by Mary Burton
Deke knew Rick had not wanted to take leave from the department, but he and his dog had been deemed unfit for street duty after the shooting. There’d been talk of wanting a desk job but Rick had resisted, opting to keep his options open while on unpaid leave. “Better to retrench and return,” he’d said last year. “If we’re not working the streets we’ll go insane.”
Rick had returned to school where he now was finishing up his undergraduate degree. Tracker spent his days always close at Rick’s side. He’d become an honored mascot at school, no one ever questioning the right of a retired police dog to sit in class.
With Tracker on his heel, Rick entered Deke’s office. Tracker jumped up on a worn leather couch and closed his eyes, though his ears remained perked.
Deke rose. “Welcome.”
Rick shook Deke’s hand. “I hear you have another victim.”
“That’s right.” Deke settled in his chair as Rick carefully eased into the seat across from him.
Rick had taken a bullet to the hip. Even after six months, he struggled with discomfort and pain.
“What can you tell me about Lexis Hanover?”
“I didn’t know her all that well. She was in the math department and I’m in the history department. But the school is like a big small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. She was liked and respected. Some of the students have already started putting flowers at her office door.”
“Anyone have a beef with her?”
Rick crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee. He laid a manila file on his thigh. “None that I heard of, but I can ask around if you like.”
“I would. I want to know anyone who might have had a grudge. She died hard.”
“Has the medical examiner looked at her yet?”
Deke checked his watch. “She will soon. You’re welcome to sit in if you like.”
“What about your partner?”
“Busy with personnel, getting the last of his retirement papers squared away. Tonight is his retirement party.”
“You and KC have been partners six months?”
“Give or take.”
He shifted his weight as if moving away from the pain. “Must be odd working with a guy who worked with Buddy.”
“It’s been an experience.” All the Morgan kids had worked under Buddy’s shadow. He’d been a damned legend in Homicide. But Deke had born the brunt of most of the comparisons.
“So what do you have for me?”
Rick flipped open the file. “I’ve been digging nonstop. Interesting case.”
Deke leaned back in his chair. “I can tell by that twinkle in your eye that you found something.”
“Buddy had two big breaks on this case. The first came eight weeks after Annie vanished. Her bones were found in the woods. Not much of her left. Head and hands were missing. But a silver heart-shaped necklace was found with the bones and later identified as Annie’s.”
“Not much forensic evidence.”
“The arm bones did show severe unhealed fractures. Best guess was that she’d been beaten to death.”
“Like my current victims.”
Rick raised a brow. “Similar, as a matter of fact. Without the skull it is impossible to tell about facial injuries but her extremities were shattered with a hard object.”
Deke leaned back in his chair. “What are the chances it’s the same killer?”
“Killers do go dark for any number of reasons, and then for equally unknown reasons they reactivate.”
“What was Buddy’s second break?”
“Four days after Annie Dawson’s body was found a confidential informant named Max Quincy who was in county jail on theft charges told his guards that he had information on the Annie Dawson case. Said he’d trade his information if charges were dropped.”
“And Buddy went for that? The story was all over the news and radio. How many CIs or false witnesses did they have to sift through?”
“A few. But Buddy didn’t pass up any leads. He talked to every nut that called in with a tip, including Max.”
“And what did Max tell Buddy?”
Rick pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Deke. It was Max’s rap sheet with a photo of the blurry-eyed informant staring toward the ground. He sported a day’s growth of beard and his hair stuck up as if he’d run his fingers through it a hundred times.
“Max is the man that broke the case. He’s the one that refocused the cops onto Jeb who had been questioned after Annie had vanished but never arrested for lack of evidence.”
“I know they’d gotten a lucky break but a paid CI?” Paid CIs could be valuable, but cops always weighed the CI’s greed versus the truth.
“In exchange for his testimony, Max had the charges dropped and he received a small cash sum.”
“How did he know Jeb?”
“They were drinking buddies. Saw each other in the bars all the time. Max remembers Jeb talking about Annie a few weeks before she vanished.”
“I came across some letters.” He gave Rick a rundown on the letters’ backstory along with copies.
Eyes bright with interest, Rick studied the letters. “Are you going to have them authenticated?”
“That’s what Lexis Hanover was doing when she was killed. The letters she had were taken. But our Ms. Wainwright kept copies and some originals. I’ve given those to Brad Holcombe in Forensics.”
Rick shuffled through the pages. “It pays to be suspicious.”
“Brad should have an analysis within days.”
Rick frowned. “Have you told Georgia about the letters? She’s good with handwriting.”
“Let’s have Brad take a crack at them first.” He reached for a mug and took a sip. Cold coffee tasted bitter. “Has she asked you about the case files?”
“She’s called and offered to bring me dinner.”
“She’s slick.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“So why tell me about Max?”
“Because he’s alive and well and after a little checking I found out that he’s in lockup once again. Thirty years has not done much to mend his ways.”
Deke took the piece of paper with Rick’s handwritten notes. “So Max says he saw Jeb before Annie vanished and Jeb was talking about Annie.”
“He wouldn’t be the first killer who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
“After a chat with Max the cops searched Jeb’s car trunk and found the bloodied tire iron.”
“A blood test reveals the type is O, a match to Annie, and B+, a match to Jeb. The cops believe they have found their man. When he’s arrested, he’s drunk. Buddy talks to him but gets nowhere fast. Tosses him in the drunk tank until he sobers up.”
“Buddy’s under pressure to get a confession.”
“Sure. But you know Buddy didn’t bow to pressure. Fact, he welcomed a good fight. No, he was gonna get a righteous confession or none at all. I watched the interview tapes. A lean, mean Buddy is on his game. Jeb is confused. At first he says he didn’t hurt Annie. And then he cries. Jeb is hungover and sick but at this point he has enough sense to demand an attorney. Buddy gets him a public defender. The PD has alone time with Jeb and then Buddy reenters the room. Jeb is really not well now. Buddy promises he’ll feel better if he tells the truth. The attorney warns silence but Jeb takes “better” to mean booze and confesses to killing Annie. After that he found himself on a runaway train that could not be stopped.”
“Exactly.”
“DNA is not back yet, is it?”
“I just checked. A day or two more.” Deke opened his desk drawer and pulled out his gun and slid it into his holster. “Why don’t we go have a chat with Max.”
Rick grinned. “Tracker. Want to go ride in a car?”
Tracker’s eyes opened and he barked. Rick rose and helped the dog off the couch. Tracker wagged his tail and barked again. “You want me to drive?”
Deke rattled the keys in his hand. “I’ll drive.”
Fifteen minu
tes later, Deke, Rick, and Tracker arrived at the city jail. The three were taken to an interview room while the guard located Max.
“You can’t miss this part of the job,” Deke said, staring at the gray walls.
“I miss it all.”
“Ever thought about requalifying?”
“Sure. I’ve thought about it. And I think if I hit it hard I could make it happen. But Tracker’s done. And if he can’t work, I’m out. We’re a team.”
“How’s his hip?”
“Giving him trouble. The supplements help a lot but he’ll never run again like he did.” Loyalty ran deep in Rick. He’d stayed in Nashville for the family. Given up a job he’d loved for a dog he loved. Lost a woman because of his brother Alex. Deke had allowed Rick to step into Buddy’s shoes but now realized that hadn’t been fair. It was his job to hold the Morgans together.
Before Deke could comment, the doors swung open and a handcuffed older man wearing an orange jumpsuit entered the room. The man’s body bordered on withered and the long gray hair tied at the nape of his neck had thinned to stringy strands. Fading tattoos covered his arms.
A uniformed guard held him by the arm and guided him to the bench by the table.
“Max Quincy?” Deke asked.
The old man studied him with squinted, leery eyes before grinning. “You got to be Buddy Morgan’s boy.”
“That’s right.”
“That man had an unforgettable mug. And when he was pissed he could scare Satan himself.”
Legends cast long shadows. “You were a CI for Buddy.”
“That’s right. Gave him good information. Helped him crack all kinds of cases.” Max sniffed and sat back in his chair with the confidence of a man holding all the cards.
“You gave him the big tip on the Annie Rivers Dawson case.” He smiled. “Launched his career.”
Max puffed out his chest. “Buddy knew it too. He always looked out for me after that. Fact, if he were still alive today, I’d be out of jail by now.”
Deke leaned forward. “I’m getting some heat on the Annie Rivers Dawson case. See it on the news?”
“That lawyer.” His lips flattened into a grim line. “She don’t know what she’s talking about. She wasn’t born when it happened. But I was there. I know.”
“You still remember the case?”
“As if it were yesterday.”
Deke doubted the old man recalled the details as they’d happened. The ego might cling to memories, but the truth was, time faded details into half-truths and tall tales.
“Tell me. Buddy and I never talked about his old cases. And I’d like to know what you remember.”
Max rolled his head from side to side, exposing a fading skull and crossbones tattoo on the side of his neck. “I can tell you for sure that Jeb Jones is a damn liar. He killed her.”
“Tell me what you remember.”
“It was days after she vanished. We was sitting in a bar and drinking. I was a heavy drinker, fact, few men could drink me under the table, but Jeb could. Anyway, he’d gotten paid so he had extra money. Meaning extra drinks.”
“He was drunk.”
“As a skunk. Anyway, he started talking about Annie. Said she was pretty. Said she’d had the baby but you couldn’t tell by looking at her that she’d ever been pregnant. She was still perfect. And even though she was married, he’d never stopped dreaming that they’d be together.”
“You think Jeb and Annie had a thing going? Did they ever sleep together?”
“The way Jeb talked about her, you’d think they was knocking boots, if you know what I mean. He was always talking about how pretty she was and he described her body as if he’d seen it naked enough times.”
“Did he say they were lovers?”
“He said it enough times but none of us at the bar believed him. I mean how could a loser like him land a beauty like her?”
“It’s happened.”
“Maybe. Whether he slept with her or not he wanted to real bad and he thought he kind of had a right to her. In his mind she was his.”
Jeb, guilty or not of murder, had been stalking Annie. There’d been enough evidence at his trial to prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. And stalkers did turn on their victims when watching no longer was enough. Murder was the ultimate control over an individual. “Did he say anything after news of her murder hit the papers?”
“Oh, he was all tore up. Balled like a baby. Odd to see a tough guy like him crumble.” Max cocked his head. “Funny he should blubber when he killed her.”
Not funny or odd at all. Killers often felt remorse for a victim they’d killed in a moment of anger. “How’d you figure the tire iron was in his trunk?”
“He told me he’d done something bad. Wouldn’t say what it was but he said it was bad. From there I put two and two together.”
“You called Buddy and told him you had a tip on the case.”
“That’s right.”
“Why’d it take you four days to talk to Buddy?”
“’Cause it didn’t make sense for me to talk until I was in trouble. A good card player keeps his hand close to his vest until the time is right.”
“So you were in trouble and needed a way out. And you happened to have information on the most publicized case in the city.”
“Better to be lucky than smart, I always say.”
“Oh, no, you hit the jackpot that go-around. Did Jeb ever tell you why he cut up the body or where he dumped the head and arms?”
Max sat back. “I’ve been giving you a lot of good information and I’m now wondering what am I getting in return?”
“So far you’ve given me what’s in the public record. I could have gone to the courthouse and pulled the transcripts and gotten the same information.”
Rick shifted behind him, his impatience palatable. “He doesn’t know anything.”
Max glared at him with the eyes of a seasoned player. “I told you what I remembered.”
“Bullshit,” Rick said.
Max wagged a long pale finger bent and turned with arthritis. “Maybe I do. Plus I’ve info on a drug deal that will be going down on Broadway.”
“I’m not here for the drugs, Max. I’m here about Annie Dawson. Jeb swore he never killed her. If he felt as bad about her death as you say then he’d have said more.”
“He gave me a few clues.”
“Such as?”
“I’m not telling until I get some kind of promise.”
Deke rose from his chair and glanced at Rick. “We’re done here.”
Rick nodded. “He’s full of shit.”
The two brothers moved to the door. The sound of Max’s chains clinked as he pounded the table. Fury blazed in his eyes. “You can’t leave me like this! I can help you!”
Deke reached for the door. “I bet if I leave you in a cell for a few more days and you can’t get a fix, you’ll be one hurting guy.”
“That’s not right. That’s torture!”
“I’m hearing noise now, Max.”
Rick chuckled. “I hear withdrawal is a bitch.”
Deke shook his head. “I sure as hell would hate to go through it. Throw up, shakes, and sometimes they see spiders and bugs that ain’t there.”
Max swallowed and rubbed a shaking hand over his forehead as if he’d travelled this road before. “Okay, okay.”
With his hand on the door, Deke hesitated. “Okay what?”
“I might remember where he dumped Annie’s head.”
“You might?” Rick snorted. “Not good enough.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you exactly where.”
Rick shook his head. “It’s been thirty years. I don’t think he remembers. He wants out of that cell so bad he’ll make up any story.”
Bloodshot eyes seized onto Deke. “No. That ain’t true! I know stuff.”
Deke yawned and checked his watch. “Then why didn’t you play the card sooner, Max? Why wait until now?”
“’Cause it’s been thirty
years and I didn’t think anybody cared about yesterday’s news.”
Deke folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “Where’s the skull?”
“If I tell you, will you let me out of here?”
“If I find what I’m looking for, I surely will let you out of here. But if I don’t then you’ll stay put for a real long time.”
“That’s not fair! I can’t help if the terrain has changed over the years. Nashville has grown a lot.”
Deke smelled lies on Max. Stinking lies. And he wondered if the con man had ever had information. Maybe Max had played Buddy thirty years ago. Buddy wasn’t the kind of cop to let a drunkard lead him by the nose, but he’d been desperate and under a lot of pressure. And desperate men made bad decisions. “Where’s the head?”
“It’s off I-40. Near exit 201.”
“That’s not very precise.”
Max’s hands trembled. “The skull is there, I tell you. I remember. Near a tree.”
Rick’s gaze sharpened as it had when he was a cop. “A tree off Exit 201. That’s bull. Those directions are worthless.”
“Take me there. I’ll show you. I know if I see it I will find the spot.”
This all smelled wrong. “Why didn’t you ever tell Buddy?”
Max sniffed. “Like I said, I figured the day would come and I’d have to play the card.”
“There’s a lot of houses in that area,” Deke said.
“Not when Jeb buried it.”
This stunk. “I’ll be back.”
Max’s cuffs rattled as he sat straighter. “What’s that mean?”
“It means if I find what I’m looking for, I’ll let you out.”
“Aren’t you gonna let me out of jail so I can show you?”
“Nope. And if you’re lying to me you’re gonna be here as long as I can keep you here.”
Max fisted his hand, clenching until his knuckles whitened. “If you’ll get me out of here, I’ll lead you to your skull. Go on and see. Off Dabney Road, near a gas station.”
Deke moved toward Max. “You’re lying.”