seem to be all that concerned about what
happened to your wife.”
“ Should I be concerned? You think
something happened to her?”
“ I’ve said all I can say
over the phone.”
“ Look, Detective, my wife
probably parked the car and went off with some guy. And I couldn’t
care less. Our marriage is over. I planned to file for divorce next
week.”
“ So, when can I expect to
see you here at the station?”
“ I’m feeling ill right now.
Some kind of virus, I guess. I’ll take some medicine and rest a
while and then hopefully I can make the trip up there—probably late
afternoon.”
“ Okay. I’ll be expecting you
this afternoon. Thank you. Goodbye.”
Larry hung up the phone.
He had no intention of going back to
Sherman. And by the time the police became suspicious, he would be
long gone.
**********
“ I appreciate you coming in
on a Saturday morning. I know it’s an inconvenience,” said the
detective.
“ No problem at all,” said
Rebecca. “I want to help in any way I can.”
“ When I took your statement
yesterday at the motel, you said Melanie was not a
hooker.”
“ Of course not. She was a
divorce lawyer—and a good one.”
“ So, what made you think to
look for her in that fleabag motel?”
“ There was a scrap of paper
on her desk with the name of the motel on it. She was late coming
in to the office and we couldn’t reach her by phone, so I checked
her desk for clues.”
“ I’m going to need that
scrap of paper.”
“ Sure. I’ll see if I can
find it.”
The detective glared at her. “You think she
went there in her capacity as a divorce lawyer?”
“ Sure. We go wherever we
need to for our clients.”
“ The manager said you came
into the office asking about her.”
“ Yes, that’s
correct.”
“ And you mentioned to him
that Melanie sometimes goes by the name ‘Candy.’”
“ Uh, yes.”
“ Why would a lawyer have a
nickname like Candy ?”
“ I don’t know exactly. It
was from elementary school. She never told me why the kids started
calling her that. But it’s a cute nickname for an 8
year-old.”
“ Yeah, but at 28, it sounds
an awful lot like a hooker—especially when you dress like
one.”
“ My partner was no hooker,
lieutenant. She was a hard-working lawyer who really cared about
her clients.”
“ And when you found her, did
you touch or move anything in the room?”
“ No, of course not. I’m a
lawyer—I know better.” Rebecca knew she had gone way over the line
this time. There was no scrap of paper with the motel name on it.
And she had gone through Melanie’s purse, taken the bottom off and
swapped out the video camera’s memory card.
She might end up in prison,
or at the very least, be disbarred. But she knew who the killer
was, and she would dispose of him. No need to waste a prison cell on the
stinking degenerate.
**********
The jerk in the dark green Jaguar nearly
sideswiped Rebecca as she was entering the subdivision. She looked
to see if the driver was smirking at her, but the windows were too
dark. Just because they’re rich, they think they own the road, she
thought.
It had taken until 1:30 PM to drive to Plano
after being interrogated in Sherman.
She stuffed a handful of greasy fries into
her mouth and sucked down the rest of her warm strawberry
shake.
The yard sloped dramatically upward to the
house, making her feel like a peasant looking up at a castle. She
drove up into the semi-circle driveway, set her parking brake, and
killed the engine.
She hoped he would pull a gun on her. She
could whip hers out as fast as any gunslinger in an old Western. As
a kid, she had worked at perfecting her skills with a toy pistol
and holster. And when she was a little older, she and her dad spent
a lot of time at the shooting range. At fifty feet, she could shoot
a man’s dangler off before he could even go for his gun.
She rang the doorbell and got no answer.
She knocked and waited, and knocked
again.
Then it
happened to your wife.”
“ Should I be concerned? You think
something happened to her?”
“ I’ve said all I can say
over the phone.”
“ Look, Detective, my wife
probably parked the car and went off with some guy. And I couldn’t
care less. Our marriage is over. I planned to file for divorce next
week.”
“ So, when can I expect to
see you here at the station?”
“ I’m feeling ill right now.
Some kind of virus, I guess. I’ll take some medicine and rest a
while and then hopefully I can make the trip up there—probably late
afternoon.”
“ Okay. I’ll be expecting you
this afternoon. Thank you. Goodbye.”
Larry hung up the phone.
He had no intention of going back to
Sherman. And by the time the police became suspicious, he would be
long gone.
**********
“ I appreciate you coming in
on a Saturday morning. I know it’s an inconvenience,” said the
detective.
“ No problem at all,” said
Rebecca. “I want to help in any way I can.”
“ When I took your statement
yesterday at the motel, you said Melanie was not a
hooker.”
“ Of course not. She was a
divorce lawyer—and a good one.”
“ So, what made you think to
look for her in that fleabag motel?”
“ There was a scrap of paper
on her desk with the name of the motel on it. She was late coming
in to the office and we couldn’t reach her by phone, so I checked
her desk for clues.”
“ I’m going to need that
scrap of paper.”
“ Sure. I’ll see if I can
find it.”
The detective glared at her. “You think she
went there in her capacity as a divorce lawyer?”
“ Sure. We go wherever we
need to for our clients.”
“ The manager said you came
into the office asking about her.”
“ Yes, that’s
correct.”
“ And you mentioned to him
that Melanie sometimes goes by the name ‘Candy.’”
“ Uh, yes.”
“ Why would a lawyer have a
nickname like Candy ?”
“ I don’t know exactly. It
was from elementary school. She never told me why the kids started
calling her that. But it’s a cute nickname for an 8
year-old.”
“ Yeah, but at 28, it sounds
an awful lot like a hooker—especially when you dress like
one.”
“ My partner was no hooker,
lieutenant. She was a hard-working lawyer who really cared about
her clients.”
“ And when you found her, did
you touch or move anything in the room?”
“ No, of course not. I’m a
lawyer—I know better.” Rebecca knew she had gone way over the line
this time. There was no scrap of paper with the motel name on it.
And she had gone through Melanie’s purse, taken the bottom off and
swapped out the video camera’s memory card.
She might end up in prison,
or at the very least, be disbarred. But she knew who the killer
was, and she would dispose of him. No need to waste a prison cell on the
stinking degenerate.
**********
The jerk in the dark green Jaguar nearly
sideswiped Rebecca as she was entering the subdivision. She looked
to see if the driver was smirking at her, but the windows were too
dark. Just because they’re rich, they think they own the road, she
thought.
It had taken until 1:30 PM to drive to Plano
after being interrogated in Sherman.
She stuffed a handful of greasy fries into
her mouth and sucked down the rest of her warm strawberry
shake.
The yard sloped dramatically upward to the
house, making her feel like a peasant looking up at a castle. She
drove up into the semi-circle driveway, set her parking brake, and
killed the engine.
She hoped he would pull a gun on her. She
could whip hers out as fast as any gunslinger in an old Western. As
a kid, she had worked at perfecting her skills with a toy pistol
and holster. And when she was a little older, she and her dad spent
a lot of time at the shooting range. At fifty feet, she could shoot
a man’s dangler off before he could even go for his gun.
She rang the doorbell and got no answer.
She knocked and waited, and knocked
again.
Then it
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