announcing himself. It seemed the least awkward of his options. Charlie immediately raced upstairs and Lauren plopped down in front of the TV. Maria stepped in from the back porch with a book in her hand and her hair in disarray like she had dozed off reading. She offered him a smile.
Maria motioned him out to the back porch, where they sat in matching lounge chairs. Maria said, “Did your father go bowling with you?”
Stallings nodded. “The old coot is a good bowler too.”
“It looks like the kids had fun.”
Stallings nodded, appreciating the few quiet moments with his estranged wife.
Maria stayed quiet for another second, then said, “I’m sorry I’ve held so many things inside. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you directly about Patty. I know it’s stupid and it was my own issue. Brother Ellis seemed like a good person to talk to. I’m sorry that it caused you any concern at all.”
Stallings said, “I wish we didn’t have any secrets.”
“It was secrets that almost ruined us.”
Stallings looked off in space and nodded slowly.
Maria said, “I know that look. What’s bothering you?”
Stallings hesitated, completely torn on what he should say or do. Finally he sat up in the lounger and turned toward her. He reached into his back pocket where he kept the photo of Zach Halston and Jeanie folded in his wallet. He swallowed hard and said, “I have a secret we need to talk about.”
FIFTY-TWO
Lynn sat at the cluttered desk in her office that was less cluttered because she’d spent two days staying occupied by going through file cabinets and stacks of documents to see what could be discarded. Every time there’d been a knock at her door she tensed, wondering if the police had come to arrest her.
The police had questioned her father and his connection to Leon, but they seemed satisfied her dad had no idea what was happening. She was prepared to step forward if the pressure was too much.
She’d heard through the rumor mill at Thomas Brothers Supply that Leon had pulled a pistol and that was why he was shot by the police in Daytona. She’d also heard he was wanted for the hit-and-run that killed Zach Halston in St. Augustine. Even though Larry ran a messy office, she worried about someone finding the vehicle log where she checked out the Suburban the day she hit Alan Cole. It wasn’t difficult to slip in and remove the vehicle log. She hadn’t even brought it back to this office. She used the main office’s shredder to dispose of the paperwork once and for all.
Now, almost a week since Leon had been shot, she realized she’d literally gotten away with murder. Several times. Everyone had paid a price for Josh’s death except Bobby Hollis. And he could wait years. But for now she felt like a weight had been lifted off her. Even her parents seemed brighter. Lynn was ready for her life. The one she’d earned.
She signed off on some accounts receivable and started to think about lunch. She intended to leave the office today and eat with a couple of the girls from admin. There was a new Sweet Tomatoes that had opened down the street and Lynn planned to have a long, leisurely, healthy lunch.
A soft rap on her doorframe made her look up at a man, and it took her a moment to recognize him. She had seen him before, but it still took some time to register.
The man gave her a charming smile and said, “I’m John Stallings with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.” He held up a badge and flipped it open so she could see the identification card with his photograph. He didn’t say anything else. He just looked at her with a crooked smile on his face.
Lynn said, “May I help you?” It was calm and professional on the outside, but she felt her heart rate increase and her stomach start to knot up.
Finally the detective said, “Thought you got away with it, didn’t you?”
Lynn forced herself to calmly shake your head and say, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“You almost did. But you’re not quite sneaky enough. You don’t think like a real criminal, and I admire that.”
Now she was smart enough to keep quiet. She didn’t want to give her position away and blurt out something stupid like,
The detective casually stepped in the office and eased into the chair directly in front of her desk. He kept his eyes on her the whole time. Lynn had the clear feeling that if she made any sudden movements this man would take action.
The detective said, “My partner will be here in a minute. She was just checking a few things up in your administrative offices. I wanted to show you a photo and ask you a question first if you don’t mind.”
Lynn remained silent but nodded slightly.
The detective held up a creased photo of Zach Halston and a pretty young woman. Then he asked her something she didn’t expect.
“Do you know the young woman?”
Lynn shook her head, swallowing hard. She doubted she could speak even if she wanted to because her mouth was so dry.
The detective said, “I didn’t know how much time you spent with the fraternity brothers back when your brother was a member. I was hoping you might recognize the girl. It’s not related to our case in any way and you’ll have plenty of time to worry about that in the coming weeks. So forget I even asked about the girl.”
Lynn finally summoned up the courage to say, “Why do you think I did anything wrong?” It was generic enough that he couldn’t use it against her, but maybe she’d have an idea of what evidence they did have.
The detective said, “Leon Kines is a good scapegoat. His motives made sense, no one was going to stand up and fight for him, and it clears our case. But there were a couple of things that didn’t add up, and I did some checking.” He gave her a chance to say something or add a comment. She just kept staring at him.
He said, “The first thing that bothered me was the fact that Leon had a nine-millimeter with him when he was shot by the Daytona police and a thirty-eight was used to shoot the auto parts manager. I realize some people have more guns than they need, but a guy like Leon tends to stick with one. I also noticed your dad had a collection with several thirty-eights in it. We’ve got someone over at his house right now with the search warrant.
“Then I happened to notice your name on the company employees list. That’s a big coincidence. I was able to subpoena your cell phone records. You made several calls down to the hospital in Daytona.” He paused and waited for a response.
Lynn felt like she was going to vomit.
The detective shrugged and kept going. “We had always assumed that a woman was with Connor Tate and that was the only reason he’d drink something with so many pills crushed in it. Then there is the case of Kyle Lee.”
Lynn looked up and wanted to say something. The cop noted her attention.
“Do you remember being stopped for speeding by a patrolman near the marina?” He paused for effect.
Lynn kept still and quiet.
“He didn’t ticket you, but he made a note of the stop. That’s the kind of circumstantial evidence that stacks up in court. Then there are the other little details like the paper you used to start the fire in Atlanta. It was the
Lynn swallowed again and realized her hand was shaking, giving her away.
“The last thing,” the cop stated in that same even voice, “ketamine. It was too obscure. The fact that you work in a vet’s office in the evenings, and have access to it, gave us enough for the search warrant for your father’s guns as well as giving me a chance to talk to you.” He looked at her like he expected her to say something.
The detective said, “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you expected.”
Now Lynn found her voice and said, “No, they worked out about like I thought.” She still was oddly unconcerned. Did that make her a sociopath?
