Hour Game

team pulled up some fibers that didn't match anything Junior had on. And we also got a partial tire track nearby. Might be the car he got away in.'

'Better check those fibers against my clothes,' said King. 'I… I had some contact with Junior when the shooting started.'

'Speaking of shooting, you got the bullets from the tires?' asked Michelle.

'They were forty-four calibers,' said Williams. 'Nothing special. Hope we get a gun to match it against at some point.'

'The guy had a laser aimer, that's pretty specialized,' said King.

'Junior's belt buckle was also missing,' noted Williams.

'Another trophy,' said Michelle.

'Looks like Junior fought hard,' said Bailey. 'Lots of defensive wounds on his hands and forearm. And a wall of studs was taken out, probably during the struggle.'

'The guy's clearly started to make some mistakes,' said Williams. 'You two happening along when you did really put a wrench into the works for him.'

'I don't think we accomplished all that much,' said Michelle, 'except let him get away.'

King studied the copy of the letter again. 'This is the first time he's referred to a victim by name,' he said.

'I noted that,' said Bailey.

'Now, why would a killer do that?' wondered Williams.

'He's playing with us. He wants to jerk us around.'

'For what purpose?' asked Michelle.

'Because this is all part of something a lot bigger that we're not seeing right now,' replied King.

'And what might that be?' asked Bailey in a skeptical tone.

'When I figure it out, you'll be the second to know,' said King, glancing significantly at Williams. 'How did Lulu take it, Todd?' asked King in a softer tone.

Williams leaned back and shrugged his shoulders. 'Didn't cry at all, but then, the kids were around. That mother of hers, though, damn lady went hysterical, screaming about how much she loved Junior, what in the world were they going to do without him. Lulu finally had to take her out of the room. Piece of work she is.'

King and Michelle looked at each other and just shook their heads.

'Now we come to an interesting point,' said Williams. 'You told us that Remmy threatened Junior. That she wanted some things back and she didn't want Junior showing them to anyone.'

King nodded. 'At least that's what Lulu told us that Junior said. But it wasn't Remmy Battle who beat Junior up before strangling him to death.'

'But Lulu said Remmy told Junior that she knew people.'

King shook his head. 'I'm not sure why Remmy would want to kill him, at least not now. According to Lulu, she was going to give Junior some time to think it over. If he's dead, he can't very well tell her where the stuff is-not that he could anyway, since I don't believe he took it in the first place.'

'But if he's dead,' said Bailey, 'then he can't show the stuff, whatever it is, to someone else.'

King remained unconvinced. 'But Remmy couldn't be sure of that. He might have made arrangements in case something happened to him.'

'You've got a point there,' said Williams. 'But it's still something we'll have to check into. Not that I'm looking forward to going down that road with Remmy.'

'Well,' said King, 'we've got people to see and places to go.'

'Where and who?' asked Bailey sharply.

'Steve Canney's father and Janice Pembroke's parents.'

'We already talked to them. And to everyone connected to Diane Hinson too.'

'But you don't mind another set of eyes,' said Michelle.

'Go ahead,' said Williams. 'You have full authority.'

'Just report back to me if you find anything interesting,' said Bailey.

'I'll count the minutes,' muttered King.

CHAPTER 44

KING AND MICHELLE DROVE TO their office to do some work before heading out to see Pembroke's and Canney's parents. The silver Volvo station wagon and BMW Eight Series were parked in front of their office.

'Eddie and Dorothea,' said Michelle as she got out of the Whale. As if on cue the doors opened on each of the vehicles and the pair got out.

'Driving separate cars,' commented Michelle in a low voice.

'And maybe going in separate directions.'

Eddie was dressed in gray dress slacks, white shirt and a blue blazer and carried a leather briefcase. With his deep tan and strong, weathered features, plus the nice clothes, he looked very handsome, Michelle noted appreciatively.

Dorothea was dressed all in black, which seemed appropriate under the circumstances, but King knew it had nothing to do with mourning the loss of the family patriarch: the fishnet stockings, stiletto heels and very visible cleavage were the giveaways.

King unlocked the door to the office building, and they all went inside.

When they were all settled, King said, 'We're really sorry about your father, Eddie.' He glanced at Dorothea but said nothing because the woman's look invited no such condolences.

'I still can't believe it,' said Eddie. 'Mom was there at ten, and at ten-thirty he's dead.'

'Remmy told us she saw no one when she was leaving,' said Michelle.

'Well, it's not like the person would've been jumping up and down in front of Remmy yelling, ‘I'm going in to kill your husband now,'' said Dorothea irritably.

Eddie said, 'Thanks for pointing that out, Dorothea. If you have nothing helpful to contribute, why don't you just sit there and continue sulking?'

Good for you, Eddie Battle, thought Michelle.

Dorothea looked like she was about to fire back with something suitably nasty, but she managed to restrain herself. She just sat there with her arms folded, scowling at the floor.

'What can we do for you, Eddie?' asked King.

Eddie pulled a newspaper out of the briefcase and pointed to a front-page article. King took the paper and scanned the story while Michelle read over his shoulder.

When he finished, King looked very upset. 'How the hell did the account of Remmy's threatening Junior get leaked to the press?'

'Maybe Lulu,' suggested Michelle. 'Or her mother, Priscilla. Sounds like something she might do.'

'Regardless,' said Eddie, 'now the whole town thinks Mom had Junior killed.'

'But the Gazette also reported that Junior's death has been linked to the serial killings,' pointed out Michelle.

Eddie slumped down in a chair. 'That doesn't matter. People will think she paid someone to make it look that way.'

'So how's Remmy taking it?'

'It's killing her.'

'But she's not denying she threatened Junior?' asked King.

Eddie now looked wary. 'I don't want to play semantics with you, Sean, but even if she threatened him, she had nothing to do with the man's death.'

'I can't control what people think.'

'I know that, but I just thought, well…'

'What do you want us to do, Eddie?' asked Michelle gently.

'Yes, it would be nice if you came to the point,' said Dorothea. 'I have two homes to show this morning.'

Eddie ignored her and said, 'Can you go and speak to Mom again? I know you came by the other day with