stretch. Maybe Pirro killed Towson, and to cover it up, Elena was told by the family to get rid of him.”

“I doubt that. He was a big danger to her and her mother. The calculating little accountant from Tampa figured out a slick way to write him off. I’ll just keep thinking she had me and some other women in mind.”

“I still want to see you again before you leave.”

“Chip, I’ve decided not to go—at least, not right away.”

“What? Oh, you’re not. You’re not leaving. Oh, that’s good.”

“We should meet for coffee.”

Sandy was discharged mid-morning. Sergeant Lewis picked her up at the emergency entrance in a blue and white and drove her to the police impound lot. He explained he should go along to be sure she had no trouble getting Ray’s car released.

“Now that you’re okay I can tell you how close you came. Chip radioed for an ambulance as soon as you told him you were being chased. He didn't wait to decide anything. That ambulance was screaming down that back road before you even hit the ditch. Those few extra minutes saved you. Your vehicle was upside down, the top half submerged in water. Your head was actually under mud. We don’t understand how it was possible for him to shift your car enough to get that seatbelt undone while he was sinking in mud like quicksand.”

“He told me he had some difficulty getting my seatbelt undone.”

“Yes, the difficulty was he had to lift the car. The tow truck driver didn’t see how it could be done.”

Sergeant Lewis stopped his police vehicle at the impound office and turned to her. “I wanted you to know, a lot of guys in the department are coming down hard on Huress for attacking you in his pickup. He blames you for bringing charges, the formal complaint now in his file, and putting it in the newspaper. His wife certainly believed you. She and the kids went to stay with her mother in Virginia. He’s the type to take revenge on you, Sandy.”

“Thanks, Sarge, that was in the back of my mind. I’ll be careful.”

“He never gives up on a grudge. He’ll try to get back at anyone who’s ever caused him a problem. He knows who he’s up against now. He’ll be ready for you next time and come at you unexpectedly.”

She signed for Ray's vehicle in the pound office and they walked together to find it. “Here it is.” Lewis compared the number on the windshield to the number on the key.

“This can’t be it,” she said, “this is a stupid Ford. Not just a stupid Ford, it’s green! I can’t drive around in a stupid green Ford?”

He laughed. “You could wear a disguise.”

“Yeah, a clown costume.” She got in and slammed the car door shut. The glove compartment flopped open. She reached over and banged it shut hard, and the compartment door broke completely off and fell. She crossed her fingers and turned the key. After three heart-stopping cranks, the car reluctantly groaned to life, more or less. She thanked the Sergeant and blew him a kiss.

Her phone buzzed. It was attorney Kagan. “Miss Reid, glad you’re okay. I know you’re close to that reporter, Linda Call. Did you know the police picked her up and brought her to the station? She was seen in the interrogation room with Goddard.”

“So what? She’s probably interviewing him.”

“Definitely the other way around. They brought her in for questioning. They tested her gun. She was at the murder scene.”

“I know she was there with CSI, she told me.”

“No, earlier that day, she was up there with Towson.”

“Oh great, she told me only that she talked to him that day. She didn’t say it like they were face to face.” Sandy thought about other possible lies. It gets worse. I haven’t had a chance to brief you, Jerry. Linda Call isn’t all she seems. She’s Cuban-American and from Tampa. Why bother to lie about that?”

“If she’s connected to the family, then they might have been working against us all along. They would want your brother convicted to cover up whatever is going on.”

“I know, Linda could be a threat, but we could really use her help. If she’s involved then there goes the cooperation with the paper. I’m going to see her now.”

“You need help sooner than you think. I was just informed that your brother is scheduled for transfer out to the county jail tomorrow. Good luck, Miss Reid, and keep your head down.”

Chapter 28

Sandy hated the situation. She had to know if Linda was with her or against her. She needed Linda with her. Having the situation in doubt was impossible. Twenty-four hours were left before Raymond would go from bad to worse.

She needed a shrewd angle fast. Perhaps she could persuade Linda to get some sort of controversial editorial printed that would upset things and delay the transfer. But maybe Linda wouldn’t cooperate. Maybe Linda had something else in mind.

When Sandy entered the newsroom of the Park Beach newspaper Linda gave her a happy wave. “Hi Sugar, look at this.' She pointed to her monitor. “My interview with old Mrs. Crawford.”

“Anything good?”

“She saw a woman leaving the building a little after five that day, but not up close. Crawford was down the block walking her dog.”

“She recognize the woman?”

“She assumed it was ‘that Spanish lady’ because she recognized the scarf. They had met weeks earlier in the elevator and they had talked about the scarf. Mrs. Crawford remembered the scarf because it had red and blue triangles just like the pattern on a tablecloth she received as a wedding present sixty years ago.”

Sandy smiled. “Let me guess, and she knew it was five because she always walks the dog after her favorite TV show is over. Also, she didn’t hear any shots because she’s deaf.”

“Corny but correct. If the world was inhabited with little old ladies, we’d all have an easier time of it.”

“Was the woman wearing the scarf on her head?”

“You mean like hiding her face, I just assumed that. Also, she doesn’t remember what else the woman was