“How have you been treating the people around here?” asked Frank.
“Better’n they treat me.”
“Why don’t you try just being polite to the people here and not cursing. You don’t have to make friends with them, a little politeness will do-after all, they’re armed with needles.”
Star gave Frank a half smile and turned to Diane. “Frank tells me you met Crystal and her husband. Aren’t they a kick? Crystal’s so proud of Gilroy the boy toy. He’s about fifty years younger than she is, you know.”
“More like fifteen,” Frank said.
“She parades him around like he’s some prize she won. If he was the big prize, I’d hate to have come in second in that contest.”
Diane had to laugh at Star. So did Frank. She could be a charmer. Diane tried to visualize her in a killing frenzy, but couldn’t imagine her doing what it took to kill her parents.
“I heard on the TV that Dean gave himself up. Did he really?”
“He had help,” said Frank.
“That figures. How was he?”
“In need of a good meal and a place to sleep,” said Frank.
“Serves him right. He ran out on me, you know. As soon as he heard about my parents, he got scared, even tried to steal my coin collection. We was supposed to go to California. He said he knows somebody that could get us on as movie extras. You know, people in a crowd. That would be fun.”
“Star,” said Frank. “Can you tell us anything about Jay’s friends?”
She turned her head away and stared out the window at the night sky.
Diane took her hand. “Star, we need your help, if you can give it. We want very much to find the person who did this to your family.”
Star shifted her gaze to Diane. “You don’t believe I did it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Frank believes you, and I trust his judgment-and you aren’t tall enough.”
Frank jerked his head around to Diane. Star’s eyes grew round. “Not tall enough? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The person who shot your brother was taller than either you or Dean.”
“How do you know?” asked Star.
“The trajectory of the bullet. It was from a taller person, and you couldn’t have been standing uphill, because there isn’t a rise in the vicinity where Jay was shot.”
“If you know that, why don’t the police?” asked Star.
“Because right now, they don’t want to, and they will no doubt try to explain away the discrepancy. However, it’s there. Star, I can’t give you any words of comfort about the loss of your family. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to you, but you can get though it and have a life. It’ll be slow progress and hard, but you have to keep your sights on the things you loved about them, not their deaths.”
Star looked away again, but Diane took her chin and turned her face back.
“Frank’s right-we’ll find out who did this. And even if you have to go to trial before we discover the real killer, you won’t be convicted. The detective made too many mistakes. She allowed the crime scene to be compromised and she’s overlooked important information. All they have is the fact that you took your mother’s gun a year ago and you had some coins in your possession, and that can be explained.”
“They were mine. You know that, don’t you, Uncle Frank?”
Frank nodded. “Your parents were holding them for your education. But yes, they were yours.”
Star’s face brightened. “They don’t really have anything, do they? I mean, the coins are mine and I took them weeks ago. Crystal’s lying about me like she always does. The gun too. Mom and Dad took the gun back a year ago and they locked it up.”
“No, they don’t have anything. But we need to ask you a few questions so we can help you. Will you answer them?”
Star nodded.
“Star,” said Frank. “We need to know why Jay was out that night. Do you know any friends he may have been meeting?”
Star frowned. “I don’t understand him being out either. He didn’t do things like that. He was mad at me because, since I was always the one in trouble, the burden was on him to be good. None of his friends that I know of would have been out either. But. .”
“But what?” asked Frank.
“Jay liked to hang around older boys. He was really impressed by them. I mean, what kid isn’t? He may have friends that none of us knew about. I just don’t know. He was in the Scouts, he went to school, to church, and played soccer. His friends were in those places.”
“Jay never confided in you about who he liked to hang around with?” prodded Frank.
“I wasn’t around much lately to confide in. He liked to hunt and go camping. That kind of thing. Maybe his friends will talk to you.”
“If you think of anything, let me know,” said Frank.
A disembodied voice announced the end of visiting hours. Frank kissed Star on the cheek, and he and Diane left.
“You didn’t mention before about the height of the perp,” said Frank.
“It just dawned on me. I guess I’m slipping. I remember seeing the trajectory information on the autopsy report, and the lay of the land around the body suddenly dawned on me. Neither Star nor Dean is tall enough to have fired the shot that killed Jay.”
They left the hospital and Frank drove Diane back to her car at the museum. As she moved to open the door to get out, Frank leaned over and kissed her. “Let me take you to dinner tomorrow evening. They’ll be taking Star back to the jail. And, well, both of us need a break.”
“That sounds good. Let’s wait and see how things go at the pit tomorrow. Maybe we can order in a pizza and watch TV or something.”
He kissed her again. “That sounds good too-maybe better.”
Diane got in her car and drove to her apartment and pulled into a parking space in front of the entrance. She got out, feeling like she’d left something undone at the museum and wondering how she was going to explain to the board about this current museum project. Community relations, perhaps. The thought made her smile. As she approached the steps and took out her key, she was hit hard in the stomach.
Chapter 27
Diane fell to the ground, gasping for air. She tried to rise to her hands and knees and simultaneously catch her breath. A blur of motion carrying a heavy shoe with it kicked her hard in the side. Lightning pain shot through her body and the force knocked her backward off the sidewalk. She fell helplessly into a roll down the grassy slope into the dark. She couldn’t stop the momentum of her fall, tumbling until she crashed into bushes. Pushing herself to her feet, she tried to yell out. Her voice wouldn’t come out of her throat. Desperation and fear rushed over her as the sound of muffled footfalls ran toward her in the dark. She was consumed by the overwhelmingly urgent need to get away, to run-anywhere.
Two steps, she stumbled and rolled farther down the hill. Footsteps coming faster toward her. She pulled herself to her feet again and started running, looking for a weapon, anything, but it was too dark to see. Running, trying to go faster; something caught her clothes from behind, jerked her backward. Her legs collapsed under her. A strong arm slipped around her throat. She pushed up, kicked the legs behind her and grabbed at the arm around her neck, pulling at thick gloved fingers, prying them loose. She heard a muffled cry of pain close to her ear as she pulled a finger back hard. She tried clawing at eyes, but got only a handful of wool. She held on to it, hoping to blind him. She kicked and stomped at the legs behind her, twisting and turning, trying to free herself. She hit her mark half a dozen times and heard suppressed yelps. She bit down hard on the arm and got punched in the back.
