The Heart of Lies (14 page)

“Did anyone call Sully?” Emily asked, wondering if Maggie’s brother was aware of what had happened.

“I called him,” Maggie replied, working to stifle her sobs, “but it just went to voicemail. I didn’t want to leave that kind of message on his phone.”

“I’ll try him again for you,” Jonathan offered.

“Thanks, hon,” Camille said, lightly patting her husband’s back. “Maggie, dear, have you had anything to eat this morning?”

“No,” Maggie replied softly, her tears subsiding.

“Why don’t you let me make something for you? You’re going to need your strength today.” Camille went to the kitchen and Jonathan stepped outside to make the call to Sully.

“Is Isabel on her way?” Emily asked.

“No, Alex said she had to go into work today, you know, that big FBI case she’s workin’ on.” Maggie walked to the sofa and dropped onto it. She leaned into the cushions and put the back of her hand against her forehead, closing her eyes. “The trial starts next week and she has to tie up some final details. He said he’d let her know what was happenin’ and have her stop by as soon as she could.”

Emily remembered Isabel mentioning the trial. She also recalled having told Isabel she’d drop something off to her last night that would have Lucas’s fingerprints on it so she could have the FBI run the prints first thing Monday morning. That’s when she realized the crystal paperweight was still in her purse. With the murder last night, she had forgotten all about it. Keeping it now seemed unnecessary, but how could she return it without being noticed? She decided to keep it awhile longer.

Jonathan stepped inside from the porch. Before he went to help Camille in the kitchen, he told everyone about the call to Sully. He said Sully was going to head straight down to the police station to find out what was happening with Josh, and he’d let Maggie know as soon as he knew anything.

Emily watched Colin from across the room as he took a seat next to Maggie, promising they were all going to do their best to help her through this nightmare. Emily knew he understood Maggie’s heartache as much as she did. All three of them had violently lost someone they loved.

Colin took Maggie’s hand and spoke softly to her. Emily couldn’t hear all of what he was saying, but his tenderness and compassion fanned the flame of her affection for him. She would have to thank Ernie later, for calling him last night.

He patted Maggie’s hand and caught Emily’s gaze as he stood and walked over to her. “I’m going to go call on Ernie and see what I can learn from him.”

Emily pushed up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you, Colin.”

“For what?” He seemed puzzled.

“For being you. I saw how gentle you were with Maggie just now.”

“You and I both know what she’s going through. I simply wanted to help. But what I need to do now is go and talk to Ernie.”

“I want to be there,” Emily said, “hear what he has to say.”

“I think it’s best if I go alone, talk to him man to man.”

“You mean detective to detective?”

“Something like that.”

“I’m a detective. A
private
detective.” She poked a finger at his chest, feeling like maybe he didn’t think she was on par with them. She tried not to react the way she had in the beginning of their relationship when she used to prickle at what she considered to be his condescending attitude toward her lack of experience. They’d gotten past that. She had experience now—heck, she carried a gun and taught self-defense classes.

“I remember,” he said with a grin. “Who do you think nicknamed you the smokin’ hot lady PI?”

“So why are you shutting me out?” Emily asked.

“I think Ernie will be more forthcoming if it’s just him and me. That’s all. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

“You know I hate it when you say that.” Emily frowned.

“I know,” he chuckled. He glanced over at Maggie, sitting with her eyes closed and her head leaned back on the sofa. “Stay here with Maggie and Camille and I’ll let you know what I learn from Ernie.”

Before she could protest again, he was out the door.

CHAPTER 14

Colin walked into the Paradise Valley police station and surprised the receptionist working the front desk. “Hey, Stella!” he shouted, echoing the classic Tennessee Williams line from
A Streetcar Named Desire.

She jumped to her feet. “Oh, Colin! It’s great to see you again!”

“Thanks, Stella.”

“Are you back for good?”

“Just a visit. Say, is Ernie in? I need to talk to him.”

“Yes, go on back. You know the way.” She smiled and pushed a release button to buzz him through.

He wandered down the hall and stuck his head in Ernie’s doorway. “Hey, buddy.”

Ernie glanced up with a look of surprise that quickly melted into a broad smile. “Hey, yourself. Was Emily happy to see you?”

“Of course, but that’s not what I’m here to see you about. What can you tell me about the murder?” Colin asked.

“Why don’t you come in and have a seat?” he said, gesturing toward the chair across from his desk. “And be sure to close the door behind you.”

Colin shut the door and took a seat, his gaze roving across Ernie’s desk. He watched with interest as Ernie pulled a thin file off the top of a short stack of folders and laid it open. Then he clasped his large hands on top of it. “What do you want to know?”

“Why did you arrest Josh Sullivan?” Colin asked.

“Well, ol’ Pete Peterson owns the Graystone Building where Lucas Wakefield had his office. Pete is such a cheapskate, he pinches pennies ’til Lincoln bleeds,” Ernie chuckled.

“Is this story going somewhere, big guy?”

“Of course. After Evan Parker was murdered in his office there last year, the other tenants pushed Pete to put security cameras on the building for their safety. So, he did, rather than lose some of his renters.”

“If he’d done it sooner, maybe we’d know who killed Emily’s late husband,” Colin said.

“That’s right.”

“But what does that have to do with Josh?” Colin asked.

“Well, after getting the video, we found that Josh was the last one to leave the Graystone Building last night—that is, before Gloria Wakefield and Maggie and Emily came there. When one of my officers and I went to talk to Josh this morning, we found that someone had done a number on his face, and his knuckles were bloody and busted up. I asked him about it. He started to say he had gotten into an argument with Lucas until Maggie told him not to say another word until he got a lawyer. I had no choice but to bring him in. My officer waited with him while I called for an arrest warrant. While we waited, Maggie called an attorney, that guy who defended Delia McCall a few months ago.”

“Alex Martínez?”

“That’s the one. Say, isn’t that the case Emily worked on?”

“Yes. You might say that’s how our romance began.”

“Now she’s got you involved in this case,” Ernie said, shaking his head.

“You’re the one who called me, Ernie, not her.”

“I called you to give her moral support, not to poke your nose in my investigation,” Ernie scowled.

“I’m not poking my nose in your investigation,” he said, defending himself. “I’m here to help.”

Ernie’s scowl turned into a wide grin. “Gotcha!” he shouted with a fist pump and let out a thunderous laugh.

“You old coot.”

“Hey, watch it young man.”

“What else do you have?” Colin looked down at the open file.

As a seasoned detective in San Francisco, he had worked nearly a hundred murders. This was only Ernie’s second murder case. The first one he worked was as an officer aiding Colin, who at the time was Paradise Valley’s only detective. Since Colin’s departure, Ernie now held that esteemed position—the entire case rested on Ernie’s big shoulders.

“Well, since Lucas Wakefield appears to have been beaten to death, and Josh all but admitted having been in a fist fight with him, what else do I need?” Ernie asked smugly.

“Was there anyone else on the security video?” Colin questioned.

“Yes, but no one else that would have done it.”

“Tell me who was on the video around the time of the murder,” Colin pressed. “You do have a time of death don’t you?”

“Yes.” Ernie looked at the notes in the file. “Doc Walters says time of death was between six and seven last night. Around that time, the video showed Mayor Sullivan entering the building, then Josh Sullivan. Shortly after that, it shows Josh leaving, then Mrs. Wakefield, Lucas’s mother, entering, then Maggie and Emily going inside.”

“Have you questioned all of them?” Colin asked.

“Not yet, but I will. I’m working through the list, but it’s a little tricky. The mayor, the victim’s mother, the fiancée—you know what I mean?

“It’s gotta be done, Ernie.”

“Step by step, I’m working through it. Hey, did you hear Mrs. Wakefield is in the hospital? She had a heart attack last night, right after she found her son dead. They had to rush her to the emergency room.” He pulled out a small notepad and began to write. “I’ll have to check on her status.”

“I hadn’t heard that. Poor woman, losing her son and having to be the one to find him.”

“Just a crying shame all around,” Ernie said. “You know Josh is military, like you were.”

“That’s what Emily said. I hope you’re wrong about him, Ernie.”

“Me, too.”

~*~

Alex phoned Maggie from the jail. Emily sat next to her on the couch, watching Maggie’s expression for any sign whether the news from Alex was good or bad.

Maggie nodded her head at what Alex was saying. Her eyes were red and swollen and the remnant of her mascara bled below her eyes. Her mess of blonde hair was pulled haphazardly into a ponytail. She clicked her phone off and tossed it on the wooden coffee table, leaning back on the sofa, closing her eyes.

“What did he say?” Emily asked.

“He said Josh won’t be arraigned ’til Monday,” she replied, her eyes still closed, “but he’ll try to get me in to see him today. He didn’t know when, though.” She stifled a cry that almost broke through.

Camille ambled into the living room, wearing her face of motherly concern. “The kitchen’s all clean, everything from breakfast is put away. What else can I do, Maggie?”

Maggie sat up and looked at her through watery eyes. “Can you explain to me how this happened?”

“I don’t understand, Maggie.” Camille rushed to the sofa and sank down on it. “What do you mean?” Camille had a look of confusion in her eyes and she glanced at Emily for some help.

“Yesterday, I was engaged to a wonderful man and we had our whole lives ahead of us. I was so thrilled to have my boy home, and happy he could be here for the weddin’.”

Maggie thrust her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders began to shake as she wept. “Now everythin’ has gone to hell! My Lucas is dead and my son is in jail, accused of killin’ him!” she bawled.

Emily patted Maggie’s back softly as she wailed, and Camille put her arm around Maggie’s waist.

After a few torturous minutes of sobbing, Maggie sat up and Emily handed her a box of tissues.

“What a big blubber baby I am,” she said, wiping her nose with a tissue.

“Don’t say that, Maggs.” Emily remembered having been a crying mess, too, after Evan’s death.

“We would expect no less, hon,” Camille said, lightly running her hand up and down Maggie’s back. “Whatever you need, we’re here.”

“Em, do you think my son could have killed Lucas?” Maggie dabbed at her eyes, the sobs subsiding.

“I would hate to think so, but I guess it’s possible,” Emily replied. She didn’t want to tell her friend that, but she had to be honest. The evidence so far certainly did point to him. She could feel Camille’s stare heating her skin. “I’m sorry, Camille, but I have to be honest with her.”

“We’re here to support Maggie, and by extension, Josh,” Camille snapped at Emily.

“I am being supportive, but Maggie asked me a question and I’m not going to lie to her,” Emily defended. “It doesn’t look good, but that doesn’t mean he did it. Colin went to find out what the cops have. Let’s wait until we hear back from him before we start jumping to any conclusions.”

“Until I have absolute proof, I’m choosing to believe Josh is innocent,” Camille declared.

“I agree, Cam,” Emily said, “but I’m not going to stick my head in the sand and hope it all goes away.”

“Enough!” Maggie shouted and shot up off the sofa.

Both Camille and Emily sat back, stunned.

Maggie walked to the windows and looked out, before turning back to face them.

“Emily, can I hire you to investigate this murder, clear my son. I have some money saved.”

“No, Maggs—”

“Why not?” Maggie interrupted.

“Let me finish. No, I won’t take your money, but I promise you that Colin and I will do all we can to find out who murdered Lucas, and why.”

“If my son killed Lucas,” Maggie dropped her gaze to the floor and crossed her arms, “then I’ll have to deal with it, although I’m not sure how. But if he didn’t do it,” she raised her head and looked Emily in the eye, “then the real killer needs to be rooted out and caught.”