“All right, Matt,” Mack said after he and Toni had taken a seat. “Let’s have it.”
“Cardioplegic drugs are commonly used by many heart surgeons during surgery to immobilize the heart.”
“We already know that,” Mack said impatiently. “I don’t see—”
“Let me finish. It’s also used in small doses by heart patients.”
“Okay, Matt. Where are you going with this?” Mack groused.
“According to the crime lab’s expert, Paul Norman, it takes from fifteen to thirty minutes for the drug Cyclocardia to be absorbed into the blood. It leaves behind chemical traces.”
Mack plowed his fingers through his hair. “So?”
“Because of the time it takes the drug to circulate through the system to cause death and dissolve leaving only a trace is crucial. If Toni doesn’t remember whether she got there before or after the shooting, you know what a D.A. could make out of that.”
“Damn.”
“Exactly, I couldn’t have put it better myself.”
“And we thought nothing else damning could possibly surface,” Toni said quietly.
Matt grimaced. “That’s not all.”
Toni tensed, preparing herself to hear the worst.
“Norman has found identical chemical trace patterns in the DNA report of another person.”
“Another person?” Mack shook his head. “What other person?” His brother had really lost him now.
“J. V. Townsend Sr.”
“What?” Toni’s eyes widened in shock. “But he died of natural causes from a stroke and a massive heart attack.”
“Evidently not. According to Paul Norman—”
“I’m sick of hearing that guy’s name,” Mack growled.
“Mack, J. V. Townsend Sr. was evidently taking Cyclocardia for his heart. Paul Norman calculated the probable complications if a patient ingested more than his or her usual dosage. He discovered that it could simulate the symptoms of a massive heart attack and/or stroke.”
“What are you trying to tell us, Matt?” Toni calmly asked.
“Townsend literally died in your arms, Toni. You were found cradling his head in your lap and later kneeling next to Clifford’s body. Do I need to go on?”
“How did this Paul Norman discover the drug was a medication that Townsend took?” she asked.
“He got the information from both his doctor and the coroner’s office. According to him, he studied Clifford’s DNA report and realized that it resembled another DNA report he’d seen. Then he recalled where he’d seen it: Townsend’s. And from there he—”
“Put two and two together,” Mack muttered. “Which means that someone knew what an overdose could do to both Townsend, considering his heart condition, and Clifford, who didn’t have one. This same someone knew how to adjust the dosages to fit their purpose. That takes a more than ordinary knowledge of the drug.”
Matt took up the theme. “And since they both were Toni’s bosses and she was having problems with both, and her father happens to be a heart surgeon, and she worked for him at one time, and her two bosses just happened to die within months of each other… Circumstantial though it may be, it’s the kind of evidence the D. A.’s office will use to get a conviction against Toni. And add to that the embezzlement charges—do I need to elaborate?”
Toni said quietly. “No, you don’t. What do you think will happen now?”
“Because Nina Townsend lived in the same house as her father-in-law she had access to his medication. She could have easily killed him and Clifford with it,” Mack pointed out. “She had also been a nurse’s aide in a cardiac unit.”
“You’re right there,” Matt confirmed. “As I said before, those crucial fifteen to thirty minutes will most likely determine who is officially charged with committing the murders.”
“You think it could be me!” Toni gasped.
“I’m not saying that. Any number of people could have done it. Which one is anybody’s guess. We’ll have to wait and see what the D.A.’s office will do next.”
* * *
They didn’t have long to wait, for almost as soon as Toni and Mack had arrived at his house and sat down to drink their coffee, the doorbell rang. Mack opened the door to see his friend. Bob entered the living room with a grim look on his face. Toni was sitting on the couch. The lieutenant walked toward her. Mack followed.
Bob turned to his friend. “I’m sorry, Mack.” He cleared his throat and looked at Toni. “Antonia Carlton, I’m arresting you on suspicion of the murders of one Frank Clifford on November 25th and John Victor Townsend Sr. on August 6th.”
Toni’s cup rattled. She put it down and rose stiffly to her feet, listening in stunned disbelief as Mack’s friend read her her rights. When he’d finished she said simply, “I didn’t kill Frank Clifford or Mr. Townsend, Bob.”
“It’s not for me to determine that, Toni. I’m only doing my job. Believe me, I don’t like this any better than you do.”
“Bob—” Mack’s voice cracked.
“Mack, I can’t tell you any more. You’d better call Matt.” He turned to Toni. “If you come quietly, you’ll make it easier on everyone. I’d hate to have to cuff you.”
Toni looked to Mack. The plea in her frightened brown eyes tore at his heart and sliced his guts into ribbons.
He caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m coming right behind you, as soon as I call Matt.”
“Mack, you’re—” Bob started to object.
“I’m coming, Bob,” Mack said flatly, leaving the lingering impression that he would do something rash if his friend objected.
* * *
Matt arrived at the police station minutes after Toni and Mack. He talked to Bob, then asked to be left alone with his client.
“If you think I’m going anywhere, forget it,” Mack challenged his brother.
“Mack, I think you should—” Toni began.
“Don’t make me have to escort you out of here.” Bob’s expression turned steely with intent as he and Mack exchanged glances.
Toni smiled at Mack and squeezed his hand. “Please. I’ll be all right. If Matt feels that he needs to talk to me alone I’m sure he has a good reason for doing so.”
“He better have.” Mack glared at his brother, his look promising retribution. He then exited the room with Bob.
* * *
After going over everything, Toni cast a wistful glance at Matt. “Is there a chance a judge will grant me bail?”
“I’m not very optimistic about that. If a judge should grant you bail, it will probably be out of reach. But I’ll do all I can for you, Toni. Now I have to confront my brother. Believe me, I’d rather face down an arena full of saber-toothed tigers and rattlesnakes.”
Toni smiled wryly. “He can be a pretty formidable character, can’t he?”
Matt returned the smile. “I see you know him well.”
“I love him well,” she said softly.
* * *
“Damn it, Matt,” Mack roared once he and his brother arrived at Mack’s house. “Why did you insist on talking to her alone? Did you tell her something you didn’t want me to hear?”
“Of course I didn’t. Will you please calm down? Cursing at me won’t change anything. It certainly won’t get Toni out of jail. We’re going to have to work hard toward that end. You’re the investigator in the family. And if you ever needed to use your expertise, now is the time, my brother.”
“It’s hard for me right now. All right? The woman I love is in jail for something she didn’t do. And all I seem able to do is stand around and do nothing.”
“All the more reason for you to pull yourself together and do what you’ve been trained to do.”
“I know you’re right, but the idea of leaving her in that place…”
Matt put a hand on his brother’s shoulder and squeezed. “I can only imagine what you’re going through. If it were Rachel, believe me, no way in hell would I be able to stay calm, rational
and objective.”
“When do you think you can get Toni a hearing?”
“I’m pushing for tomorrow morning, but the court calendar is jammed.”
“What about Warren and the Townsend woman and what we know about her background?”
“Bob says he’ll hand the information over to the D.A.’s office and bring her in for questioning. As for Warren, they can’t prove anything against him, though he’s still a person of interest in the investigation. Right now their main focus is on Toni. To them she has the strongest motive for committing the murders.”
“Matt, Warren hated Frank Clifford’s guts as much as anyone. And as for Nina Townsend, she could have been bored with Clifford and convinced Warren to help her take him out.”
“That’s all guesswork and may or may not be true, but we can’t prove it. If you’re going to save Toni, I believe you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
* * *
After his brother had gone, Mack paced back and forth in his study, wracking his brain for answers. There was something so patently strange about this whole situation. If he could only find the glue to make this puzzle stick together.
Those critical fifteen to thirty minutes kept coming back to batter his mind without letup. They were the key, if he could only find the lock that it fit into.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The tense, uncomfortable look that came into the Townsend housekeeper’s face when she opened the door to Mack the next morning put him on the alert.
“Mrs. Townsend is asleep, Mr. Jessup,” she informed him.
“I’ve come to talk to you, Cara. That is your name, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir.” A look of wary curiosity suffused her face. “Why would you want to speak to me?”
Mack hadn’t noticed the last time he was there how pronounced Cara’s Spanish accent was. He cleared his throat. “Several things about the night Frank Clifford was murdered keep bothering me, and I thought you might be able to clear them up for me.”
“If I can. I do not see how I can help you.”
Mack smiled. “You would be surprised at what you know that you don’t think you know. May I come in?”She opened the door. “Of course,” she said, running her palms down the sides of her uniform before leading him into a nearby sitting room. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“No, thanks. You’re a live-in housekeeper, aren’t you, Cara?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mrs. Townsend said she came in well before midnight on the night of November 25th. Can you substantiate her claim?”
Mack noticed how the woman nervously bit into her lip and refused to look him in the eye. She was definitely hiding something. But what?
“I really do not remember the exact time she came in, Mr. Jessup. You see, I was half asleep.”
“You didn’t happen to glance at a bedside clock or anything when you heard her come in?”
“I do not remember. I—I…” Her voice faltered.
Ever tenacious, Mack plowed on. “Approximately what time did you get to sleep?”
“Eleven-thirty, I think.”
“You were in your quarters at midnight then, right?”
She fidgeted with her hands. “Yes, sir.”
The way she was acting alarmed Mack, and he couldn’t say why he felt that way. It was as though she were attempting to keep from revealing something to him with her vague answers and her refusal to look directly at him.
“Did Mrs. Townsend ever come down and have breakfast with her husband?”
“Sometimes when he went into the office late. Why would you want to know this?”
“How about with her father-in-law?”
Her eyes widened. “Mr. Jessup, I do not—”
“Well, did she, Cara?” he asked, pointedly interrupting her.
“Yes, a few times when she came down he was having his morning coffee.”
“Can you remember the last time?”
“No, sir, I cannot. Please, I—”
“Could it have been the morning he died?”
Cara’s eyes seemed to grow even larger. Mack noticed the pulse fluttering in her throat.
“What are you trying to get her to tell you about me, Mr. Jessup?” Nina Townsend asked from the doorway.
“Mrs. Townsend.” Mack smiled engagingly. “Maybe you can help us.”
“I doubt that. What are you doing here, Mr. Jessup?” She demanded.
“Maybe I came to see you.”
Nina smiled coyly. “You can leave, Cara. Oh, wait. Get me some coffee. Would you like some, Mr. Jessup?”
“All right.”
“Bring a cup for our guest.”
Mack watched the housekeeper, taking in her attempt to control her obvious dislike of Nina Townsend as she left the room.
“You’re a very attractive man, Mr. Jessup,” Nina purred. “Why are you checking up on my daily schedule? Did you have something, ah, in mind?” Her look was provocative.
Mack mentally gritted his teeth at the syrupy-sexy tone in her voice, the sensual movement of her body as she sauntered toward him. “You’d be interested if I did?”
“If I could believe it’s what you really came here for.”
“What other reason could I possibly have?”
“Oh, I don’t know. To help your little girlfriend out of the trouble she’s in, for one. I heard on the radio that she’s been arrested on suspicion of murder. Maybe you can fill in a few of the details for me.”
Mack realized how right his brother had been about this woman not being the dumb blonde she pretended.
“Well, Mr. Jessup?”
“I think I’ll pass on the coffee after all. I have to go to my office. And by the way, I wouldn’t begin to feel smug if I were you.”
“And why shouldn’t I? I’m not the one the police have in custody.”
“Keep in mind they’ve arrested the wrong person.”
Her brows arched in surprise. “And you think I’m the right one?” She laughed.
Mack shrugged his shoulders before leaving the room.
* * *
“I was on the right track, Matt, I’m sure of it,” Mack exclaimed minutes after storming into his brother’s office.
“How can you be sure the housekeeper remembered?”
“If you’d seen the look on her face you would have understood.”
“Mack, you sure you’re not over-projecting?”
“No way, Matt. My gut instinct tells me that Cara is more involved in this than she wants us to know. I’ve got to figure a way to get her to admit it.”
“You have to be careful not to harass her.”
“I know that, Matt. I’m not stupid. If what I have in mind works, I won’t have to do anything.”
Matt frowned. “What do you have in mind?”
* * *
Had she let her ambition bring her to this? Toni asked herself as she sat on the cot in her jail cell. She shared the cell with two rough-looking women. She hadn’t killed anyone or stolen from Townsend’s, and yet here she was in jail among criminals! Oh, God, how she wished…
What? her conscience taunted. You were out of here? Dream on. The police and the D.A.’s office believe they have the guilty party: you. Why would they look any further?
She heard the approach of the jail matron.
“All right, Carlton, follow me.”
“What?”
“Follow me.”
Were they letting her out? Her heart rate sped up when she was shown into a consultation room. Matt was waiting for her.
“Matt, what—”
He smiled. “Sit down, Toni.”
She eased into the chair across from him.
“New information has surfaced.”
Her mouth went dry and she laved her lips with her tongue. “What kind of information?”
“Let’s just say it’s enough to warrant releasing you.”
Toni frowned. “But I thought—”
“You’ll be getting
out in a matter of hours.”
“Matt, I don’t understand. What about the embezzlement charges?”
“That isn’t our main concern right now. Look, I’ll explain everything once you’re released. I promise.”
* * *
As Toni was leaving the police station with Matt and Mack, a policeman was leading Nina Townsend inside.
“Mack, is she the one who killed Mr. Townsend and Frank Clifford?”
“The police think she might have killed her father-in-law after finding out she had morning coffee with him on the day he died. They think it’s possible that she got some of his medication and slipped it into his coffee before he left for the office. If Townsend took his regular dose at the office, coupled with what he’d had at home, it would have been enough to cause a massive heart attack and/or stroke.”
“But what about Frank Clifford?”
“She could have found a bottle of Townsend’s medicine and dropped some into Clifford’s coffee. As for her alibi, according to the housekeeper it had to be sometime around midnight when she got home. She isn’t sure if it was before or after.”
“Her poor husband. After all he’s been through with her, and now to find out she might have killed his father…”
“Especially after claiming that he loved her so much he was willing to overlook her many affairs just to keep her. He probably won’t waste any time getting her a good criminal attorney.”
“You sound so unsympathetic to his problem, Mack.”
“I’ve been there, done that.”
“Oh, Mack.”
“It’s all right, Toni.” He smiled, squeezing her hand. “You’ve helped me get over her.”
“You sure?”
He kissed her. “I’m positive.”
* * *
“I still can’t remember what happened during those missing minutes,” Toni said once she, Mack and Matt were all seated in Mack’s living room.
“The killer doesn’t know that,” Mack answered.
“But isn’t Nina Townsend the guilty party?”
“I don’t believe she did it,” he said, his expression thoughtful. “But if she did, she would have needed help.”
“But, Mack—” She shot Matt a pleading glance. “Matt? Would one of you please explain what’s going on?”
The Perfect Frame Page 22