Smash Cut (20 page)
Authors: Sandra Brown
Tags: #Legal, #Suspense, #Fiction, #General, #Georgia, #Thrillers, #Rich people, #Atlanta (Ga.), #Trials (Murder), #Legal stories, #Rich People - Georgia
When did you last check it?
Yesterday.
I made the deposit late this morning, just after I left here. You dont have to take my word for it. You can check it now.
Abruptly, Billy said, I dont want the money.
What?
You can keep the hundred grand.
Creighton laughed softly. Well, thanks for your generosity, but thats the best hundred grand Ive ever spent. Im free of my narrow-minded, penurious Uncle Paul.
Keep your money. Just dont kill dont kill
Ah. Just dont kill your former sweetheart. Creighton looked at him sadly and shook his head. But I want to, Billy. I want to do it for you. The cunt betrayed you. Not once, but twice.
Twice?
Somebody called and identified you to the police, dont forget.
Billy wiped his sweating forehead. He glanced toward the television set again, and Creighton could have sworn he paled another shade. Are you How are you
Unh-unh-unh. Creighton wagged his index finger. I didnt tell you how to kill Uncle Paul. Its only fair I get to decide my method. Let it be a surprise. When they find her, its sure to be on the news.
When are you going to do it?
Do you know what a smash cut is?
A smash No I dont know. What?
Its an abrupt edit. A sudden shift of scene. Used to shock the audience. Very effective. Lots of impact. Packs a wallop. Itll be like that. No one will see it coming. Especially her. He shook the second beer bottle to make sure it was empty, then placed it in the tote bag.
However, I do think its a good idea for you to leave Atlanta. We shouldnt see each other again. You could definitely stand a change of scenery. Creighton gave the quarters a scornful glance. This place is a dump. No wonder youre not acting yourself tonight.
He dampened a paper towel and used it to wash the church key before replacing it in the drawer, then he wiped the bar with the towel and placed it in the tote. He checked to see that he hadnt for got anything, then picked up the bag, using both arms to hold it against his chest. Can you get the door for me, please?
Billy had stopped whining and now seemed eager to get rid of him. He moved quickly to the door and opened it. So long, Creighton. Been nice knowing you.
We wont see each other again.
Right. Have a good life.
When you vacate, just be sure not to leave anything behind that could lead them to you. Or to me, Billy. Especially to me.
Like I said before, I dont want to be caught, either.
Id rather be dead. Creighton waited a beat, then added, Wouldnt you?
Yesterday.
I made the deposit late this morning, just after I left here. You dont have to take my word for it. You can check it now.
Abruptly, Billy said, I dont want the money.
What?
You can keep the hundred grand.
Creighton laughed softly. Well, thanks for your generosity, but thats the best hundred grand Ive ever spent. Im free of my narrow-minded, penurious Uncle Paul.
Keep your money. Just dont kill dont kill
Ah. Just dont kill your former sweetheart. Creighton looked at him sadly and shook his head. But I want to, Billy. I want to do it for you. The cunt betrayed you. Not once, but twice.
Twice?
Somebody called and identified you to the police, dont forget.
Billy wiped his sweating forehead. He glanced toward the television set again, and Creighton could have sworn he paled another shade. Are you How are you
Unh-unh-unh. Creighton wagged his index finger. I didnt tell you how to kill Uncle Paul. Its only fair I get to decide my method. Let it be a surprise. When they find her, its sure to be on the news.
When are you going to do it?
Do you know what a smash cut is?
A smash No I dont know. What?
Its an abrupt edit. A sudden shift of scene. Used to shock the audience. Very effective. Lots of impact. Packs a wallop. Itll be like that. No one will see it coming. Especially her. He shook the second beer bottle to make sure it was empty, then placed it in the tote bag.
However, I do think its a good idea for you to leave Atlanta. We shouldnt see each other again. You could definitely stand a change of scenery. Creighton gave the quarters a scornful glance. This place is a dump. No wonder youre not acting yourself tonight.
He dampened a paper towel and used it to wash the church key before replacing it in the drawer, then he wiped the bar with the towel and placed it in the tote. He checked to see that he hadnt for got anything, then picked up the bag, using both arms to hold it against his chest. Can you get the door for me, please?
Billy had stopped whining and now seemed eager to get rid of him. He moved quickly to the door and opened it. So long, Creighton. Been nice knowing you.
We wont see each other again.
Right. Have a good life.
When you vacate, just be sure not to leave anything behind that could lead them to you. Or to me, Billy. Especially to me.
Like I said before, I dont want to be caught, either.
Id rather be dead. Creighton waited a beat, then added, Wouldnt you?
CHAPTER
18
J
ULIE HAD EXPECTED A TOKEN ARGUMENT, OR A QUESTION AT the very least. But a few minutes after shed announced to Derek that they were going to her house, he came downstairs dressed in a fresh pair of jeans, polo shirt, sneakers.
Together they left his house, got into her car, and made the ten-minute drive in silence. He followed her inside, entering through the garage directly into the kitchen. She set her handbag on the table and moved to a cabinet. I havent restocked since Paul died, but I have bourbon and vodka. Theres a bottle of white wine in the fridge. Not the one shed found opened last night. That had been thrown out.
Bourbon.
Water?
Just ice.
When the drink was ready, she carried it to him where he was standing in the center of the kitchen. He looked at the wrought-iron towel rack, now empty.
She said, They were a keepsake, but he ruined them for me. I threw them away today.
Sipping from his glass, Derek took in the pots hanging above the range, the corked bottles of flavored oils and vinegars, the shelves of cookbooks, the array of utensils at the ready, so different from his near sterile kitchen.
You cook. It wasnt a question.
I learned while I lived in France.
His eyes met hers. Did you cook for Wheeler?
Often.
He took another sip of bourbon.
Would you like something?
No.
It was an abrupt and decisive response, so she didnt force the issue. I want to show you something. Itll take a while, so if youre sleepy, it can wait till tomorrow.
He looked down into his glass, swirling the liquor around the ice cubes. I dont think Ill sleep tonight.
She nodded sympathetically, then motioned for him to follow her. She led him into her living room. Make yourself comfortable. He sat down on the sofa. She moved to the wall unit that served as a media center.
While she was setting things up, Derek asked, When do you think Creighton was here?
My maid left at noon, so he had all afternoon. Id taken my formal dress to the gallery yesterday morning so I could change there and go straight from work to the event.
Howd he get past your alarm?
A faulty interior motion detector had caused several false alarms. I hadnt had time to replace it and had stopped setting the alarm to avoid fines from the city. Howd he get past yours?
I rushed out to meet you in Athens. Didnt think to set it.
While they were talking, shed removed a DVD from its case and inserted it into the player.
Were going to watch a movie?
Using the remote, she went through the menu on the screen to play the movie, then joined him on the sofa, passing him the DVD case. Hitchcock.
He read the title.
Strangers on a Train.
Ive never seen it.
Its old. Some consider it a classic. Creighton does.
Derek turned his attention to the screen, and within minutes, he was engrossed, as audiences had been for decades, by Robert Walkers eerie portrayal of the millionaire murderer. An hour into the film, Derek took the remote from Julies hand and hit Pause. Creighton and Billy Duke swapped murders.
Creighton and someone. Julie looked into the close-up of the actors face frozen on the screen. His benign manner and soft voice concealed the mind and soul of a ruthless killer. I believe Creighton got the idea from this film. Once, over dinner at Doug and Susans, he talked endlessly about the brilliance of Hitchcock, this film in particular. He can quote the script, chapter and verse. Hitchcock made films that are better known than this one.
Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window.
This was Creightons standout favorite, I think because the millionaire so reminds him of himself. If nothing else, hes a narcissistic egomaniac.
He avoids cameras because he doesnt feel they do him justice.
Maybe thats part of it. Anyway, after it was hammered into me time and again that Creighton couldnt have been the masked robber who shot Paul, I remembered his talking about this movie. I ordered the DVD and watched it. She smiled without mirth. I dont think it was a coincidence that Creighton was playing tennis when Paul was killed.
Derek looked toward the screen. The other main character is a tennis pro.
Creightons little inside joke.
Derek leaned forward and set his glass on the coffee table. The ice cubes had melted, and the liquid inside had diluted to the color of herbal tea. Hed become so captivated by the film and what it portended that hed forgot his bourbon.
He got up, made a slow circuit of the room, pausing occasionally to look at something: a framed photograph of her and Paul, a trio of antique French books, a vase of dried green hydrangea. He stopped with his back to her and stared at a painting on the wall, his hands propped on his hips, the stance with which hed studied the painting in the parlor of her gallery.
Do you like that one better than the fat man?
He came around to her and gave a crooked grin. Much.
They looked at each other for a long moment. Maybe he was remembering, as she was, the harsh words theyd exchanged that day, and why. Finally she asked, What do you think of my hypothesis? Am I crazy?
No.
Am I reading too much into a movie script? Adapted from a book, by the way. Do you think Im making the plot fit because I want it to?
He sat down on an ottoman, bringing him closer to the TV screen, and stared into the frozen black-and-white image. This guy wants his father killed so he can get his inheritance sooner rather than later.
In Creightons case, it was his uncle Paul. But like in the movie, the relationship was contentious.
The millionaire meets the tennis player on the train and, over lunch in the dining car, casually offers to kill his wife.
Because she is a slut. Shes carrying a baby the tennis player feels certain isnt his. Furthermore, hes deeply in love with another woman. Hes desperate for a divorce his wife wont grant. But, being the hero of the film, he doesnt wish her dead.
The millionaire forces the issue. Without the authority of the tennis player, he kills the wife.
The audience witnesses her murder reflected in the lenses of her eyeglasses.
Genius filmmaking.
Because its so unsettling to watch.
Derek picked up the thread of the plot. Now that the millionaire has done his part and killed the troublesome wife, its the tennis players turn to return the favor. The psycho expects him to kill his father. The tennis player balks.
He didnt realize the psycho millionaire was serious when he proposed this deal to him on the train. The tennis pro thought he was talking in the abstract. Look,
I
want somebody dead,
you
want somebody dead. Why dont we swap murders? Strangers killing strangers. No links to each other. No one would suspect.
Derek frowned. If this Billy Duke was the shooter, if he killed Paul for Creighton, are you assuming that Creighton has killed someone for him?
If hes following the plot, I think its a fair assumption. Of course, I dont know for certain.
For the sake of discussion, lets say youre right. Creighton got what he wanted. Paul is no more, and Creightons in the clear. Except for He looked at Julie. Billy Duke. If I were him, Id be covering my back.
Especially now that his picture has been shown on television.
Thats bound to have made Creighton nervous. If he disposes of Billy Duke before the police can run him down
Then Creighton will have got away with conspiring to kill Paul, she concluded softly. My fear is that Billy Duke is already dead and all possible links between the two destroyed. Im afraid that Creighton has already got away with it.
Derek left the ottoman and this time paced the room from end to end before stopping to stand in front of her. Have you shared this theory with Sanford and Kimball?
No.
So why me? Why now?
I can answer both questions with one word. Maggie. Youve experienced Creightons unspeakable cruelty. Ive been telling you for days that he was unconscionable. You dont have to take my word for it any longer.
He studied her for a moment. Ive had a lot of practice sifting the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, out of evasion and just plain bullshit. Im generally good at it.
You still are. I know you think Im right.
And yet
Im untrustworthy, and I hate Creighton.
He waited her out, his incisive gaze cutting to the bone.
Finally she relented. All right, there
was
an incident at Doug and Susans house. We were having a cookout on their terrace. Mosquitoes loved Paul, and they were attacking that evening, so I went into the pool house to get some insect repellent.
While I was in there, Creighton ambushed me. What he described to you happened, except he was the aggressor, not I. He unzipped his pants and forced my hand around his erection. He said if I didnt do what he wanted, hed raise a hue and cry, Paul would come running, and what would Paul think of his ladylove then, standing there groping his more handsome and much younger nephew?
I managed to get away from him. He didnt raise a hue and cry, and I realize now that was an empty threat. He only wanted to humiliate me. I tried to go on with the evening, but I couldnt bear to be near him. Each time I looked at him, he would wink, or make some other insinuating gesture. He sickened me. So I told Paul I had a headache, and we left.
Did you ever tell Paul about it?
No.
Why?
The antipathy between him and Creighton created friction with Doug and Susan. His family, especially Doug, was vitally important to Paul. I didnt want to be the cause of a rift between the brothers. She raised her hands, palms up. There you have it. The whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Why didnt you tell me your side of it before?
She held his gaze for several beats. Because, on the plane, I She lowered her head. Thats why.
He turned away and paced the same path one and a half times before she asked, Should I advance my theory to Sanford and Kimball?
After talking to Kate, theyre operating under the belief that you and Billy Duke are in cahoots.
I can disabuse them of that.
Just like that? If you go to them with this far-fetched idea
You think its far-fetched?
He stopped pacing. Julie, I tell my clients this all the time. It doesnt matter what I think. Its what the jury thinks that matters, and at this point, the jury is composed of Sanford and Kimball. Can you disprove you know this Billy Duke character?
No.
No. So as far as the detectives on the case are concerned, youre implicated.
Than what do I do? Sit on my hands, do nothing, let Creighton get away with murder?
Taking umbrage at her tone, he leaned over her, tapping himself in the chest with his index finger. I want him, too, Julie. I want him ground to mincemeat. What he did to Maggie is a felony, but I have no hope whatsoever of the police pursuing it, or of a prosecutor proving that Creighton did it, or of me ever getting a shred of satisfaction in a court of law. He straightened up, turned his back to her, gave himself several moments to calm down, then came around. Hes proven himself to be incredibly smart. Weve got to play it smarter.
By doing what?
Let me put Dodge on it.
Whos Dodge?
My investigator.
The one who investigated me? Handy man to have at your disposal.
Ignoring her caustic tone, he said, Very handy. Ive already told him to keep me posted on the manhunt for Billy Duke. But Ill have him start looking for the man himself. Hopefully hell have better luck than the police have.
If they cant find him, how can this Dodge person?
You dont want to know, Derek said under his breath. Switching subjects, he asked, Did Wheeler ever mention if Creighton had been arrested? Have a juvie record?
He never said. Can your investigator find out?
Nigh on impossible, but well see.
Hes going to be busy. In the meantime, do I go about my business as though I havent been elevated to the top of the suspect list?
Do you have an attorney?
Ned Fulton.
I know him. Good man. Sharp attorney. Call him first thing in the morning and tell him about Kates interview with the detectives. You wont have to tell him the implications of it. Hell realize what they are.
What are you going to do?
Ive got to be in court at nine. He consulted his wristwatch. Seven hours from now.
Youre welcome to sleep in my guest room.
Thanks, but I need He broke off. His head dropped forward, and he rubbed his forehead. I was about to say I need to get home and let Maggie out. He lowered his hand and closed it into a tight fist, which he ground into his opposite palm. That son of a bitch. I almost regret calling the police. Now that the shock has worn off, at least a bit, anger has moved in. What Id really like to do is hunt down Creighton Wheeler and, when I find him, kill him with my bare hands. Hes made this a personal fight. Id love to respond on a very elemental and primitive level. An eye for an eye.
She gave him a soft smile. Tempting, I grant you. But I recommend that you finish watching the movie instead.
He shook his head, weariness settling on him again. Ive seen enough. But Ill crash here if you dont mind and call a taxi in the morning. Tomorrow at some point Ive got to buy a new mattress.
The police may need to see it again.
Fat chance.
Do you think you can sleep?
Not a wink.
You might surprise yourself, she said. Youre exhausted.
Do I look that bad?
She raised her hand, intending to touch his cheek, but pulled back before she did. You look angry and bereaved.
Im experiencing alternate surges of both.
I know exactly how that feels.
Moving efficiently, she turned off the television and the lamp, then motioned for him to follow her to the guest bedroom. It was an uncluttered room, decorated in a neutral palette of earth tones, punched up here and there with touches of red and animal prints.
Its not a king-size bed.
Derek was looking at her, not into the room. He didnt even glance at the bed.
The bathroom is through there, she said, gesturing toward a closed door across the room. I think youll find everything you need, but
Julie. He waited until she had turned to him, and even then she stared at the Polo insignia on his shirt before reluctantly lifting her eyes to his. I havent thanked you for rushing over tonight.
Dont thank me, Derek. Remorsefully she lowered her head, shaking it slowly. Regardless of what you say, if it werent for me, youd still have Maggie.
ULIE HAD EXPECTED A TOKEN ARGUMENT, OR A QUESTION AT the very least. But a few minutes after shed announced to Derek that they were going to her house, he came downstairs dressed in a fresh pair of jeans, polo shirt, sneakers.
Together they left his house, got into her car, and made the ten-minute drive in silence. He followed her inside, entering through the garage directly into the kitchen. She set her handbag on the table and moved to a cabinet. I havent restocked since Paul died, but I have bourbon and vodka. Theres a bottle of white wine in the fridge. Not the one shed found opened last night. That had been thrown out.
Bourbon.
Water?
Just ice.
When the drink was ready, she carried it to him where he was standing in the center of the kitchen. He looked at the wrought-iron towel rack, now empty.
She said, They were a keepsake, but he ruined them for me. I threw them away today.
Sipping from his glass, Derek took in the pots hanging above the range, the corked bottles of flavored oils and vinegars, the shelves of cookbooks, the array of utensils at the ready, so different from his near sterile kitchen.
You cook. It wasnt a question.
I learned while I lived in France.
His eyes met hers. Did you cook for Wheeler?
Often.
He took another sip of bourbon.
Would you like something?
No.
It was an abrupt and decisive response, so she didnt force the issue. I want to show you something. Itll take a while, so if youre sleepy, it can wait till tomorrow.
He looked down into his glass, swirling the liquor around the ice cubes. I dont think Ill sleep tonight.
She nodded sympathetically, then motioned for him to follow her. She led him into her living room. Make yourself comfortable. He sat down on the sofa. She moved to the wall unit that served as a media center.
While she was setting things up, Derek asked, When do you think Creighton was here?
My maid left at noon, so he had all afternoon. Id taken my formal dress to the gallery yesterday morning so I could change there and go straight from work to the event.
Howd he get past your alarm?
A faulty interior motion detector had caused several false alarms. I hadnt had time to replace it and had stopped setting the alarm to avoid fines from the city. Howd he get past yours?
I rushed out to meet you in Athens. Didnt think to set it.
While they were talking, shed removed a DVD from its case and inserted it into the player.
Were going to watch a movie?
Using the remote, she went through the menu on the screen to play the movie, then joined him on the sofa, passing him the DVD case. Hitchcock.
He read the title.
Strangers on a Train.
Ive never seen it.
Its old. Some consider it a classic. Creighton does.
Derek turned his attention to the screen, and within minutes, he was engrossed, as audiences had been for decades, by Robert Walkers eerie portrayal of the millionaire murderer. An hour into the film, Derek took the remote from Julies hand and hit Pause. Creighton and Billy Duke swapped murders.
Creighton and someone. Julie looked into the close-up of the actors face frozen on the screen. His benign manner and soft voice concealed the mind and soul of a ruthless killer. I believe Creighton got the idea from this film. Once, over dinner at Doug and Susans, he talked endlessly about the brilliance of Hitchcock, this film in particular. He can quote the script, chapter and verse. Hitchcock made films that are better known than this one.
Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window.
This was Creightons standout favorite, I think because the millionaire so reminds him of himself. If nothing else, hes a narcissistic egomaniac.
He avoids cameras because he doesnt feel they do him justice.
Maybe thats part of it. Anyway, after it was hammered into me time and again that Creighton couldnt have been the masked robber who shot Paul, I remembered his talking about this movie. I ordered the DVD and watched it. She smiled without mirth. I dont think it was a coincidence that Creighton was playing tennis when Paul was killed.
Derek looked toward the screen. The other main character is a tennis pro.
Creightons little inside joke.
Derek leaned forward and set his glass on the coffee table. The ice cubes had melted, and the liquid inside had diluted to the color of herbal tea. Hed become so captivated by the film and what it portended that hed forgot his bourbon.
He got up, made a slow circuit of the room, pausing occasionally to look at something: a framed photograph of her and Paul, a trio of antique French books, a vase of dried green hydrangea. He stopped with his back to her and stared at a painting on the wall, his hands propped on his hips, the stance with which hed studied the painting in the parlor of her gallery.
Do you like that one better than the fat man?
He came around to her and gave a crooked grin. Much.
They looked at each other for a long moment. Maybe he was remembering, as she was, the harsh words theyd exchanged that day, and why. Finally she asked, What do you think of my hypothesis? Am I crazy?
No.
Am I reading too much into a movie script? Adapted from a book, by the way. Do you think Im making the plot fit because I want it to?
He sat down on an ottoman, bringing him closer to the TV screen, and stared into the frozen black-and-white image. This guy wants his father killed so he can get his inheritance sooner rather than later.
In Creightons case, it was his uncle Paul. But like in the movie, the relationship was contentious.
The millionaire meets the tennis player on the train and, over lunch in the dining car, casually offers to kill his wife.
Because she is a slut. Shes carrying a baby the tennis player feels certain isnt his. Furthermore, hes deeply in love with another woman. Hes desperate for a divorce his wife wont grant. But, being the hero of the film, he doesnt wish her dead.
The millionaire forces the issue. Without the authority of the tennis player, he kills the wife.
The audience witnesses her murder reflected in the lenses of her eyeglasses.
Genius filmmaking.
Because its so unsettling to watch.
Derek picked up the thread of the plot. Now that the millionaire has done his part and killed the troublesome wife, its the tennis players turn to return the favor. The psycho expects him to kill his father. The tennis player balks.
He didnt realize the psycho millionaire was serious when he proposed this deal to him on the train. The tennis pro thought he was talking in the abstract. Look,
I
want somebody dead,
you
want somebody dead. Why dont we swap murders? Strangers killing strangers. No links to each other. No one would suspect.
Derek frowned. If this Billy Duke was the shooter, if he killed Paul for Creighton, are you assuming that Creighton has killed someone for him?
If hes following the plot, I think its a fair assumption. Of course, I dont know for certain.
For the sake of discussion, lets say youre right. Creighton got what he wanted. Paul is no more, and Creightons in the clear. Except for He looked at Julie. Billy Duke. If I were him, Id be covering my back.
Especially now that his picture has been shown on television.
Thats bound to have made Creighton nervous. If he disposes of Billy Duke before the police can run him down
Then Creighton will have got away with conspiring to kill Paul, she concluded softly. My fear is that Billy Duke is already dead and all possible links between the two destroyed. Im afraid that Creighton has already got away with it.
Derek left the ottoman and this time paced the room from end to end before stopping to stand in front of her. Have you shared this theory with Sanford and Kimball?
No.
So why me? Why now?
I can answer both questions with one word. Maggie. Youve experienced Creightons unspeakable cruelty. Ive been telling you for days that he was unconscionable. You dont have to take my word for it any longer.
He studied her for a moment. Ive had a lot of practice sifting the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, out of evasion and just plain bullshit. Im generally good at it.
You still are. I know you think Im right.
And yet
Im untrustworthy, and I hate Creighton.
He waited her out, his incisive gaze cutting to the bone.
Finally she relented. All right, there
was
an incident at Doug and Susans house. We were having a cookout on their terrace. Mosquitoes loved Paul, and they were attacking that evening, so I went into the pool house to get some insect repellent.
While I was in there, Creighton ambushed me. What he described to you happened, except he was the aggressor, not I. He unzipped his pants and forced my hand around his erection. He said if I didnt do what he wanted, hed raise a hue and cry, Paul would come running, and what would Paul think of his ladylove then, standing there groping his more handsome and much younger nephew?
I managed to get away from him. He didnt raise a hue and cry, and I realize now that was an empty threat. He only wanted to humiliate me. I tried to go on with the evening, but I couldnt bear to be near him. Each time I looked at him, he would wink, or make some other insinuating gesture. He sickened me. So I told Paul I had a headache, and we left.
Did you ever tell Paul about it?
No.
Why?
The antipathy between him and Creighton created friction with Doug and Susan. His family, especially Doug, was vitally important to Paul. I didnt want to be the cause of a rift between the brothers. She raised her hands, palms up. There you have it. The whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Why didnt you tell me your side of it before?
She held his gaze for several beats. Because, on the plane, I She lowered her head. Thats why.
He turned away and paced the same path one and a half times before she asked, Should I advance my theory to Sanford and Kimball?
After talking to Kate, theyre operating under the belief that you and Billy Duke are in cahoots.
I can disabuse them of that.
Just like that? If you go to them with this far-fetched idea
You think its far-fetched?
He stopped pacing. Julie, I tell my clients this all the time. It doesnt matter what I think. Its what the jury thinks that matters, and at this point, the jury is composed of Sanford and Kimball. Can you disprove you know this Billy Duke character?
No.
No. So as far as the detectives on the case are concerned, youre implicated.
Than what do I do? Sit on my hands, do nothing, let Creighton get away with murder?
Taking umbrage at her tone, he leaned over her, tapping himself in the chest with his index finger. I want him, too, Julie. I want him ground to mincemeat. What he did to Maggie is a felony, but I have no hope whatsoever of the police pursuing it, or of a prosecutor proving that Creighton did it, or of me ever getting a shred of satisfaction in a court of law. He straightened up, turned his back to her, gave himself several moments to calm down, then came around. Hes proven himself to be incredibly smart. Weve got to play it smarter.
By doing what?
Let me put Dodge on it.
Whos Dodge?
My investigator.
The one who investigated me? Handy man to have at your disposal.
Ignoring her caustic tone, he said, Very handy. Ive already told him to keep me posted on the manhunt for Billy Duke. But Ill have him start looking for the man himself. Hopefully hell have better luck than the police have.
If they cant find him, how can this Dodge person?
You dont want to know, Derek said under his breath. Switching subjects, he asked, Did Wheeler ever mention if Creighton had been arrested? Have a juvie record?
He never said. Can your investigator find out?
Nigh on impossible, but well see.
Hes going to be busy. In the meantime, do I go about my business as though I havent been elevated to the top of the suspect list?
Do you have an attorney?
Ned Fulton.
I know him. Good man. Sharp attorney. Call him first thing in the morning and tell him about Kates interview with the detectives. You wont have to tell him the implications of it. Hell realize what they are.
What are you going to do?
Ive got to be in court at nine. He consulted his wristwatch. Seven hours from now.
Youre welcome to sleep in my guest room.
Thanks, but I need He broke off. His head dropped forward, and he rubbed his forehead. I was about to say I need to get home and let Maggie out. He lowered his hand and closed it into a tight fist, which he ground into his opposite palm. That son of a bitch. I almost regret calling the police. Now that the shock has worn off, at least a bit, anger has moved in. What Id really like to do is hunt down Creighton Wheeler and, when I find him, kill him with my bare hands. Hes made this a personal fight. Id love to respond on a very elemental and primitive level. An eye for an eye.
She gave him a soft smile. Tempting, I grant you. But I recommend that you finish watching the movie instead.
He shook his head, weariness settling on him again. Ive seen enough. But Ill crash here if you dont mind and call a taxi in the morning. Tomorrow at some point Ive got to buy a new mattress.
The police may need to see it again.
Fat chance.
Do you think you can sleep?
Not a wink.
You might surprise yourself, she said. Youre exhausted.
Do I look that bad?
She raised her hand, intending to touch his cheek, but pulled back before she did. You look angry and bereaved.
Im experiencing alternate surges of both.
I know exactly how that feels.
Moving efficiently, she turned off the television and the lamp, then motioned for him to follow her to the guest bedroom. It was an uncluttered room, decorated in a neutral palette of earth tones, punched up here and there with touches of red and animal prints.
Its not a king-size bed.
Derek was looking at her, not into the room. He didnt even glance at the bed.
The bathroom is through there, she said, gesturing toward a closed door across the room. I think youll find everything you need, but
Julie. He waited until she had turned to him, and even then she stared at the Polo insignia on his shirt before reluctantly lifting her eyes to his. I havent thanked you for rushing over tonight.
Dont thank me, Derek. Remorsefully she lowered her head, shaking it slowly. Regardless of what you say, if it werent for me, youd still have Maggie.
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