Murder.Com (35 page)

     
She yanked away from him and flinched.
 
"That's my sore arm.
 
Don't ever take hold of me like that again."

     
He let go, looking downcast.
 
"Sorry, I forgot."

     
"You forget a lot of things.
 
Like, getting a job?
 
Where are we going to get the rent?"

     
"I'll get it."
 
Then he looked at her, puzzled.
 
"Thought you were going to have some money coming in?"

     
She let out a loud sigh.
 
"Me too.
 
Things aren't working out.
 
Why don't you go to bed and let me think."

     
He tossed the empty beer bottle into the trash and disappeared into the bedroom.
 
What a loser, she thought, closing the door so she wouldn't have to listen to his snores.
 
I've got to get rid of him.

     
She sat down on the couch and dialed the phone in her lap.
 
"Mom, don't hang up.
 
I need to talk to you."

     
"I have nothing to say to you, Melinda.
 
You're evil."

     
Melinda narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.
 
"Look, I don't want to argue.
 
All I want to know is, who is my father?"

     
"Why, so you can cause more people pain?
 
Haven't you caused enough problems?"

     
"Mom, I'm coming out there."

     
"I won't let you in.
 
You know what Mrs. Nevers said.
 
She'll call the police.
 
So I wouldn't try it."

     
"Then meet me somewhere.
 
It's not fair for a girl not to know who her daddy is."
 
Melinda's hand gripped into a fist.
 
"And you know, don't you?"

     
"He's dead as far as you're concerned.
 
Don't call me about this anymore."

     
Melinda heard the click and then the dial tone.
 
She tossed the phone off her lap and onto the floor.
 
"Damn her!
 
She knows he's alive and well.
 
She's lying to me again."

     
A muffled voice came from the bedroom.
 
"Hey, hold it down in there."

     
She made a face, lifted her hand in the air, middle finger extended, and gestured toward the door.

Chapter Thirty-one

     
The weariness of work lifted as Tom looked forward to the evening.
 
He waved at the officer as the Nevers' gate swung open.
 
What had Angie found in the records?
 
Or was it possible she just wanted to see him?
 
God, how he wished.

     
He shook his head at his wishful thinking, put out his cigar in the ashtray and brushed the loose ashes from his jacket as he got out of the car.
 
The cool evening energized him, so he took the steps two at a time and rang the doorbell.
 
Angie smiled when she opened the door and immediately took him by the arm.

     
"Sandy could hardly wait for you to get here."
 
She led him straight to the study.
 
"I've already got the computer on and the file opened that we want you to see."
 
She pushed him down in the chair in front of the monitor and pointed to an entry.
 
Sandy stood behind him, wringing her hands.

     
Tom ran his finger across the monitor.
 
"Company loan to Ken Weber, forty thousand dollars."
 
A smile curled his lips.
 
"I think you gals have just cleared Ken.
 
We ran a check on his gambling and since this date, he hasn't acquired any more debts.
 
Everything is falling together."

     
Sandy stared at the monitor, tears streaming down her cheeks.
 
"Thank you, God," she whispered.
 
Then she straightened.
 
"Tom, can I call Ken?"

     
He turned and looked at a smiling Sandy, who'd just thrown a knitted dark-colored coverlet around her shoulders.

     
His shocked expression made her step back and frown.
 
"Is something wrong?"

     
He jumped up.
 
"No, no.
 
Excuse me while I use the phone in the kitchen."
 
Without waiting for Angie's permission, he dashed from the room, only to find Marty putting dinner together.

     
Damn, he thought, and hurried onto the front porch to make his call from the cell phone.
 
When he finished, he returned inside.
 
"Angie, I've got to leave."

     
"But what about dinner?" she asked, surprised.

     
"If I can get away in an hour, I'll be back.
 
Otherwise, don't wait for me."
 
He headed for the door, with Angie at his heels.

     
"Can Sandy call Ken and tell him what we've found?"

     
He stopped on the way down the porch steps.
 
"Yeah, let her call him."

     
She watched him thoughtfully as he jumped in his car and sped over the crest.

     
On the way to the police station to meet Cliff, Tom called the surveillance man he had on Autumn Conners, who assured him that she had not left her home since this morning.

     
Cliff stood on the curb outside the police station and hopped into the car before Tom came to a complete stop.
 
"What hunch hit you now?"

     
Tom sped away from the curb.
 
"I told you something had been nagging me for days.
 
Well, it hit me like a bolt of lightning when Sandy threw a shawl over her shoulders at Angie's house."

     
"I'm not following you."

     
"Do you recall that every time we go to the Conners' house, Autumn has that dark gray shawl over her shoulders?"

     
"Yeah."

     
"The fibers found under Ryan's fingernails were from a dark wool material?"

     
"True.
 
But any lawyer could tear that apart.
 
She's his wife."

     
"I know that's a risk, but what if Ryan's blood or bits of brain matter is found on that shawl?"

     
"Hey, now you're talking.
 
Let's get over there before she decides to send the thing to the cleaners."

     
"Fat chance of that," Tom chuckled.

     
Cliff nodded, smirking.
 
"You've got a point.
 
Blood and guts wouldn't bother that woman."
 
He shifted in his seat, turning toward Tom.
 
"You know, I've been thinking about Bud's murder.
 
No one saw Bud after the golf game.
 
Do you think he had an appointment with Ryan over the books?"

     
Tom nodded.
 
"We know Bud talked to Ryan at work about the ABC Wafer Company.
 
I figure on that Saturday, Conners somehow contacted Bud and convinced him to come to his house so they could discuss the matter.
 
Bud, thinking it would take only a few minutes, drove over.
 
He didn't carry his cell phone on the golf course, so he had no way of contacting Angie to let her know he'd be a few minutes late."

     
"Makes sense so far."
 
Cliff scratched his sideburn.
 
"But no one saw Bud talking to anyone."

     
"Ryan could have been in the parking lot in his car.
 
No one would have paid any attention to two men chatting around a car.
 
Then Bud followed him out of the lot without anyone suspecting a thing."

     
"Yeah.
 
I could see that happening."
 
Cliff rubbed his chin.
 
"But how did they drug him?"

     
"Good question."

     
Cliff stared out the window.
 
"They could have knocked him out, then injected him.
 
The condition of his body would have made it pretty damn hard to find a needle prick or a bruise not caused by the wreck."

     
Tom frowned. "True.
 
And the coroner's report confirmed he was unconscious when the car hit that tree."

     
"Sounds like the act of a cold-hearted, desperate person."

     
Stopping the car in front of the Conners' house, Tom stared at the front door.
 
"Yeah, it sure does."

     
"That BMW is still shining," Cliff commented as he climbed out of the car.
 
"But it won't stay that way long."
 
Tom followed at Cliff's heels as they headed up the sidewalk.

     
The two detectives stood side by side as Autumn opened the door a few inches.

     
"What the hell do you want now?
 
Haven't you disrupted my life enough?"

     
Cliff pushed his face close to the crack.
 
"Let us in, Mrs. Conners, I don't want to break in the door."

     
She closed and rattled the chain guard, then opened the door with a jerk.
 
Stepping back, she glared at the two men as they entered the house.

     
Tom glanced at her as she clung to the dark gray shawl around her shoulders.
 
Then he glanced around the living room where the television glowed, giving off the only light in the house.
 
"Where are the children?"

     
"They're in bed.
 
Where do you think two young babies should be at this hour?"

     
Neither man responded to her sarcastic remark.
 
Instead, they walked around the house.
 
Cliff checked the kitchen while Tom went down the hall, peering into each of the cold rooms.
 
When he came to the little girl's room, he found them asleep under dirty covers.
 
He shook his head in disgust.

     
When the two men came back into the living room, Autumn still stood by the front door, tapping her foot.
 
"Well, are you satisfied?"

     
Tom crossed the room and stood in front of her.
 
"Not yet, Mrs. Conners.
 
We need one more thing, then we'll leave."
 
He pulled a large plastic bag from his pocket.

     
Her eyes grew wide when he pulled the shawl from her shoulders and carefully tucked it into the sack.

     
"What the hell are you doing?"
 
She reached for the sack, but Tom jerked it out of her reach.

     
Cliff stepped forward.
 
"Our warrant is still good, Mrs. Conners.
 
We might return your shawl after we run some tests.
 
If it turns out clean."
 
He took the bag from Tom and walked out the front door.

     
Tom stared into Autumn's face as she hugged herself.
 
"I'd advise you not to leave the area, Mrs. Conners.
 
I have a man watching your house."

     
Her eyes narrowed.
 
"As if I didn't know I have a tail."

     
Tom shrugged and went out the door, slamming it behind him.
 
He heard the rattle of the chain as he sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and stepped off the porch.

*****