A Killer Column (5 page)

“I’d better not,” I said. “Do you have any orange juice?”

“You’re not serious, are you? Come on, you need a stress reliever.”

“You’re right, I do, and I just talked to him. He’s on his way.”

Jenny pushed the glass aside. “Maybe you’re right. We don’t need any alcohol in our systems if we’re going to drive to the airport to pick him up. How would that look if we got stopped?”

“Not good,” I admitted. “But he’s renting a car, so that’s not really a factor. I just think I need to keep my wits about me right now, do you know what I mean?”

“Sure I do, but I insist you take one sip. I’ve been dying to toast my partnership with you. We can do it with these, or we can crack open a bottle of champagne. It’s your choice.”

“Let’s save that for when I’m out from under this mess,” I said.

“Then in the meantime, this will do nicely,” Jenny said as she raised her own glass.

“To you,” I said, picking up the fruity but potent concoction and raising it toward her. “Congratulations.”

We clinked glasses, and then I took a sip. It was a sweet and icy drink, and the first time I’d had one in college no one had told me that it packed an alcoholic punch. After three drinks, I had slept for twelve straight hours and woke up with the worst headache of my life.

I finished my sip, and then put the glass back down. “I know you were just expecting to house one Stone, so we’ll find a hotel in Raleigh.” I knew that my Uncle Barton owned the Royal Hostelry in Raleigh, and I had a standing reservation there, along with all of the other hotels he owned, whenever I wanted it. I’d told Jenny a little about my long lost uncle, but I’d purposefully left out the fact that he was rich beyond my ability to describe it.

“Nonsense. I’ve got plenty of room. Besides, it will be good to see that big bear of a husband of yours again, even if it is under such rotten circumstances.”

“I know he’ll be happy to see you, too,” I said. I looked around her place, a beautiful home in one of the nicer sections of Raleigh. “You’ve really done well for yourself, haven’t you?”

“It beats the place we had on High Street, doesn’t it?”

“Your kitchen alone is bigger than our entire apartment,” I said. “But we still managed to have fun, didn’t we?”

“We did at that. I love my life now, except for the present cloud hanging over it, but we had some good times back then, didn’t we?”

“The best.”

As we moved into the living room, I admired the elegant Queen Anne style of her furniture. “My, my, my. Your style has certainly improved over time.”

“Don’t kid yourself. I’ve always had elegant taste. It’s just that I’ve only recently begun to be able to afford it. I’m not sure how long I’m staying in this house, though.”

“What’s the matter? Do you need something bigger to impress your partners?”

“Just the opposite. I don’t have to care nearly as much now. I’m thinking about getting a condo downtown. Think how nice it would be to walk to the office and the courthouse. My idea of heaven is not having to drive to work every day and fight traffic.”

There was a lull in our conversation, and not the comfortable one we usually shared. I knew we were both thinking about Derrick’s murder, and the fact that I was involved in it, but neither one of us would say anything about it.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

The great thing about our friendship was that I didn’t have to explain any more than that for her to understand.

“I won’t lie to you. It’s not good.”

“Zach seems to think he can help,” I offered.

She paused for a moment, and then said, “Maybe he can. To be honest with you, I’m glad he’s coming. I’m sure he’ll have more luck getting something out of Murphy than I would.”

“Did you two ever go out?” I asked, noticing the hint of something in her eyes when she spoke his name.

“Savannah Stone, have you been spying on me?”

“You mean I’m right? It was just a stab in the dark.”

“Well, you hit what you were aiming at,” she said as she stood. Jenny walked around the room, her fingers lightly trailing over furniture as she moved. It was clear that she’d be more comfortable without direct eye contact, and that was fine with me. After a few moments, she said, “Two years ago, he asked me out. I figured, what could it hurt? He’s a nice-looking man, and he’s very good at what he does. We went out for a while, but there just wasn’t any spark there for me, you know? I finally turned him down when he asked me out, but he kept asking, all the while I kept saying no. Persistence is an excellent trait in police detectives, but in unwanted suitors, it’s not so wonderful. I finally had to tell him bluntly that I would never go out with him again under any circumstances, and what should have faded away into oblivion suddenly became a barrier to my work. I made it a point never to date another cop or lawyer since, and I haven’t regretted the decision.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“I’m the one who should be apologizing. It’s going to make things a little tougher on you.”

I smiled at her. “I’m a big girl. I can take it. Besides, I shouldn’t be the only suspect on his list. There were other folks there today who had just as much motive as I did to want Derrick dead.”

“So you said. Hang on a second, I want to start digging into that. Let me get a legal pad so I can take some notes.”

“Are you billing me for this?” I asked.

She grinned. “I’m officially on vacation, so this isn’t any of the firm’s business. Besides, I’ve got some pro bono work figured into my workload.”

“Seriously, I can afford to pay you.”

She mentioned her current hourly billing, and I whistled under my breath. “Okay, I might have to do it in installments, but I can still handle it.”

Jenny frowned, and then suddenly brightened. “Do you remember back in school that you loaned me money whenever I needed it without a word about me ever paying it back?”

“You were on scholarships and student loans. Anything I had was yours, and I was glad to do it.”

“Well, consider this return payment in full.”

I stood and approached her. “Jenny, we both know it couldn’t have been more than five hundred dollars altogether.”

“So, think of it as compound interest. It might not sound like much now, but it saved me back then. Let me do this, Savannah.”

I grinned at her. “Well, if you insist.”

She hugged me, and then said, “I’ve really missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“Before we get started, I’ve got something you’re going to want to see,” she said as she reached into one of the drawers of an end table.

“What is it?”

She produced a photo album, and the second I saw the cover, I knew what it held. “You still have that?”

“Are you kidding? The photographic chronicles of the two musketeers is never far from my side.”

We moved to the couch and started leafing through the past, amazed that the two silly girls in the pictures were now the women sitting side by side reliving cherished segments of their lives.

T
HE DOORBELL RANG, AND JENNY LEFT ME TO GET IT. A troubled look crossed her face for just an instant, and it was gone so quickly I wasn’t even sure I’d really seen it. “I hope that’s our pizza.”

“I can’t wait. I’m starving,” I said.

She came back a minute later, but there was no box in her hands.

“Where’s the food?”

“I’ve got something better,” she said with a smile, and Zach suddenly appeared. Without a word between us, we rushed together, and he wrapped me up in his arms. I held onto him a great deal longer than I usually did. It was as if I were pulling strength from him for my soul. I couldn’t explain it if I had to, but I could swear his energy transferred to me, and I felt myself growing stronger, calmer, and more able to deal with what I was going to have to face.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said softly.

“There’s no other place I’d want to be,” he answered. The doorbell rang again, but I barely noticed as Jenny left the room.

“I’m sorry I’ve gotten myself into this jam,” I said.

“Don’t worry,” Zach replied as he brushed a little lock of hair from my face. “We’ll fix it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’ve got me on your side, and having Jenny in your corner will help, too. It’s going to be all right.”

“I hope that’s true, but forgive me if I don’t fully believe it just quite yet.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Leave the faith part up to me.”

Jenny came back into the room and said, “I hate to interrupt, but the pizza’s here.”

“Never apologize for feeding me,” Zach said. He spied the large size of the box, and then asked, “There is enough to share, isn’t there?”

“We were hoping you’d make it in time to eat,” I said.

“Excellent. I’m so hungry I could eat the box.”

“Then if you’re good, we’ll let you,” Jenny said.

As we sat down at the table and got started, Zach asked Jenny, “Do you mind a little shoptalk while we eat?”

“I don’t, if Savannah doesn’t,” she said.

“I can hardly complain since you two are trying to keep me out of jail, now can I?”

Zach nodded. “Tell me everything then, and try not to leave anything out, no matter how mundane it might seem.”

I took a bite of pizza, added a sip of Coke, and then began to relay everything that had happened that day. The pizza was soon forgotten as my husband and my old college roommate started listening, and soon began taking notes. Neither asked me any questions as I went, allowing me to focus on the narrative, though I knew I’d be peppered with queries as soon as I finished. I recounted my conversation with word scramble creator Brady Sims, the reaction that bridge columnist Sylvia Peters had when she’d stormed out of her meeting, and the way Kelsey Hatcher had discovered me leaning over Derrick’s body. Once I was through, Zach looked through his notes and began asking questions. I did my best to answer, but mostly I didn’t know.

“Who else haven’t we discussed yet would want to see him dead?” he asked at one point.

“I have no idea,” I replied.

“Savannah, I’ve heard you complain about the man enough in the past to know that’s not true. There was a business partner of his at one time, wasn’t there?”

I nodded. “Yes. It was Frank Lassiter. Evidently Derrick drove him out of their land development partnership just before the company struck it big. The only way I knew about it was Derrick’s bragging. Could he have had something to do with it? He lives in Richmond, as far as I know.”

“Richmond is just a few hours away,” Jenny said. “It would be easy enough for him to drive here, murder Derrick, and then get back across state lines before anyone even realized that he was gone.”

“How about the women in his life?” Zach asked.

“Derrick has a wife, but that’s about all I know about her. I think her name is Terry, or Cary, or something like that.”

“Do you think he fooled around on her?” Jenny asked.

I looked at her and shook my head. “What makes you ask that?”

“Hey, I’ve been an attorney long enough to realize that most men are dogs at one time or another in their lives.”

“Not Zach,” I said.

When he didn’t answer, I looked at him and asked, “Right?”

“What? Oh, right. No, I’m not a dog. But that doesn’t mean Derrick wasn’t. It’s an angle worth pursuing.”

“When did you get so cynical?” I asked Jenny.

“I’m not sure if it’s that, or if I’m just being realistic. I’ve seen some pretty dark things over the years, especially lately.”

“I hope it’s not spoiling you for a chance at finding love.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not there yet.” She looked over at Zach, and then added, “I’ve got to say, you’re not bad at interviewing people.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks. It’s not my first time.”

“I know it’s not, but that still doesn’t mean it’s not impressive. I picked up a few things myself.”

“Glad I could help. I don’t envy the detective working this case. There appears to be a lot of angles to follow up on.”

“Are you going to offer the police here your help?” I asked.

“Not directly, not with my ties to the case. But I am going to ask some questions, and maybe see if I can point them in some other directions. I called the station on the way over here, but the lead detective was out, and they aren’t expecting him back until morning.” Zach looked at Jenny. “Do you know anything about this Murphy fellow?”

Jenny and I exchanged glances and then she recounted much the same story about the detective to Zach that she had told me.

He shook his head. “That might make things a little stickier, but we’ll work something out.”

My husband stifled a yawn, and then said to me, “We’d better find a hotel room before I fall asleep at the table.”