“Thanks for that visual before dinner,” Jack said dryly.
“I’m sure once you see Ivy that will fly right out the window,” Rick shot back. “Because of the state of the body, if the killer touched Janet, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to find prints.”
“That only helps us if the killer has a record,” Brian pointed out.
“Not necessarily,” Rick countered. “I think we are all leaning toward Laura for this. It’s a sad state of affairs, but there’s no reasonable explanation for Laura not to notice her mother was dead for six weeks. If it was Laura, we have her prints on record because she used to work as a volunteer at an area elementary school.”
“Unless … .” Jack broke off, conflicted.
“Unless what?” Brian prodded.
“What if Laura is dead, too? Just because she wasn’t at Janet’s house and we haven’t found a body elsewhere, she could be dead if someone is trying to tie up loose ends in Marcus’ world.”
“You talked to her, though,” Brian pointed out.
“I talked to a woman,” Jack clarified. “I’m not sure I can say with any amount of certainty that I was talking to Laura. It’s not like I spent a lot of time with her.”
“Well, that’s an interesting theory,” Rick said. “If you didn’t talk to Laura, who did you talk to?”
“I have no idea,” Jack replied. “No matter how I try to wrap my head around this, I can’t see Laura as a killer. If she lost her mind, maybe I can see her taking shots from a distance at Ivy. I don’t see her being proficient enough with a handgun to shoot Ivy’s tire out, though.”
“That’s true,” Rick said. “I remember her being a bit of a hippie.”
“I used the term ‘bohemian’ with Ivy and she had a fit because she thinks she’s bohemian,” Jack said.
“Did you kiss and make up?”
Jack scowled. “Don’t go there, Rick … and yes.”
Rick and Brian exchanged amused smirks.
“Also, I remember Laura and Janet being close,” Jack added. “No matter how angry and bent on revenge we want to think Laura is, could she really kill her mother? Could she really walk up to a uniformed police officer on the street and plug him in the chest?”
“That’s a good point,” Brian said. “Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s say Laura is dead. Who would care enough about Marcus to go on a rampage to avenge him? Besides that, why go after you? Marcus is the one who tried to kill you. You didn’t do anything to him.”
“You said yourself that some people believe Marcus was framed,” Jack said. “What if someone thinks I’m the one who framed him?”
“I don’t see how that works, but we’re obviously dealing with a nut,” Rick said. “I still think the easiest answer is Laura. Maybe she took some gun classes. I can check around and see if anyone registered under her name around here. It might take some time, though.”
“Let’s take this a step further,” Brian suggested. “What if we’re looking at this the wrong way? What if whoever is going after Jack isn’t doing it because they’re trying to avenge Marcus’ death and restore his honor?”
“Why else would they be doing it?”
“What if Marcus had a partner and they’re going after Jack because they believe he ruined whatever side business they had going on?”
“Huh,” Rick said, tilting his head to the side as he considered the suggestion. “That’s a mighty interesting theory. You know, after Jack was shot and Marcus was laid to rest, a couple of us got together for beers one night. We theorized then that Marcus could have a partner. The problem is, we have no idea who it could be. Other than Jack, Marcus pretty much kept to himself at the department.”
“I’m not necessarily suggesting that Marcus’ partner was a cop,” Brian said. “What if he had a girlfriend?”
“I think I would’ve known about that,” Jack replied. “He liked to boast about his sexual conquests. They were numerous and varied. He didn’t like to stick with a woman more than a few nights. In fact, he usually only returned to them if he thought he could talk them into doing something really filthy.”
“Oh, well, thanks for that,” Brian muttered. “Now I’m going to be wondering what kind of demented things he was doing for the rest of the night. No! Don’t tell me. I’m happy living in ignorance.”
“If Marcus had a girlfriend, I have no idea who it was,” Rick said. “The only person who might know is Laura, and we can’t decide if she’s a suspect or another victim.”
“Maybe I just want to believe she’s a victim,” Jack mused. “I just can’t imagine her killing someone. She never showed any inclination that she could do something like that.”
“I agree on that front,” Rick said. “This brings me to the really uncomfortable portion of today’s festivities, though, and I feel really weird even bringing this up. I think you should have all the information, though, so … .”
“What?”
“I pulled the files from Marcus’ death,” Rick said, licking his lips. “I went through everything. One of my biggest problems with this case is the timeline. Jack was shot right around ten at night. Emergency personnel got to him quickly and he named Marcus as his shooter before losing consciousness.”
“I remember,” Jack said, grimacing. “I thought for sure I was going to die once I closed my eyes.”
“Don’t get morose,” Rick chided. “You didn’t die … and God rewarded you with a hot woman. Do you see how that works?”
Jack rolled his eyes.
“There was nothing out of the ordinary in the file, but something bothered me about it,” Rick continued. “I went through the recovered items. There were none. Marcus’ wallet burned along with everything else in the car. There was no record of his gun being in the car.”
“So, what happened to it?” Brian asked.
“I have no idea,” Rick answered. “Police tracked down Marcus
