She was correct—she was here confessing because she loved and trusted him. Neither of them would ever forget that. Yet, she was guilty and he was innocent. She had put his life at risk and this deception was necessary to get out of jeopardy. He realized that he was rejecting her just as Towson had rejected her for years.
She stared down at their hands clasped tightly together. “My bastard, my sweet loving bastard, at long last I’ve found you—and it's too late. Why couldn’t it have been you that I met fifteen years ago?”
“Even a month ago would have changed everything,” he replied.
Chapter 37
Ray and Tammy were still sitting there motionless when Chip and Sandy entered the cafe. From the doorway, Sandy saw them and called out, “Hey!” After a second look she quickly put both hands over her mouth and stopped right where she was. “My God, she did confess.”
A uniformed officer came in behind them and told Chip the videotaping was successful: they got the whole confession. Chip told him, 'Good, Mirandize her and put her in my unit. You know who she is don’t you? She’s a friend. Take it slow and go easy with the cuffs. Stay with her and don’t let anyone bother her. I'll be out in a minute.'
Ray gave Tammy an awkward goodbye and walked over to Sandy and Chip. “I was on the wrong track. I believed it was Loraine right up until we all met last night. You were correct Sandy. When I confronted her with everything we discussed, she confessed. How did you zero in on Tammy?”
'It bothered me when she told me that she thought Loraine was the killer and at the same time was telling Chip you were guilty. But I first became suspicious when she told me that it was a shame for a great life to be snuffed out with a couple of bullets—the irony of two little bullets wiping out years of accomplishments. The way she said it I knew she didn't realize he was killed with only one bullet. She believed it was two because she knew she had fired two. She didn’t know one missed and was found in the wall.”
“We didn’t release that detail,” Chip said.
“But that wasn’t conclusive. In my mind, she gave herself away when she first met you in the restaurant,” Sandy continued. “One minute she’s threatening to sue you if you go to the police, and then she unexpectedly stopped being hostile. That’s when she realized you fit perfectly into the murder plan that had been on her mind.”
“First, she screamed don’t go to the police, then a minute later, she said it was okay, just wait a few hours. She needed me out running around at the time of the murder, and she needed time to shoot Towson and get back to her office.”
“All that plus the lies and inconsistencies you confronted her with today. Those things were just hints not proof, but they tipped me off. Now it’s up to Chip to nail down the proof.'
“We needed to search her place,” Chip said. “This videotape is mostly circumstantial, but it gives us enough to get a search warrant.”
“She no doubt burned that silk scarf with the blue and red triangles,” Sandy said. “Any chance blood splattered on the suit she was wearing? Although I guess she’d have it cleaned.”
“We sometimes contact a suspect’s dry cleaner. They tend to remember bloodstains. More likely, she’d burn it if she noticed it. We’ll scope her entire closet, including the soles of all shoes. We know someone stepped in his blood splatter.”
“Remember when I was first arrested, and you tested my hands for gunshot residue?”
“It would be long gone from her hands.”
“That’s not what I’m getting at. Does GSR cling to cloth for a long time?”
“It can, but it brushes off and it washes off.”
“Well, when I first met Tammy in the restaurant at noon on the day of the murder, she had one of those large satchel handbags. I remember because it was next to her on the table, and I was thinking how well coordinated she was. I remember it was light brown because it matched her suit. As I recall, it was suede. Would gunshot residue stick to suede?”
“Like Florida bugs to a windshield.”
“Look for that suede bag when you search her place. I’m guessing after shooting Towson, she put the gun in that handbag because that’s what she was carrying that day. You won’t find the gun in there, but I’ll bet you’ll find gunshot residue.”
“If she put the recently fired gun in her purse, the lab will find residue and traces of firearm oil,” Chip explained. “They’ll do a Trace Metal Test, use infrared photography and a microscopic examination. They can match it with the residue found at the murder scene. I’m arresting her right now. We’re dropping all charges against you.”
“My nightmare ends.”
Sandy said, “A good attorney will say it’s not first degree, that she didn’t go there to shoot him, they got in an argument. Her attorney will make it sound like a lover’s quarrel, passion of the moment. She might try to plea out to manslaughter?”
“She won’t get to keep those Chinese porcelain dishes she inherited when Towson’s brother finds out they’re worth a half-million dollars,” Ray said.
“Seriously, that much?” Sandy asked.
“Easily. He had several complete settings plus the historical directory. Towson, apparently, wanted to take care of Tammy should he die. She would have been a rich woman. Instead, she goes to jail because he broke her heart. Meanwhile, Loraine has replaced me in jail, arrested for drowning Barner.”
“Loraine is a real culprit here,” Sandy said. “Her greed set off the whole chain of events, starting with framing you for the murder.”
“She still thinks Barner was the murderer, so she’s expecting to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as well,” Chip said. “We think she paid Barner a lot of cash up front to kill Towson. He just pocketed the money with no intention of doing anything. Let her yell. What could she do? So, when Towson
Sandy said, “So, Barner was in Vegas spending the down payment, and was overjoyed when he heard about the murder. The target he had no intention of shooting had been shot. He came back pretending he had finished the murder contract, and to get the rest of the money from her. And get it before the police caught the real killer. Don’t you love it?”
Chip said, “So, she drowns him thinking she’s covering up her part in Towson’s murder, but she had no part in Towson’s murder. Furthermore, she believed the gun she was trying so hard to conceal was the murder weapon, but it had no relevance.”
“So, bug guy outsmarts Mensa Babe. Can you nail her for drowning him?” Ray asked.
“Murder by drowning is one of the toughest homicides to prove,” Chip said. ”We have motive, but only circumstantial evidence. She’s hired Gerald White, the whiz Palm Beach lawyer. Remember he got that rich Neilson kid off a couple of years ago: the senator’s no-good nephew who they charged with rape, DUI and leaving the scene of the accident that killed his date. Moran can’t compete with him.”
“So, Chip, you think Loraine will still get the big life insurance payoff on Towson?” Ray asked.
“Sure. The insurance company will try to hold things up, but I don’t see how the conspiracy charge can be proven with Barner dead.”
“Here’s the big twist,” Sandy explained, “Moran was indeed faced with the murder of a very important public figure. But, he was so focused on making it into a big national crime he overlooked a simple small-town killing for unrequited love. He’ll get a conviction on Tammy, and she’ll face some years behind bars, but the trial will be small potatoes compared to Loraine’s.”
