“Do you honestly think that I could have killed him? You do, don’t you?”
“Grady, I want to believe you, but there’s too much cop in me to turn my back on the fact that a guy you had a public brawl with was murdered not long after, and then a girl you were dating was next. How do you think that looks on you?”
“I’m being threatened, too, remember?” Grady said. His voice was high and shrill, and it sounded to me like he was close to snapping.
“If you didn’t do it, you’re my best resource. Somebody is hovering around the edges of your life and doing some pretty terrible things. You want me to find them, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. You shouldn’t even have to ask.”
“Then help me eliminate you as a suspect so I can go find the real killer.”
The request hung in the air between them, and for a second, I didn’t think Grady was going to answer. After a few more seconds, though, he said, “I’ll tell you whatever I can.”
“What were you and Hank fighting about the night of the ball?”
“He made a crack about my date, if you have to know. He thought it was amusing that I was there with someone’s secretary, and he asked me what it was like slumming with Cindy.”
“So you lost your temper with him?”
I could hear an edge of anger in Grady’s voice as he said, “He was acting like an idiot. I didn’t really know the girl. It was a fix up, a last-minute blind date for the ball when my original date had to cancel. I didn’t know her, but I wasn’t about to stand there and let some drunken fool take shots at her.”
“You’d been drinking too, hadn’t you?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “I’m sure that’s in the police report, too. But I didn’t kill him. Two minutes after the argument ended, I’d forgotten all about him.”
“Where were you later that night after the ball?” The question was simple and easy, but I knew that my husband was really asking the mayor of Charlotte for his alibi.
Grady sighed, and then said, “I was with Cindy, okay? My alibi was murdered the night after Hank was killed, before the police had a chance to interview her. I know they thought they were doing me a favor by going easy on me, but if they’d talked to Cindy before she died, I would have had an alibi for the murder.” He took a deep breath, and then added, “I’m not proud of having a one-night stand, but I was drunk, and one thing led to another. She was a sweet girl. Who knows? If we’d had more than one date, something special might have developed between us.”
“No one saw you then, besides her?”
“No one,” Grady said.
“Let’s move on,” Zach said. “Cindy Glass was stabbed in her apartment with the same type of knife someone used on Hank Tristan. Where were you the night she was killed?”
“You don’t think I killed her, do you? Zach, I liked her.”
“I’ve got to ask, and we both know it.”
Grady sighed, and then he said, “I was in Atlanta at a symposium for southern mayors. You can check with the Thorgood; that’s where we stayed.”
I knew my husband would verify the mayor’s alibi, but I wasn’t sure how good it was. After all, Charlotte was just four hours away from Atlanta, so it was possible he made the round-trip to kill Cindy while everyone else was sleeping. It wouldn’t leave him a lot of time to get back to his conference, but it still left a window of opportunity for him to be the murderer, and I knew my husband was as aware of that fact as I was.
“Any chance you took a city-owned car?”
“No, I like to hit the open highway in my truck when I get the chance. Why?”
“Grady, it’s my job to check everything.”
“Davis didn’t ask me any of these questions,” the mayor said a little petulantly.
“I’m not about to comment on someone else’s investigation techniques. This is just how I do it. Is there anything else you want to tell me? Anything that might help me solve this case?”
“If you’re hoping I’ll confess, I’m sorry to say that you’re going to be disappointed.”
“Then how do you explain two murders, both claimed by some nutcase, that touch your life?”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Grady said.
“Sorry, I don’t believe in them.”
“I don’t know. What can I tell you? The only other thing I can think of is that somebody’s out to get me.”
“Ordinarily I’d say you’re being a little paranoid,” Zach said.
“Hey, even the paranoid are right sometimes.” His voice softened as he added, “Zach, I know you’re just doing your job, but if anybody else finds out that I’m your main suspect, you’re going to destroy my political career.”
“That’s why you should be helping me instead of stonewalling.”
“I said I’d do anything I could. What else do you need?”
“A list of your enemies might help,” Zach said. “If you didn’t do it, I’m willing to guess that someone you know did.”
I heard him stand, and I knew I had to get out of there before they caught me listening in. I ducked down the
