Wayne hadn’t said I couldn’t give her coffee, so I left to grab a cup. On the way to the break room, I slid into the observation room for Interview One. Escoe was leaning forward, poking the table with his finger like a jackhammer. Todd Derenne didn’t look impressed. The smirk never left his face.
He probably thought he was in the clear. I flipped on the audio switch and heard Wayne informing Derenne about the search warrant. He visibly paled. “We’ll also be checking out your financial transactions,” Escoe added. “You’re the consistent link between the supply and the demand for the meth lab. If there’s even one receipt that links to purchase of raw ingredients, you’re going down.”
And Escoe would take the credit for catching him. Based on Derenne’s expression, I felt confident he was hiding something. Wayne was a good cop. I was sure he’d seen the same thing I saw.
Back in the office with the coffee, June wouldn’t take the cup from me. “Put it on the desk,” she said. “I don’t want you to touch me.”
“I won’t hurt you.” Miffed, I followed her request and sat near her. Not a single word of thanks from her.
“Bah. The dead should stay buried.” June gulped her coffee. “You got no business going anywhere to talk to the dead.”
“You’ve got nothing to clear up with your sister?” I asked, ignoring the sharp look from Mayes.
June’s face took on a pinched look as if dill pickles seasoned her coffee. I hoped it was the bitter black coffee.
She gave a theatrical wave of her hand. “Good riddance. The world’s a better place without her.”
That was harsh. I wonder what else June had up her sleeve.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“What on earth is taking so long?” June asked. “I’ve been cooped up in this tiny little office for going on thirty minutes. I need breakfast, and I need to go to the bathroom. You people can’t treat me like this. I have legal rights.”
“Guess again. You’re a murder suspect,” Mayes explained. “You can be detained for questioning.”
June huffed out a tragic blast of air. “I’m a murder suspect? You can’t believe I’d kill my sister. That’s unbelievable. Barbaric. What kind of people are you?” She quieted for a minute. “You think Doodle killed his mom? No way in hell. Derenne is who you want. He’s capable of killing. He told me about a mark that crossed him once. The guy didn’t live to tell the tale.”
My eyebrows rose at how quickly she threw Derenne under the bus. So much for our assumption she wanted everything from Mandy’s life.
“Where was this?” Mayes asked.
“Somewhere up Warner Robbins way. The guy owed Derenne money and wouldn’t deliver. He was bragging about the takedown right after the Fourth of July.”
“What was the man’s name?”
“I don’t remember. It was a regular name. Like Bob or John or Mike. Mike!
That’s it. The guy’s name was Mike.”
Mayes nodded at me. I left the office again and knocked on the door of Interview One. When Wayne stepped out in the hall with me, I relayed the information we’d gathered. “Ask Derenne about Mike, the man he allegedly killed in Warner Robbins,” I said.
“You weren’t supposed to question her,” Wayne said. “But I’ll take it. We aren’t getting anywhere in here.”
“June won’t shut up,” I said. “We tried ignoring her, but she won’t stop talking. By the way, she wants breakfast and a bathroom break.”
“Take her to the bathroom but return her to my office afterward. I’ll be down there soon.”
Marching orders in my head, I escorted June to the bathroom. While she was washing her hands, I stood where I could read her expression in the mirror. “You know anyone named Ava?” I asked.
“No. Ava sounds pretentious.” June paused. “Funny thing about that name. My sister always said if she had a girl she’d name her Ava, but she had Doodle instead. Doodle’s about as far away from Ava on the hoity-toity scale as you can get, don’t you think?”
I mentally flipped back to what I knew about Mandy. She’d only had one child, a son. But she might have used the name for something else. Doodle had recognized it, after all.
June gazed into the mirror and reapplied her lipstick. “You know, there was one time I thought old Mandy was filling out. Baby in the bun and all that. Nothing ever came of it. You would think she’d tell me if she was pregnant, but Mandy never shared a blamed thing with me. I could be starving on the roadside, and she wouldn’t toss me a heel of bread. She was so mean to me.”
Jackpot. I sent a mental invitation to Mayes. Join us in the ladies’ room . I hid my satisfaction by relaying something I’d heard. “Is that right? According to both Mandy and Doodle, she loaned you thousands of dollars, which you never repaid.”
June gasped. “You have no right to say that.”
I practiced my stink-eye, cop face. As the seconds ticked by, June lost her brassy composure. Finally, she raised her eyes to glare at me. “I got into some trouble, all right? Mandy bailed me out, but she owed me.”
“Seems to me like you owe her.”
“What do you know about anything? Huh? You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing. To have people look at you like you’re dirt. You’ve got everything. Maddy had everything. It was my turn, dammit.”
She knew nothing about me and was dead wrong on all counts, but this wasn’t about me. “Is that why you killed her, June? You wanted her life? Tell me the truth. Derenne start using you as a punching bag yet?”
I wished I had a camera. A storm of emotions crossed her face, but her lips remained sealed. Behind me, the door opened and closed softly. I felt Mayes’ presence behind me.
“Doesn’t feel so good, does it? Did he break your ribs?” I asked. “He always hit Mandy where no one else could see. You know what else? Derenne was the least of her problems. The drug people don’t let you go once you get sucked into that life. You work for them or you die. Mandy was trapped, and they kept expecting more and more from her. She wanted out of that life. She wanted her son to go to college, to have a chance at making a decent living. She wanted her sister to have a second chance. That’s why she loaned you the money. To give you the fresh start she never had.”
Her trembling hand rose to cover her mouth. Then she gagged and puked coffee in the sink. I stepped back into Mayes. “Good thing we were in the bathroom,” I said.
June ran some water, rinsed her mouth. Slowly she lifted the edge of her blouse. Purple and yellow bruises marred her pale torso. “He did this to me. He said he loved me, but he beat me. Nothing’s broke, but I hurt all over.”
Mayes stirred as if to speak, and I placed my hand on his arm. “Will you press assault charges?” I asked. “He won’t stop, you know.”
“I hate him. I thought I loved him, but I hate him. Yes, I’ll press charges. I can’t live like this. Mandy should’ve killed him a long time ago.”
“Why didn’t she?” I asked, holding my breath.
“He was her supplier. Without him trucking in the raw materials, she couldn’t cook. Too many flags would raise if she bought the stuff locally. Besides, she didn’t have time to shop for anything.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I tried to get her to make me a partner,” June said, her voice quavering. “But I couldn’t stand cooking. I’m claustrophobic, and you can’t do it without wearing a mask. The one time I tried, I ripped my mask off and ran out of there. Mandy liked to have had a fit. Said I contaminated her home. She lived in a meth lab. That was no home.”
I’d screwed up. We weren’t supposed to be interrogating June. Worse, we didn’t have any record of what she was saying. The sheriff would have my head on a platter. Mayes stroked my back. Keep going , he said with mindspeak. She feels safe in here. I’m taping this on my phone.
I met his gaze in the bathroom mirror. Thanks for saving the day .
Keep her talking. This is the break we need on this case. Wayne told you to bring her
in here, so you’ve done nothing wrong.
But is it evidence? Was she Mirandized?
Yes, she was, when they picked her up. Keep her talking.
Heartened, I continued, “It was her home. She had nowhere else to go.”
“She must’ve had money,” June said. “They paid her good for the work.”
“Did they now? How do you know?”
“I heard things. And Todd would come over and brag about how rich they would be. It wasn’t fair that they’d get rich. That’s why I encouraged Todd to come around. I wanted my slice of the money pie.”
“How long have you two been together?”
“Going on a year now. Mandy never knew we were sleeping together. But he never hit me, not until she was gone.”
“Because he got his jollies hitting her. You sure you want to step into her shoes? From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look so hot.”
“I never wanted her job. But I wanted Todd’s complete attention, the money, and the kid. Now I find Todd’s no prize at all, the money isn’t in her bank account, and the kid won’t do what I tell him. He hates me.”
“He probably thinks you killed Mandy.”
“He’s wrong. I didn’t kill Mandy.”
Truth rang in her words. I believed her. Still, I needed to push a little more. “Maybe not directly, but you didn’t help her either. By considering her loans to you a gift, you forced her to be a slave to those people.”
June wept. Then she got the heaves again. Intuition hit me like a flash. “You’re pregnant. With Todd’s baby.”
“Thought it would make him happy.” June grimaced. “Know what he said? If he wanted to be around rug rats, he’d go home to his wife in Warner Robbins. Said he’d never marry me. That me and Mandy were his property. That he could do whatever he liked with his side girls, and no one would stop him.”
“You can stop him, June. You can put him in jail for a very long time. Did he ever mention names of people he worked with?”
“Maybe. But I ain’t giving up any names until you put him away.”
“Doesn’t work that way. If you don’t cooperate, the domestic-violence charges won’t keep him in jail long. We need names in the drug-supply chain.”
“I need a deal, and I know you can’t make one with me. If you can’t assure my safety, I’m not talking.”
“One name,” I pleaded. “One name could make a difference between a lifetime of living at the beach or getting Todd’s heavy-handed version of love for you and your child. Give me the man’s name.”
Her nose tilted in the air. “It ain’t a man, and I’m done talking to you.”
Chapter Fifty
“Good work,” Wayne said, later that morning. Mayes and I had waited until the suspect interviews were completed to talk with the sheriff in his office. “Escoe and I got enough from Todd Derenne about his part in the supply chain to keep him out of circulation for a long time. He’s not giving up anyone else in the organization, though. Escoe wants the whole thing exposed. I’m afraid he may be in our hair awhile yet.”
“And June?” I asked. “What’ll happen to her?”
“Far as I can tell, she’s guilty of greed and stupidity,” Wayne said. “If she didn’t act on those charges, I can’t hold her.”
Greed and stupidity. Much as I hated to admit it, those words aptly described June Hendrix.
“And Doodle? What will happen to him?”
“I know you like the kid, but I’ve got my doubts about him. Something’s off about the boy. He must’ve known Derenne was whaling on his mom, but he told no one? He knew about the drug lab in his home, too. No way was it a secret.”
“Wait. You saying he killed his mom?”
“We don’t know who killed her. The drug case is pulling together, but not much else.” His computer chimed. Wayne busied himself for a moment, then waved us around his desk. “We might as well look at this together.”
“What is it?” Mayes asked.
“The trail-cam video. My guy says this is the best he can clean it up.” Mayes and I stood behind Wayne’s chair and watched the snowy image. I couldn’t tell a thing.
“I got nothing,” I said. “Anyone else?”
Wayne grunted. Mayes said, “Run it again.”
A dark blob pulled up in the yard. Sat there for a few minutes, then turned around and drove off. My second impression was no better than the first. So much for our finding the trail cam in the tree house. The image resolution was terrible. Perhaps that was a car that had come to Mandy’s trailer, but I wasn’t even sure of that much.
“You see that?” Mayes said. “Shark-bite grill. And the taillights.”
Wayne leaned forward, squinting, as the video ran again. “You may be onto something. Good catch.”
“What?”
“Mustang,” Wayne and Mayes said in unison.
“A recent model,” Mayes said. “They brought back the retro grill, but the taillight design is new. Should be easy to find out who has a dark-colored, late- model Mustang around here.”
“Won’t be a problem,” Wayne said, firing off a quick text to the GBI man. “Nobody around here drives a muscle car like that. However, I’ve recently made the acquaintance of a businesswoman from mid-Georgia who drives that very model of car.”
The puzzle pieces clicked into place. There was one more new person in our community. “Alicia Waite? The manager for the outlet mall? How’s that possible?”
“Anything’s possible. Escoe will spearhead the search for her and the ongoing drug investigation. If she’s the brains of this meth outfit—and after meeting her, I believe it’s highly likely—Escoe will get the collar.”
The GBI man barged in, his expression expectant. “You’ve got something?”
Wayne waved Escoe forward. “Thanks for responding so quickly to my text. We have a vehicle ID from the video.”
“I saw the video and couldn’t get anything from it,” Escoe said. “How could you make a positive ID from such poor-quality footage?”
“Mayes pointed the shapes out to me, and now I can’t stop seeing them. Check out the car front. See the shape of the grill? Look at those three parallel taillights when it turns around. Mustang all the way.”
“Did you run it?”
“Don’t need to. Alicia Waite, the new outlet-mall manager, drives a car like this. She comes from the Warner Robbins area. I’ve met with her several times, for, ah, business purposes, and she has the savvy to pull this off. We need proof of her involvement, but if you check her out, you’ll find something. No matter how good they are at hiding in plain sight, there’s always something that brings the mighty down to our level.”
“We got her,” Escoe crowed and headed for the door. “We’re finally shutting this drug ring down.”
“We don’t have her yet,” Wayne said. “There’s still plenty of evidence- gathering to do before we tie her to the drug case.”
“What about your homicide?” Escoe asked from the doorway.
“Still open, but I’m confident we’ll wrap it up soon.”
“You want to question Waite?”
“I’ve sent a text to my deputies to bring her and her car in.”
“Virg got his Taser?” I asked. Having been on the wrong end of that device before, I was quite content for Virgil to use his quick-draw weapon of choice on criminals.
“You’re electroshocking our suspect?” Escoe’s face turned blotchy and red. “Stand down.”
“My men will bring her in by whatever means necessary. Grab some lunch, everyone. We’ll be busy this afternoon.”
* * *
Charlotte and Duncan met us for lunch at the sandwich shop. Charlotte was dancing on air. “I’ve been fired.”
I’d never seen her so excited. Her happiness infected me. “Get out! Kip fired you? He can’t run that paper without you.”
“Ya think?” Charlotte grinned. “When I handed him my letter of resignation this morning, he asked if this was what he thoug
ht it was. When I said yes, he said I was fired, effective immediately. I wasn’t even allowed to box the stuff at my desk.”
“Why are you happy about that?”
“Because Kip let pride get in the way of common sense. If I resigned, I wouldn’t be eligible for unemployment. Now I am, because he fired me. That’s more money to put in our house fund.”
“Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Me either, and the best thing is, we don’t have to wait until this evening to get the rings.”
“Congratulations,” Mayes said, shaking Duncan’s hand and hugging Charlotte. “You two deserve a chance at happiness.”
A perky blonde waitress named Karen came to take our orders, so we made our selections. Steak sandwiches for the guys, grilled shrimp salads for the gals.
“And the case?” Duncan asked when we were alone again.
“Wrapping up,” Mayes said.
Charlotte’s eyes grew round. “You arrested Mandy’s killer?”
“Not yet, but we’re close,” I said, hoping it was true.
“Dang. Another big story, and I can’t cover it. Bernard is probably crowing about his good fortune from the Marion Bridge.”
“Bernard is probably elbow deep in all the routine tasks you did to keep the paper running. Those guys won’t know what hit them.”
“Not my problem. I planned to work another two weeks and show them the ropes. But now I’m free as a bird. They can figure it out themselves.”
“Your parents?”
“They want to meet Duncan. We decided to drive down to Florida before we head to the mountains. Maybe even this week while you wrap up the case.” She glanced shyly at Duncan. “We’ve also been talking about emptying my place. I won’t need it, and there’s no point to keep paying rent on it.”
I’d seen the inside of Charlotte’s place. It might take a year to clear out the treasures she’d squirreled away in there. “Larissa and I can help you in the evenings.”
“Great!”
Lunch passed in a busy blur of planning and well wishes. As people at nearby tables realized Charlotte was engaged, they stopped to congratulate her. I was relieved when Wayne texted me to return to the office ASAP.
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