turned back to Michael. “Whatever happened to that guy that killed your brother?”
Michael’s jaw locked. “He was acquitted.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that. Crazy. But I mean, where is he now?”
“He’s disappeared,” Michael said. “We don’t know where he is.”
“That’s too bad. It was so clear he was guilty. To get off on a thing like that …”
Michael took the pictures, thanked the man, and went back to his car. Before pulling out of the parking space, he sat staring at his steering wheel, trying to compose himself.
Too bad
.
The man had no idea how bad it was. To the general population, his brother’s case had been entertainment. To his family, and to Cathy, it had been a gutting that had left them hollow and raw.
Besides his brother, who’d been his best friend, it had cost Michael his career and reputation.
He closed his eyes and prayed that the day would come when he would find the bottom feeder who had murdered Joe, and make sure he finally got justice.
For now, he had to keep going, without that satisfaction. Time had eased the anger and anxiety, but it hadn’t done much for his bitterness. Michael had not only been a disgrace to the police force, but he was a disgrace to Christianity. That he had gotten on the witness stand and publicly lied …
And now, the bitterness that churned inside him was a terrible witness to people like Cathy, who needed to see strength in his faith, rather than turmoil.
He constantly let her down in that regard. But worse, he constantly let God down.
He started the car, backed out of the space, and headed to one of the other shops in search of Jay’s clown.
A couple of hours later, Michael had only three names of people who had rented or bought clown suits that would fit a man of five-ten, and they were all women. He supposed Jay could be wrong about the clown being a man. But none of the suits matched the description Jay had given anyway.
He had hit a dead end.
He decided to drive the route the killer might have taken leaving Annalee’s house and see if there were any video security cameras along the way that might have caught his white truck on tape.
He found a few on traffic lights at some of the major intersections the guy might have taken. But he didn’t have access to those. He’d have to ask his brother to check them out. Max would bristle at the suggestion, but Michael didn’t care as long as Max got the tapes. Max had flunked the detective exam twice before passing, and Michael had reached that goal first. Max had a huge chip on his shoulder and frequently misinterpreted what Michael said about his older brother’s investigations. But there was a lot riding on this. Max would have to get over it.
When Michael had exhausted the possible routes and made note of all the cameras he found, he went back to Annalee’s. Police were still searching her house, and by now, neighbors had walked up the street to watch the activity. Two local television news vans had set up shop on the street.
Michael got out of his car and scanned the property. From what Jay had said, the clown had driven in the direction away from the other houses down the street. He wouldn’t want anyone to be able to confirm Jay’s story.
The clown would have removed his wig as he drovehome, but the makeup would still have been on his face. Someone would have noticed at a red light, wouldn’t they? Unless it wasn’t makeup. If it were a mask, he could have just pulled it off. Still … someone might have seen the ruffled polka-dot collar.
He walked over to the neighbors, listened quietly for a moment to a couple of women talking.
“Custody battle,” he heard one of them saying in a low voice. “They’ve been fighting for over a year.”
“In a knock-down-drag-out over their son,” the younger woman said. “If they don’t go after her husband, they’re crazy.”
Michael seized the opportunity. “Excuse me.”
The two women turned around. One looked about
Michael’s jaw locked. “He was acquitted.”
“Oh yeah, I remember that. Crazy. But I mean, where is he now?”
“He’s disappeared,” Michael said. “We don’t know where he is.”
“That’s too bad. It was so clear he was guilty. To get off on a thing like that …”
Michael took the pictures, thanked the man, and went back to his car. Before pulling out of the parking space, he sat staring at his steering wheel, trying to compose himself.
Too bad
.
The man had no idea how bad it was. To the general population, his brother’s case had been entertainment. To his family, and to Cathy, it had been a gutting that had left them hollow and raw.
Besides his brother, who’d been his best friend, it had cost Michael his career and reputation.
He closed his eyes and prayed that the day would come when he would find the bottom feeder who had murdered Joe, and make sure he finally got justice.
For now, he had to keep going, without that satisfaction. Time had eased the anger and anxiety, but it hadn’t done much for his bitterness. Michael had not only been a disgrace to the police force, but he was a disgrace to Christianity. That he had gotten on the witness stand and publicly lied …
And now, the bitterness that churned inside him was a terrible witness to people like Cathy, who needed to see strength in his faith, rather than turmoil.
He constantly let her down in that regard. But worse, he constantly let God down.
He started the car, backed out of the space, and headed to one of the other shops in search of Jay’s clown.
A couple of hours later, Michael had only three names of people who had rented or bought clown suits that would fit a man of five-ten, and they were all women. He supposed Jay could be wrong about the clown being a man. But none of the suits matched the description Jay had given anyway.
He had hit a dead end.
He decided to drive the route the killer might have taken leaving Annalee’s house and see if there were any video security cameras along the way that might have caught his white truck on tape.
He found a few on traffic lights at some of the major intersections the guy might have taken. But he didn’t have access to those. He’d have to ask his brother to check them out. Max would bristle at the suggestion, but Michael didn’t care as long as Max got the tapes. Max had flunked the detective exam twice before passing, and Michael had reached that goal first. Max had a huge chip on his shoulder and frequently misinterpreted what Michael said about his older brother’s investigations. But there was a lot riding on this. Max would have to get over it.
When Michael had exhausted the possible routes and made note of all the cameras he found, he went back to Annalee’s. Police were still searching her house, and by now, neighbors had walked up the street to watch the activity. Two local television news vans had set up shop on the street.
Michael got out of his car and scanned the property. From what Jay had said, the clown had driven in the direction away from the other houses down the street. He wouldn’t want anyone to be able to confirm Jay’s story.
The clown would have removed his wig as he drovehome, but the makeup would still have been on his face. Someone would have noticed at a red light, wouldn’t they? Unless it wasn’t makeup. If it were a mask, he could have just pulled it off. Still … someone might have seen the ruffled polka-dot collar.
He walked over to the neighbors, listened quietly for a moment to a couple of women talking.
“Custody battle,” he heard one of them saying in a low voice. “They’ve been fighting for over a year.”
“In a knock-down-drag-out over their son,” the younger woman said. “If they don’t go after her husband, they’re crazy.”
Michael seized the opportunity. “Excuse me.”
The two women turned around. One looked about
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