Elizabeth C. Main - Jane Serrano 01 - Murder of the Month (24 page)

Outside, a car door slammed and I raced to see who had arrived. Nick was coming up the walk slowly, head down. He looked up as I opened the door, and the expression he wore caused the blood to drain from my face.

“Bianca?” I asked faintly. “Is it Bianca?”

“You’d better sit down.”

I didn’t really plan to sit down, but my legs gave way, so I did. “Tell me!”

“Well, she’s sort of okay.”

“She’s hurt?”

“No, not the way you mean it, but she’s been arrested for Gil’s murder. That’s the reason they let you go.”

“That’s preposterous. Just because she accused him—”

“It’s based on a little more than that.”

“Okay, just because she was at Gil’s house—”

He looked sharply at me. “How did you know that?”

I wasn’t sure whether he was going to end up being my lawyer or Bianca’s, so I didn’t want to tell him anything he might be forced to reveal later. “Tell me first. Is she really all right? Where was she?”

“Give me a chance,” he said. “Yes, she’s all right. They found her hiding in the woods, near a gun that might be the murder weapon.”

“Well, there you go. Bianca doesn’t believe in guns,” I retorted. “She wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to use one.”

“You can tell that to the sheriff. Of course they’ll do tests to confirm whether it’s the right gun and whether she fired it, but meanwhile, they’re holding her. Your turn.”

“I need to see Bianca for myself. I’ll tell you what I know as we drive.”

Minnie’s ten-year-old Buick Regal eased up to the curb, dwarfing Nick’s Jeep. Tyler jumped out first while Minnie levered herself from under the wheel.

“Any word?” Minnie asked. “We hurried as fast as we could, but it took some time to convince Laurence that everything was all right. Where are you two going?”

Before I could answer, Alix’s convertible screeched to a halt just inches behind Minnie’s bumper. She emerged in one fluid motion. “What’s going on? Has something happened?” As she spoke, she rounded the front of the car and opened the passenger door to let Wendell make his slow way out onto the grass. Tyler took the leash from her.

“She’s been found!” I explained, trying to make my way past the sudden crowd forming around me. “Bianca’s all right. I’m going to—”

“But where is she?” Minnie asked, trotting after me.

Tyler could see that Wendell wasn’t going anywhere, so he dropped the leash and followed us. “How come she’s not here?”

“She’s not here?” Alix crowded me from the other side.

I edged toward the passenger side of the Jeep. “Nick’s taking me to see her. We’ll be right back.”

“Going where?” Alix blocked my way.

“What’s going on?” Tyler now stood with Alix between me and the car door.

“Please,” Minnie murmured, the softness of her words belied by the working of her sharp elbows as she made her way to the center of the group. “Remember, we’re a team.”

Some team. Even Wendell had started to make his laborious way toward us. Well, every team needs a mascot, I thought.

“Bianca’s been arrested,” I said.

“Arrested!” Alix repeated.

“That’s crazy—” Tyler said.

“Does Brady know?” Minnie asked. “I’m going to have a talk with that young man.”

Their comments tumbled predictably over each other as they digested the news. I tried again. “Nick and I are going to see her now. We’ll be back as soon as possible.” In the silence that followed my announcement, I gently edged my way to Nick’s Jeep and climbed up onto the high front seat.

“Let’s go, Nick, and make it fast, before they think of anything else to say.”

“Okay,” Nick said, as he put the Jeep in gear, “but it’s not going to work. Look behind us.”

I turned and saw that Tyler was helping Wendell into the back seat of Alix’s convertible beside him, while Alix jerked open the driver’s door and Minnie scrambled into the passenger seat. We had a head start, but with Alix at the wheel, I doubted that we’d get to the sheriff’s department first.

As we drove, I filled Nick in about what I knew and what I had done. He listened silently, though he tightened his hands on the steering wheel when I mentioned the gun and tape recorder, both of which were currently in police custody. He swerved slightly when I told him I had taken Bianca’s scarf from Gil’s body. When I finally ran out of useful information, his expression conveyed total incredulity.

“Well,” I concluded, “maybe you had to be there.”

As predicted, we didn’t beat the others to the Russell County Sheriff’s Department. Not only were they already there, but they were inside, leaving our mascot to guard the front door. Wendell wagged his tail when he saw me.

I should have known that Alix’s convertible would be programmed to swoop along the bypass at speeds considerably higher than the law allowed. Nick, being new to town, didn’t know the tricks that would have allowed us to navigate Juniper’s traffic nightmare with maximum efficiency, and I was too preoccupied to direct him. I could hardly have found my own driveway today, so I wasn’t really up to thinking about traffic patterns. Even the roundabouts which had recently sprung up all over town were too much for me today.

I had other things on my mind. For example, I now had no doubt that both Vanessa and Gil had been murdered. Probably even slow-witted Arnie was finally ready to agree with me on this point.

Like most law-abiding citizens, I don’t usually pay much attention to the Russell County Sheriff’s Department, but now it occurred to me to wonder why Arnie was still running it. While he might have been able to handle the job as it existed in the county’s early days, recently law enforcement had become complex enough that he was out of his league. Gil had actively campaigned for Arnie’s election. Why would such an ambitious man support a sub-standard chief law-enforcement officer? They had been high school friends and teammates, but Gil had shown himself quite able to jettison old friendships when it suited his purpose. He had turned on Kurt without a qualm, so why was Arnie treated differently? Did Arnie’s dullness allow Gil to run the county with a free hand?

I’d ask Alix what she remembered about Gil’s early relationship with our sheriff, if I could tear her away from her probable current preparations to help Minnie and Tyler break Bianca out of jail. At the thought, I quickened my pace, pulling open the massive door before Nick could reach for it.

“Slow down,” he said, “and let me do the talking.”

“I’ll do whatever you say if it will get me in to see my daughter.”

“I think it will … if we aren’t too late to intercept your friends. Your job is to keep them out of the sheriff’s face.”

“Easy for you to say,” I answered.

I heard Minnie’s voice first. She was standing at the same glassed-in window we had tried before. “You absolutely can’t treat us this way. This is America!”

Alix was right in there swinging. “Kincaid, we demand—”

Oh no, not Kincaid. Was he always on duty, or just when we came in? Nick uttered a low moan and urged me forward.

“You demand, eh?” Kincaid said.

“Damn right we do.” Alix might as well have waved a red flag in front of him. I was moving toward the counter as fast as I could, expecting Kincaid to start pawing the ground. “What kind of chicken—”

“Please.” Tyler wisely interrupted Alix before she could really get going. I noted once again how much common sense this skinny kid had. He even managed a pleasant tone of voice. “Just a few minutes?”

Kincaid looked down at him. “You hang out with that Wendorf kid, don’t you? Better pick your friends more carefully in—”

Minnie squawked and flew at the window like an angry hen, actually causing the large man to step back a pace. “Now, you just—”

“My daughter’s lawyer is here to see his client,” I said breathlessly.

“If it’s all right with you, Deputy,” Nick said smoothly, stepping up to the window beside me.

“I thought you said before that you were
her
lawyer,” Kincaid said, stabbing a thick finger in my direction.

“I represent both of them. In fact, I’d like Ms. Serrano to accompany me to see her daughter now.”

“Well, I don’t know …”

“It’s legal, I assure you.”

“Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. Either way, I don’t know as I need to let her go in there with you.”

“That’s a judgment call, isn’t it?” Nick said. “I’m sure you have the authority to decide that.” He moved closer to the window and gave Kincaid a significant look. “If she goes in with me, the others won’t have any reason to stay. Otherwise, they’ll probably wait here until I’m done.”

Nick’s quiet voice and unruffled approach was having the desired effect, even though I wasn’t too sure of his logic. I willed everyone to keep quiet while Kincaid weighed his options. He wouldn’t want to do me any favors, but he wasn’t sure of the rules and he didn’t want to seem like a child who had to ask permission from Arnie to make a decision. Most telling of all, he didn’t want our quarrelsome group cluttering up his orderly reception area.

He completed his calculations at length. Once more he spoke directly to Nick, as though to an ally. “Okay, the two of you can go in, but only for fifteen minutes, and the rest of them have to go away.”

I turned to the others and mouthed, “Please,” with as much urgency as possible. They got the message. Minnie patted my arm, Tyler gave a wan smile, and Alix contented herself with merely the faintest of sneers before they made their way outside. It wasn’t until the doors had swung closed behind them that I let out my breath.

“Fifteen minutes,” Kincaid said.

“That’ll be plenty. She’ll probably be going home soon anyway,” I answered.

Nick shot me a warning look. He didn’t want me to provoke Kincaid, even now.

“Don’t count on it,” Kincaid said.

The institutional blandness of the jail area couldn’t detract from the relief I felt at knowing Bianca was safe. I hardly comprehended the instructions Kincaid gave us or minded the brief search he insisted we undergo. We moved through yet another metal detector into the holding area for prisoners. My search was done by a female officer whom I had last seen at Thornton’s buying a best-selling book called
Lifeline for Your Marriage
. The tightness around her mouth as she patted me down told me that probably her life hadn’t improved since then. When I overheard her tell Kincaid that’d she’d be coming home late from work tonight, I sympathized. Life with Kincaid would be like permanent boot camp.

The heavy metal door to the interview room swung open and Bianca entered. She’d pulled her long hair back into a pony tail and wore the drab coveralls of a prisoner. Even with a bruise on one cheek and no makeup, she looked beautiful. We hugged for a long time while I patted her back repeatedly and murmured, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry.” Meaningless phrases under the circumstances, but I was in “mom” mode.

Nick cleared his throat, reminding me that we didn’t have much time. I stood back, but still held Bianca’s hands in mine.

Before I could speak, she burst out, “Is Wendell okay? I was worried—”

“Yes, he’s outside. Please, Bianca, we don’t have much time. Tell us what happened. This is Nick Constantine. He’s going to represent you.”

Bianca looked startled. “They’re not going to let me go? But I didn’t do anything. Why would I need a lawyer? No offense—”

“It’s just procedure,” I improvised. “We needed a lawyer so we could get in to see you. There are still a few loose ends.” That was the understatement of the year.

“I didn’t do it, Mom!”

“Of course. I never thought for a minute—”

“It was awful and I didn’t know what to do and—”

“Can you just tell us what happened?” Nick asked.

“After you went to talk to Jenna Lang,” I said. “Start there. You did go to see her?”

“Tyler told you? That seems like a long time ago. Yes, I was going to get her to tell me what really happened the day Gil killed Vanessa—”

“But you didn’t talk to her,” I prompted. We needed to speed this up. “Why not?”

“It was the funniest thing. Wendell and I were hiding at the little turnaround place at the end of Jenna’s street, and Gil drove right up beside us in Vanessa’s Audi. Can you believe it? At first I thought he’d seen us, but then Jenna came down the sidewalk to meet him, so I knew he hadn’t. They walked off into the woods together, and it seemed like too good a chance to miss, so I popped the trunk and we jumped inside.”

“We?” Nick asked. “You and your dog got into the trunk of Gil’s car?”

“I was afraid Wendell would give me away if I tried to leave him. I left the trunk open a little for air, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

I didn’t think that was what Nick was wondering, but I could hardly blame him for being dumbfounded. I’d known Bianca longer than he had. I nodded to show her that I was following her logic.

“We almost got caught right then. They came back just a couple of minutes later and off we went. I couldn’t hear much from the trunk, just muffled voices. Besides, I was busy trying to hold the trunk closed. I could see enough to know that we were driving away from town, so the next time we came to a stop sign, I let Wendell out and told him to go home. And he did, didn’t he?” she said proudly.