Never Sorry: A Leigh Koslow Mystery (13 page)

He laughed, then looked at her with his deep blue eyes in a way that made her spine melt. "I'm going up to the cabin tonight. Why don't you come with me? We can forget about all this—at least for a little while."

The offer that had been so tempting the day before now only saddened her. She could block out only so much reality. Tanner was wrapped up in all this mess somehow, and there were things he was hiding from her—she was sure of it. She was tired of not knowing what to believe, and nothing was going any further until she had all the facts. But she had to talk to him alone, without interruption. She had to get him to trust her. And vice versa.

"I can't go tonight," she answered as they stepped out of the elevator into the lobby. "I'm meeting with my lawyer tomorrow morning. But if you're going anyway, I could drive up afterwards and meet you."

She had expected disappointment, seeing how an invitation for the weekend generally implied something more than fishing and canoeing. But Tanner smiled happily. "Sure, if you'd rather. Do you know where Eau Claire is?"

She looked at him blankly.

"I'll write down some directions. It's not hard to find…"

They walked outside to Tanner's pickup, where he rummaged about until he'd found a pen and an old copy of the
Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
. Finding an add for stainless-steel live traps that had a fair amount of white space, he began to scribble. Leigh tried to listen to the directions, but such things bored her to excess. She took the map and rolled it up carefully. She would figure it out tomorrow.

"Are you sure you can leave the county?" Tanner asked practically.

Leigh had no idea, but knew she would go anyway. "Sure. I'll send Frank a belly-gram with my exact location. He won't mind."

Tanner laughed again, and pulled her into his arms. "You know why I like you? You crack me up."

Given the demonstration that followed, Leigh wasn't inclined to be insulted that he didn't like her for her looks. But just as she was really beginning to enjoy herself, and just when she was seriously wondering how bad an idea it would be to stand up her lawyer tomorrow, she saw something disturbing out of the corner of her eye. She had seen a lot of it lately. It was that unmistakable shade of navy reserved for police uniforms.

She jumped, pulled out of Tanner's arms, and swung around. But it was only Maura Polanski, leaning casually against a Ford Escort ten cars down. Maura had been watching the scene shamelessly, munching on an apple in the process.

"Who's that?" Tanner asked.

"Don't worry," Leigh answered, though she was a little worried herself. "That's my friend Maura, checking up on me."

"That's great," he said, smiling, "just don't bring her along tomorrow." Heedless of Officer Polanski, Tanner opted for a warm goodbye kiss, then drove away. Leigh was sad as she watched him leave. It would be nice to get away from everything tomorrow. No police. No orange jumpsuits. No interruptions. And hopefully, no more doubts.

***

"I guess you're doing all right after all," Maura said flatly, approaching. "And to think I was worried about you all day."

Leigh smiled. She had no idea how Maura had found out about her forthcoming arrest, but she hoped that the method was ethical. Maura Polanski was the most honest person she'd ever known, and she certainly didn't want their friendship to be Maura's downfall.

"Thanks," Leigh said simply. "You helped me out a lot today. I would have hated asking Cara for money myself, you know."

"I know."

Leigh knew not to be any more effusive. If Maura was forced to hear a big sloppy speech, she'd never help Leigh again.

"So what do you think?" Leigh said cheerfully, tilting her head in the direction of Tanner's exit. "My new boss. Not bad, eh?"

Maura didn't smile. She wasn't frowning either, but her disapproval was clear. "He's a witness, Koslow. This is a parking lot. You should see a problem with that."

"He's not a witness," Leigh said defensively. "He's a veterinarian. And our relationship has nothing to do with Carmen's murder. Absolutely nothing!"

Maura's face assumed the distant look it always got when she was trying to read Leigh's mind. Leigh averted her gaze quickly. Maura wasn't flawless at the task, like Warren was, but she was darn good. Leigh cursed her own transparency. It was incredibly annoying not to be able to lie to your own friends.

They walked the rest of the way to Leigh's apartment in silence, where Warren, forgotten and unfazed, had settled himself in front of the television with a carton of Lemon Blennd. Mao Tse, who had retreated to the bedroom when the first visitors arrived, had ventured out as far as the recliner to glower at Warren more noticeably. One look at Maura and she was off again, hissing in protest.

"Unsociable beast," Warren said dryly.

"Doesn't like you either, eh?" Maura chuckled.

Warren rose and turned off the television. "I'm afraid your arrest made the evening news… and it will be all over the papers tomorrow."

The chagrin in his voice was deep, though Leigh wasn't sure why bad publicity for her would upset him so much. Having her name broadcast all over Southwest Pennsylvania as a murderess wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't like she had an adoring public to disillusion. On the other hand, it did mean her mother would find out.

"My mom's going to freak," she said dully, dropping onto the couch.

"She did okay, actually," Maura answered.

Leigh sat up straight. "She what? She knows?"

Maura motioned for Leigh to relax. "I talked to your folks myself this afternoon. I didn't want them to hear it from the media. Or from some buttinsky who happened to catch the first newscast."

Leigh pictured her mother picking up the phone.
Hello, Frances? It's Viv. I just heard about your daughter being arrested for that awful dismemberment thing. And she was such a sweet little girl!  Hello, Frances? Frances?
Leigh shuddered.

"Thanks, Maura," she said sincerely. "That was good thinking."

The policewoman shrugged. "I tried to reach you this morning, but I couldn't track you down. It was just as well—I wouldn't want Frank to know you were expecting him."

Leigh considered herself a good actress, but calmly sitting around waiting to be arrested and then acting surprised was a bit beyond her. She nodded dumbly.

Warren threw a brotherly arm around Leigh's shoulders. "Are you going to be all right tonight? Should we hang around a while longer, or just let you sleep?"

Leigh considered. Company was a nice distraction, but unconsciousness was better. A few antihistamine tablets and some warm milk, and she'd be angst-free till morning. "I think I'll hit the hay," she answered.

Maura tossed her head in the direction of Leigh's phone. "I told your folks you'd probably be pretty strung out tonight. Your dad promised they wouldn't call until tomorrow, but I'm not sure your mom was sold. If you really want an undisturbed night, you'd better turn the answering machine on and the ringer off."

"Already done," Warren answered.

Leigh smiled warmly at her defense team. She was going to need them.

Chapter 10

Despite the horrors of the day, Leigh would have had no trouble sleeping, even without the antihistamines. She was exhausted. A few dreams came and went, some involving knocks on the door that may have been real, but for the most part, she was out. When her alarm clock rang at 6:30AM, she looked at it through heavy lids. Her brain was still foggy, but she knew enough to know that it was Saturday, and any alarm clock of hers that valued its gears knew better than to go off on a weekend.

She reached out to hit the snooze button and found it obstructed by a yellow sticky note. She pulled it off and held it close to her face in the dim light. "Katharine. 7:00 AM. SHARP." The bold letters, print rather than cursive, were unmistakably Warren's. Mr. Punctuality himself. Grumbling, Leigh rolled out of bed. Would a 10:30 AM appointment have been a crime?

She barely had time to dress and stuff down a breakfast bar before Katharine Bower rang her buzzer—at precisely 7:00 AM. A woman after Warren's own heart, Leigh thought cynically.
In more ways than one
. As soon as Katharine came in she  unloaded her laptop and a thick sheaf of papers on Leigh's kitchen table, and began.

"We have a lot to get through this morning," Katharine announced, more with relish than regret. "We'll begin with the evidence—specifically, data from the crime scene." Her voice was mechanical, her whole manner eminently professional. Leigh wanted to go back to bed.

"It's extensive, but I'll summarize the relevant points for you. Two human legs and one arm were found within the tiger enclosure. The limbs were in poor condition—for obvious reasons. The left hand had been extensively gnawed but still bore two rings. The rings were identified by Mike Tanner as belonging to Carmen Koslow. Other personal items found at the scene included torn clothing, a purse, keys, and a jacket, all eventually confirmed to be those of Carmen Koslow. A car registered to Carmen Koslow was found in the employee parking lot. The victim had type O+ blood, matching Carmen Koslow's medical insurance records. Hair, consistent with that obtained from a hairbrush in Carmen Koslow's apartment, was found both on the floor of the shed and on the ground under the fence where police believe the body was dragged. Type O+ blood was also present in the shed, on the ground in a trail leading under the fence, and—here's the interesting part—on the driver-side door and on top of the trunk of a vehicle registered to Leigh Koslow."

Leigh swallowed. "There was blood on my car?"

"Evidently," Katharine answered. "Any ideas?"

Leigh shook her head.

Katharine shuffled through a few more papers. "A zoo security guard claims he found you running away from the scene of the crime, and that you were covered in blood. That blood, incidentally, also matched the victim's. He also claims that you attempted to wash the blood off before police arrived."

Leigh scowled. "I explained that a hundred times."

Katharine raised a hand. "We'll go through your explanation again in a few minutes. Your prints were found on the bone saw, as you know, but they were not recovered from the knife or the flashlight. Undoubtedly because both were smeared with blood. That's it for the physical evidence."

Thank goodness.
Leigh rose. She couldn't possibly deal with this on less than three cups of coffee. She stumbled over to the pot and poured in enough water for five cups, graciously offering Katharine one.

The lawyer shook her head and continued. "Now, here's the rest. Another security guard claims to have seen two women in zoo uniforms standing outside the tiger shed about 11:15 PM. One fit Carmen Koslow's description. He described the other woman, whom he saw only from the back, as being medium height, medium build, with shoulder-length hair, probably brown."

"That could fit several people besides me," Leigh answered, dumping extra grounds into the filter. "Anyway, I was at the hospital then, setting up while Mike darted the gerenuk."

"There's more. A zoo employee named Dena Johnson claims she saw you walking through the staff gate into the tiger run sometime soon after 11:00 PM."

Leigh wheeled around. "Who the hell is Dena Johnson?"

Katharine raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping you would know. She identified you quite specifically."

"She's lying through her teeth, whoever she is!" Leigh raged. "I was never there. I wasn't behind the tiger run that night at all—well, not before the murder anyway—and certainly not at 11:00 PM. Mike can testify to that!"

Katharine sighed slightly and took off her wire-rimmed glasses to look at her client. "That's another thing. Tanner. He's not your alibi, Leigh. He's your motive."

Leigh felt her legs begin to quiver, and she sat back down at the table. "What do you mean?"

"I warned you about the love triangle angle," Katharine said evenly. "Several zoo employees, not to mention Detective Frank himself—nice touch there—witnessed some type of romantic overture occur between you and Tanner."

Leigh's face was so hot it burned. She felt embarrassed and guilty, and she had no reason to feel either, which made her mad. "How I feel about Tanner is my own business!" she quipped.

Katharine didn't reply, but sat quietly and waited for Leigh to calm down. It was a practiced technique, and it worked.

"Why does it have to matter?" Leigh asked more sedately.

"Because according to every zoo employee Frank asked, Carmen Koslow and Tanner had been involved for years."

Leigh's heart sank down into her shoes. The arrest was bad enough—now her most private hopes were to be dragged out and bludgeoned. "Define 'involved,'" she asked quietly.

Katharine looked at her with uncharacteristic sympathy. "The exact nature of their relationship can't be determined from what I have here—the witnesses can only provide their impressions. There is Tanner's statement."

She had to ask. "And what did he say?"

Katharine replaced her glasses and looked down at one of her many documents. "I knew her before, during, and after my divorce," she quoted. "It was a platonic relationship, although Carmen wasn't happy with that. I told her I didn't want to make any commitment to anybody else for a long time. She seemed to understand, but she was still very possessive. She got incredibly jealous whenever I so much as looked at another woman."