something about the person who shot Glen. I said if he knew anything that would help the police, he should tell them immediately. He rocked back on his heels and laughed. It was not a nice laugh. He said, ‘I’ll be in touch,’ and he turned away. That was exactly what happened.”
In the silence that followed, Annie looked from face to face. Richard’s frown was dark. Cleo looked cold and thoughtful. Kit’s face creased in a worried frown. Laura’s lips quivered. Tommy stared at Elaine, his expression beseeching.
Elaine’s head jerked toward Billy. “It isn’t what you think. I don’t know why he came to me.”
Billy scarcely gave her time to finish the sentence. “Did you meet Darwyn Jack in the gazebo last night?”
“Absolutely not.” She seemed relieved to be questioned directly. “I did not meet him. I did not kill him. I don’t know who did.”
Billy glanced toward the portion of the gazebo that was visible beyond the azaleas. “Darwyn Jack met someone last night in the gazebo. His truck”—he jerked a thumb toward the dusty road that ran behind the cottage—“is parked out of sight around a curve. It seems reasonable to assume that Darwyn Jack observed someone enter or leave the study window during the time period in which the murder occurred. He very likely made a demand for money to keep his mouth shut.”
Annie wondered if Darwyn’s death would bolster her argument that Pat Merridew had been a murder victim. That Glen Jamison’s murderer would not succumb to blackmail was evident—to Annie—from Pat’s death. In fact, would Darwyn be alive today if Glen and Pat’s murders had been publicly linked? That was a possibility, but Darwyn Jack had likely been too young, too sure of himself, too alive to envision danger.
Billy turned back toward Elaine, his expression stolid, his eyes scouring her face.
She lifted her hands as if in self-defense. “No.” Her voice was high. “He did not ask me for money. I did not meet him in the gazebo. I had nothing to do with his death. I swear it. I didn’t shoot Glen. I loved Glen.” Her voice broke.
Billy turned to Annie. “Tell me exactly what Darwyn said to you.”
Annie tried to give an accurate picture. “He may have been making things up. That’s the impression I had. He acted as if he might have seen something or someone and then he said, ‘I don’t like cops. Let them figure out stuff. If I saw something it would be bad news for somebody, wouldn’t it?’ He laughed and said he didn’t see anything. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he went around to everybody and pretended he knew something.”
Billy asked each family member in turn, “Did Darwyn Jack approach you and suggest he saw someone in the garden Tuesday morning?”
Cleo’s head shake was definite. “Absolutely not.”
Richard looked grim. “I’d have knocked him flat.”
Laura looked nervous. “I never talked to him. I didn’t like him. We went to school together. People said he was mean. I didn’t like the way he looked at girls in the hall.”
Kit twined a strand of light hair around a finger. “He never spoke to me.” She glanced toward her sister. “I know what she means about the way he looked at women.”
Tommy shrugged. “That dude never came near me.”
Elaine’s voice was shrill. “I’m telling the truth. I don’t know what he knew or didn’t know. I told him to go to the police.”
“That was good advice. He might be alive if he’d followed it.” Billy turned to Cleo Jamison. “Mrs. Jamison, I wonder if you can help me with another matter. You are Glen Jamison’s widow. Are the house and grounds, including the cottage and outbuildings, now your property?”
Cleo briefly closed her eyes. Her lips moved. “ . . . widow . . .” She pressed her lips together, stared at the ground for an instant, then lifted her face, spoke wearily. “The house and grounds . . . Actually, I’ve not seen Glen’s will. I had no reason to see it. We signed a prenuptial agreement. I have no claim on anything prior to our marriage. The house very likely now belongs to Kit and Laura and Tommy. I’m sure he made some provision for Elaine. Whatever Glen earned since then, I share with his children.” Her face twisted. “I received a settlement at the time of our marriage. What is the point of your question?”
“I would like the permission of the home owner to conduct a search of the house and grounds, including the cottage and its garage, without a warrant. I can easily obtain a warrant, but if I can have signed approval from all of you, we can proceed now. Does anyone object?”
Cleo shrugged. “I’ll be happy to sign, but I am quite certain the house has been left to Glen’s children.”
Billy’s eyes moved to Glen’s children.
Kit turned her hands over. “Sure. Why not?”
Laura nodded, then shivered. “I want this to end. Look anywhere you want to look.”
Tommy’s shoulders hunched. “Yeah. Whatever.”
Billy’s blue eyes reached Elaine.
“Of course you should search.” Her voice was thin but steady.
Frank Saulter swiftly wrote a statement. He held it out to Billy. “This provides that the Broward’s Rock Police Department had the permission of the presumptive heirs of Glen Jamison to undertake a search of the property in regard to the murder of Darwyn Jack.”
Billy gave the sheet first to Cleo. She signed.
The sheet was passed to each of the Jamisons except for Richard. When everyone had duly signed, Elaine handed the sheet to Billy.
Billy nodded in satisfaction. He turned and walked away from the terrace.
There was silence.
