by D'Ann Lindun
He wondered what the forensic evidence showed. Had the killer left fingerprints or other clues behind? Would the Chief tell him even if he knew? Maybe Jody would if Trey could catch him alone. He wanted to give Jody the hair he’d found, too. Although he wanted to know, to understand what had happened to his mother, it was more pressing to find Lindy.
The phone rang. Trey moved to get it, but Etta beat him to it. He listened as she answered “yes sir” a few times. When she hung up, he waited for her to tell him what the caller said.
“That was your daddy. He just left the coroner.” Her voice broke. In a minute, she continued. “He wants you to meet him at his office in twenty minutes.”
Trey nodded. He got up and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
“Take care of your daddy. This is the worst day of his life.” She swiped at the spotless counter with a dishrag. “Go on. Get. He needs you.”
• • •
Trey found the Chief in his office. He sat behind his desk, a pile of papers lying in front of him. He looked up with red-rimmed eyes when Trey entered, but didn’t speak.
“Sir? You okay?” Trey moved toward the Chief, alarmed by his appearance.
“Sit down.” His voice was rough, like he’d been smoking and drinking all night. Or maybe crying.
Trey continued to stand. “What are you doing here? Why don’t you come home with me? Get something to eat, try to rest.”
Ignoring the suggestion, the Chief said, “I’m going to get that motherfucker once and for all. I should’ve done it sooner.” He waved a hand over the letters scattered in front of him. “I ignored the truth when it kicked me in the face. Hell, I ignored all of them. I thought it was just smoke and mirrors. Look what’s happened. Emily’s dead. Doc Conner’s all set to cut her open like she’s a side of beef. And it’s all because of my foolishness. I was soft, too soft.”
“Chief, slow down. I don’t understand. What’s your fault?” The image of his mother lying on the coroner’s table made Trey’s stomach churn. He wondered if the Chief had suffered some kind of breakdown from that same idea. He wasn’t making sense.
“I didn’t pay attention. That’s what’s wrong.” He swept the pile of letters off the desk with one hand. “And it was the biggest mistake of my life. Believe me now?” The Chief’s voice went flat. “Are you ready to admit that your buddy sneaked in during the middle of the night and smothered your mother in her own bed?”
Trey didn’t know what to think. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of his childhood friend taking his mother’s life. “I don’t know,” he said finally.
“Believe it. I’m going to order my men to shoot on sight,” the Chief said. “An eye for an eye.”
Trying to distract him, to dissuade him from his crazy plan, Trey asked, “What did Doc Conner say?”
“He met me at the morgue last night. His first reaction was that the cancer finally beat Emily, but when I told him about the lipstick on the mirror he had a different idea. He’s going to do,” the Chief’s throat worked, “an autopsy.”
Trey forced away the picture of his mother’s body being subjected to a postmortem examination. “Did the officers find any fingerprints or other evidence left behind?”
“Not a damn thing. Angola must have taught young Hill a few things about crime.” He was back in control, his voice again lacking any show of emotion. “But it doesn’t matter. I know the truth. I know why he did it and I won’t make the mistake of underestimating him again.”
“There might be another explanation for Mother’s death than automatically assuming Jace did it,” Trey said.
“There isn’t.”
“Have you heard any word on his location? Or anything about Lindy?”
The Chief shook his head. “Not yet. But with every lawman in the South on the lookout, I’m pretty certain we’ll tree him any minute. When we do, we’ll find your sister. I pray to God he didn’t make her suffer too much. If we can recover her body, we can have a double funeral. Your mother would like that.”
Trey stared at him like he was a stranger. The Chief talked about Lindy as if she weren’t his daughter. Maybe it was how he coped, but his emotionless tone was eerie. Trey knew if he didn’t keep his own feelings under a tight rein, he was going to lose it. He had a lot of practice at forcing down emotions, and he fell back on the years of training he’d received now. Just get the job done, think about it later. He couldn’t allow himself to hurt. He had to remain in control and find Lindy. The Chief didn’t seem capable of making a rational decision right now.
Trey didn’t have a lot of practice with planning funerals, but he knew there was a lot of work ahead of them. There were a lot of decisions to be made. Where to hold the service, who to conduct it, what kind of music and on and on. “Do you want Etta to do anything about arrangements?”
The Chief stared blankly at him for a minute. Then he said, “Tell her to go see Preacher Finn. Tell her to tell him your mother died, not how, mind you, but let him know that much at least. On second thought, you go.”
“No, sir.” Trey stood. “I’m not going to leave you until you’ve thought this through.
“No time for that now. I have a man to find.” The Chief’s eyes glowed with a feverish glint.
“Make time.” Trey knew the Chief was crazy with grief and not thinking straight. “Or at least let me go with you.”
“No, I’m going alone. If you have something to say to me, you can radio me.” He stood and went to the locked cabinet in the corner. Unlocking it, he withdrew a shotgun. “I’ll be in the field until I find what I’m looking for. I’m going to skin Hill like a rabbit.”
“Chief, you can’t mean to go out and shoot Jace Hill in cold blood. That makes you no better than he is.” Trey didn’t believe Jace had killed his mother, but if he had, he deserved all the law would do to him. But not vigilante justice. Jace had been wrong to deal it out, and this was just as wrong now. The Chief had tipped over the edge where Jace was concerned. Why?
Busy loading shells in the gun, the Chief didn’t look up. “Don’t you see? It’s the only way. He has to pay.”
There wasn’t a soul alive who could stop the Chief when he was rational, much less like this. Still, Trey tried. “No, sir, I don’t see. What I see is a dangerous obsession with a man who has been paying his debt to society. You have no proof he killed Mother or took Lindy.”
“I have all the proof I need.” He hoisted the gun to his shoulder and aimed at the wall.
Trey changed tactics. “You’re needed here. When word gets out about Mother, folks will want to see you, talk to you.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for talking later.” He stood and carrying the gun, moved around the desk. “Go on, get now. I’m not going to sit around and wait for that boy to come to me. I’m going to set things straight myself. I’ve waited too long.”
Angling in front of him, Trey said, “I’m not going to let you do this. It’s wrong.”
A grim smile covered the Chief’s face. “I’m finally making things right. You don’t have anything to say about it.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not a kid anymore who you can send out of the country because it’s not convenient to answer questions or dig deeper for the truth. I’m not going to be set aside again. Until I know the truth of what has happened, I’m going to stand right here. It’s time you answered some of my questions.”
The Chief tried to shoulder past him. “Get out of my way.”
Trey spread his feet and dug in his heels. “No, sir.”
“Move, boy.”
“Why are you so set on Jace as the killer?” Trey wasn’t going to budge an inch until he had some answers.
“Because he did it.” His face turned red and the vein in his forehead throbbed. He pointed to the pile of papers on the f
loor. “You saw the letters with your own eyes. That’s proof enough.”
“They’re no proof at all,” Trey shot back. “All they are is a bunch of threats. There’s got to be another reason you want Jace so bad. What is it? Since the day he escaped, you’ve been determined to prove that he’s the one whose wrecked havoc around here. What’s behind your reasoning?”
“Are you stupid?” the Chief continued, “or just led by your dick? You’re just as determined to prove that boy didn’t kill your mother, to get Summer Hill’s attention, that you’ll turn your back on your own flesh and blood.”
“You’re the one who turned your back on me,” Trey shouted back. “Leave Summer out of this. None of this has anything to do with her.” He calmed his voice. He wouldn’t give into the anger. If he did, he would lose control and no one would win.
“You’re spitting on your mother’s grave,” the Chief insisted. “Every time you bring up that girl, stick up for her brother, you drive another knife wound into my Emily’s back.”
“I just want the truth,” Trey said. “And, I think Mother would, too.”
“The last thing your mother would want is for you to be standing between me and her killer. I’m done with you.” He brought the gun in an upward arc, crashing it into Trey’s face.
Chapter Nineteen
Trey blinked and groaned.
His head felt like one of the watermelons the kids smashed for fun in the park on the Fourth of July. He didn’t know how long he’d been out. A minute or an hour? He started to stand and a wave of nausea rolled over him. Struggling, holding onto the edge of the desk, he pulled to his feet. He felt like he might spin off into space and he fell into the chair.
“What the hell?” Jody was kneeling beside him. How long had he been there? “What happened to you?”
“My old man was a little pissed.” It hurt to talk.
“You’re bleeding. Did the Chief hit you?” Jody looked as if he couldn’t imagine asking such a question.
Trey nodded and his stomach rolled. “Yeah.”
“Why? Never mind. I’m going to get you over to the hospital and get that looked after.” Jody reached for the phone. “You need some stitches.”
“No.” Trey forced himself to his feet, ignoring the dancing multicolored stars in front of his eyes accompanying the pain shooting through his temple. He touched his forehead with his fingertips and came away with blood on them. He swayed and held onto the desk with both hands. “You’ve got to find the Chief … he’s going to kill Jace. I need you to keep him from doing something he’ll regret the rest of his life.”
Jody’s mouth fell open. “What? Why?”
“You heard my mother was murdered last night?” Jody nodded and Trey ignored the way his heart twisted. He didn’t have time for pain right now. “The Chief is convinced Jace did it. I’m not as sure.”
“Man, that’s too bad about your mama.” Jody patted Trey’s shoulder awkwardly. “Why does the Chief think Jace did it?”
“He’s blinded by some kind of rage I can’t figure out. He’s determined to pin this on Jace, refusing to look at any other suspects. The killer left a message on the mirror written in lipstick. I can’t see Jace doing that.”
“What did it say?” Jody handed Trey a tissue from a box on the desk.
“It said, ‘Two down, two to go’.” Trey shook his aching head at the memory and shooting stars rocketed through his brain. “Lindy, Mother, the Chief, me.” He ticked off each one on his fingers as he named each of them.
“Do you think Jace is going to kill you and the Chief?” Jody looked skeptical. “I thought we were past believing Jace took Lindy.”
“I don’t know what to think at this point,” Trey said. “Three people have died in the last few days in this town. I’d lay odds against something like that, unless a serial killer was on the loose. And the MO doesn’t add up. Jimmy Ray was shot, Leroy hung himself, and my mother was suffocated.”
“Not only are the deaths different, the three people have nothing in common,” Jody agreed. “If the three of them had something that linked them, something to tie them together, it might be more assumable the same person was behind it. But it doesn’t seem likely that Miz Emily, Leroy, and Jimmy Ray had any common denominator. I can’t imagine Miz Emily knowing Jimmy Ray. And Leroy hung himself.”
“Jace wouldn’t have any reason to hurt Jimmy Ray that I can think of,” Trey said, “or Leroy. Even if he did kill my mother, he wouldn’t have had a reason to harm either of the others. And if Leroy died by his own hand, that leaves just Jimmy Ray. No link at all.” His head hurt so much he couldn’t think straight.
“I better find the Chief,” Jody said. “I’ll keep working this over in my head and see if I can figure it out. What are you going to do? Where can I reach you?”
“You can get me on my cell phone. I’m going to ask Summer one more time if she knows where her brother is hiding,” Trey answered. “And if she does, I pray she tells me before it’s too late.”
Jody turned to go and Trey stopped him. There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“This.” Trey handed him the bottle with the red hair in it.
• • •
Summer, Glory, and Lilah stood talking at the desk.
They were gearing up for the day ahead when the front door burst open and Trey barreled through it. Before any of them could speak, he grabbed Summer’s arm and half-dragged her toward the back room. “I need to talk to you. Now.”
She dug in her heels. “Let go of me. What are you, some kind of cave man?”
“Just come with me,” he insisted, propelling her forward. He slammed the door shut behind them, closing them in the storage closet. Barely big enough for the two of them, it squeezed them together like the bottles on the shelves around them. His thigh brushed her hip and she tried to move away, but there was nowhere to go.
“What’s this about? I thought I made it clear the last time we spoke that we didn’t have anything left to say to one another.” Summer crossed her arms over her chest. Trey was much, much too close. She could smell his musky aftershave. Her body tingled in response to the heady scent. Unnerved, she reached for the door handle. “Start talking.”
“Did you hear about my mother?”
“What about her?” Summer glared at him. He had a lot of nerve bursting into her work like this. For the first time, she looked squarely at him. He looked like he’d been through the ringer. He had a big lump and a trickle of blood on his forehead, and black rings rimmed his eyes. She handed him a red towel. “Here. Your head is bleeding.”
“She died last night.” He didn’t sugarcoat it or try to soften the message.
The anger went out of her like air rushing out of a flat tire. She touched his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. She didn’t just die, Summer.” He took a breath. “Someone murdered her.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out where he was going. She wanted to scream. “Oh, I get it now. You came tearing in here because you think my brother, who no one has seen in days, did it.” The sympathy she’d felt for him seconds before was replaced by rage. “My God, you just don’t quit.”
“There was a message scrawled across the mirror in red lipstick. It said ‘two down, two to go.’ The obvious conclusion is that someone meant Lindy, and now Mother. The Chief and me next. I was just with the Chief. He left the office with a shotgun, convinced Jace killed my mother. If the Chief finds him before anyone else does, he’ll shoot first and ask questions later. I’m asking you one more time, Summer, if you know where your brother is, if you even have a clue, then you need to tell me now.”
“So you can send him back to Angola,” she cried. “You’re trying to trick me. Make me sell out my brother.”
He grabbed her arms and gave her a
quick shake. “Damn it, why can’t you get it through your thick head that Jace killed a man? Why can’t you face it? Do you think I like this any better than you do?”
“No,” she sobbed, twisting away. “I can’t do this. I will not, cannot, believe my little brother stabbed someone to death.”
He dropped her arms like she burned him. His voice growled like sandpaper across a fresh piece of wood. “Do you think I like it any better than you do? My God, I was the one who found my best friend standing over Soloman’s body with a bloody knife in his hands. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, do you think I could believe it either? But I did see it, Summer. I’ve never forgotten how he looked. Like a crazy person.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. Trying to block his words, the images. “Stop this.”
“Open your eyes.” Once again, he grasped her arms, but not as fiercely. “Look at me.”
Reluctantly, she did. His face, inches from hers, was set in harsh lines. His eyes and lips were narrow slits. “We can’t go back and change what happened, but we can shape the future. Tell me now if you know where Jace is hiding. If the Chief finds him first there’ll be blood on your hands next.”
“I don’t know,” she cried.
“Tell me.” His eyes bored holes into her soul.
She couldn’t lie any more. If something happened to Jace and she could prevent it, she wouldn’t be able to stand it. Maybe if he was found or turned himself in, he’d have a chance to prove his innocence. If he was killed, that would be the end of him. She looked Trey in the eye. “He came to our house that first night. He took my tip money and left. I don’t know where he went. I swear.”