Split Second

it's one of the most heterogeneous, teeming pools of immigrants this country has seen since the turn of the last century. I won't say that it's quite yet a bastion of liberalism or even radical thought, but it's not the South depicted in Gone with the Wind, or even in To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact, the fastest-growing population element in Georgia right now is Middle Eastern.'

'I can see how the Hindus and Muslims coexisting with the bubbas and the Baptists must be fascinating,' opined King.

'That's good,' said Jorst. 'Bubbas and Baptists. Mind if I use that line for one of my chapter headings?'

'Feel free. You didn't know the Ramseys before Atticus, did you?'

'No, I didn't. Arnold Ramsey was at Atticus about two years before I arrived. I'd been a professor at a college in Kentucky before coming here.'

'When I said the Ramseys, I meant both Arnold and Regina.'

'My answer is the same. I didn't know either until I came here. Why, did Kate say otherwise?'

'No,' Michelle said quickly. 'She did tell us that her mother was good friends with you.'

'They both were friends of mine. I think Regina saw me as ahopeless bachelor and took it upon herself to make me feel welcome and comfortable. She was a truly remarkable woman. She worked with the drama class at the college and even performed in some of the productions. She was an astonishing actress, she really was. I'd heard Arnold talk about her talents, especially when she was younger, and assumed he was merely exaggerating. But when you saw her up there onstage, she was mesmerizing. And she was as kind and as good as she was talented. She was loved by many people.'

'I'm sure she was,' said King. 'And after Arnold died, the two of you-'

'It wasn't like that,' Jorst interrupted. 'Arnold had been dead a very long time before we started seeing each other as anything more than friends.'

'And it got to the point where you were talking marriage.'

'I'd proposed and she'd accepted,' he said coldly.

'And then she died?'

Jorst's features became pained. 'Yes.'

'In fact, she committed suicide?'

'So they say.'

Michelle said quickly, 'You don't think so?'

'She was happy. She'd accepted my proposal of marriage. Now, I don't think I'm vain in saying that it seems pretty far-fetched that the thought of being married to me would have driven her to suicide.'

'So you're thinking she was murdered?'

'You tell me!' he snapped. 'You're the ones running around investigating. You figure it out. That's not my area of expertise.'

'How did Kate take the news of your upcoming nuptials?'

'All right. She loved her father. She liked me. She knew I wasn't looking to replace him. I truly believe she wanted her mother to be happy.'

'Were you a Vietnam War protester?'

Jorst seemed to take this abrupt change in direction smoothly. 'Yes, along with millions of other people.'

'In California ever?'

'Where exactly is this all going?'

King said, 'What would you say if we told you a man came to visit Arnold Ramsey for the purpose of enlisting his aid in killing Clyde Ritter and that this person mentioned your name?'

Jorst looked at him coolly. 'I'd say whoever told you that was seriously mistaken. But then again, if it's true, I can't control other people using my name in conversation, can I?'

'Fair enough. Do you believe that Arnold Ramsey acted alone?'

'Until I'm presented with credible evidence to the contrary.'

'By all accounts he wasn't a violent man, yet he performed the most violent act of all, murder.'

Jorst shrugged. 'Who knows what beats deeply within the hearts of people?'

'That's true. And Arnold Ramsey was involved in some serious protests in his youth. Perhaps one of which led to someone's violent death.'

Jorst looked at him sharply. 'What are you talking about?'

King had revealed that piece of information solely to gauge Jorst's reaction to it. 'One more thing. Did you drive separately or with Arnold Ramsey to the Fairmount Hotel on the morning he killed Ritter?'

To his credit Jorst didn't show any reaction. His features were impassive. 'You're saying I was at the Fairmount that morning?'

King stared right at the man. 'You're saying you weren't?'

He thought about this for a moment. 'All right, I was there. With hundreds of other people. So what?'

'So what? Along with dating Regina Ramsey, that's a pretty significant detail you forgot to mention.'

'Why should I have? I did nothing wrong. And in answer to your question, I drove separately.'

'And you must have run out of the place the very second after Ramsey fired, or else you wouldn't have had time to pick up Regina and go and tell Kate in the middle of algebra.'

Jorst looked stonily at them; however, several beads of perspirationhad appeared on his broad forehead. 'There were lots of people running all over the place. I was as terrified as anyone else. I saw what happened. And I didn't want Regina and Kate finding out on the news. So I drove as fast as I could to tell them myself. I thought I was being considerate. And I don't appreciate how you seem to be drawing a negative conclusion from what I thought was a selfless act.'

King drew very close to the man. 'Why did you go to the hotel that morning? Did you have a beef with Ritter too?'

'No, of course not.'

'So why, then?' persisted King.

'He was a presidential candidate. We don't get many of those down here. I wanted to see for myself. It's my field, after all.'

'What if I say that's complete bullshit?' said King.

'I don't owe you an explanation,' Jorst shot back.

King shrugged. 'You're right. We'll send the FBI and the Secret Service down, and you can tell them. You have a phone we can use?'

'Wait a minute, just wait a minute.' King and Michelle looked at him expectantly. 'All right, all right,' Jorst said quickly. He swallowed nervously, looking back and forth at them. 'Look, I was worried about Arnold. He'd been so enraged about Ritter. I was afraid he might do something dumb. Please believe me that never for one second did I think that his plan was to kill the man. I never knew he had a gun until he fired it. I swear.'

'Go on,' said King.

'He didn't know I was there. I followed him over. The night before, he told me he'd be attending the event. I stayed in the back. The crowd was so big that he never noticed me. He stayed far away from Ritter, and I started thinking that I'd just overreacted. I thought about leaving. I moved toward the door. Unbeknownst to me, it was right about then that he started moving toward Ritter. I turned back once, when I was right at the door. Just in time to see Arnold pull his gun and fire. I saw Ritter fall, and then I saw you fire and kill Arnold. And then the whole place exploded. And I was running as fast as Icould. I was able to get out so quickly because I was already by the door. I remember almost running over one of the hotel maids who was standing by the door too.'

Michelle and King looked at each other: Loretta Baldwin.

Jorst continued, his face now ashen. 'I couldn't believe that it had happened. It all seemed like a nightmare. I ran to my car and drove off as fast as I could. I wasn't the only one. Lots of people were fleeing that scene.'

'You never told the police this?'

'What was there to tell? I was there, saw what happened and fled, just like hundreds of other people. It's not like the authorities needed my testimony or anything.'

'And you went and got Regina and told her. Why?'

'Why! For God's sakes, her husband had just shot a presidential candidate. And then been killed himself. I had to tell her. Can't you understand that?'