Half Past Dead (17 page)

D
EAD MEN TELL NO TALES
.

A comforting thought. With Bitner on ice, they had one less problem. Not that Bitner was a threat exactly, but since the dickhead had been born again, he'd become less reliable. Bitner had insisted on being cashed out—claimed he was starting a mission in Guyana. The candy-ass probably planned a Jim Jones-type commune where he could be king.

Shit on a stick! Had Bitner seriously believed he could just walk away? Maybe. Times changed and so did people. He needed to remember this. He'd been operating the same way for years but things evolved. People developed different agendas. He easily manipulated everyone it was necessary to control, but he didn't like becoming too involved and risk exposing his position. Things should be okay now. Smooth.

His business had been running like a well-oiled machine until lately. When Kat Wells and Justin Radner had returned to Twin Oaks, things started to go south. He couldn't blame them directly, but their return marked a change.

You had to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, he reminded himself. This time he'd done neither. He'd pulled a card out of his sleeve.

An ace. He'd trumped the sons of bitches. They'd be in a tailspin now, sniffing around—sniffing around Kat Wells.

 

T
HE RAIN BLASTED
downward in hot, steamy torrents. Justin stared out his office window at the cascading water. It was almost time to go home, but he didn't intend to leave the office. Why bother? There was nothing for him at the place he'd leased except stacks of unpacked boxes.

“I'm leaving,” Nora called from outside his office.

“See you tomorrow.”

One of the deputies would be working dispatch/front desk, but Justin didn't bother to ask who was on duty. It didn't matter. Kat was long gone. Her handler at the Bureau hadn't been able to locate her and neither had the Highway Patrol.

Revenge. That's all Justin could figure. What else would make Kat kill a man? Bitner had done something—possibly framed her—and Kat wanted revenge for the time she'd spent in prison.

There was a knock on his doorjamb. As usual the door was open. His deputy Phil Lancaster stood there. “David Noyes is here to see you.”

“Send him in,” Justin said even though he didn't feel much like talking. Noyes had been as close to Kat as Justin. Maybe closer. What did a few kisses count for?

David walked in, looking exhausted. His new puppy, Max, was on a leash beside him. “Any news?”

“None,” Justin responded as Redd sidled out from under his desk to get a peek at the puppy. “Did you find out anything?”

“I spoke with Lola Rae. She hasn't seen Kat since yesterday about closing time.”

Justin nodded. He'd interviewed the owner of All Washed Up this morning when she'd arrived at the beauty shop. She'd told him the same thing. “Was Maria in?”

David shook his head. “No, but I doubt she knows much. Her English is limited. I can't imagine Kat telling her anything that she wouldn't have shared with Lola Rae.”

“You're probably right, but Lola Rae was surprised Maria hadn't shown up for work. I drove over to her place, but she wasn't there.”

David dropped into the chair opposite Justin's desk, and the pup obediently sat down beside him. “Do you think they're together or something?”

“Nothing would surprise me,” Justin said with a weary smile. “But I don't think so. I spoke with the state trooper who spotted Kat's car. He said only one person was in it.”

“Did he ID Kat?”

“He didn't get a good look. He just saw it was one person—female—driving more slowly than usual. That's when he ran a check on her license.”

“I'm worried about Kat. I think she'd call me—”

“How long have you known her?” Like Justin, David had been gullible for a pretty face and a sob story.

“I haven't known Kat long,” David admitted, “but I—”

“Exactly. I've asked a judge in Jackson to issue a search warrant for Kat's studio. I also want to see the phone records for the
Trib
and her cell. If she called Elmer, we'll find out.”

Their eyes held each other's for a moment, and Justin could see how badly wounded Noyes was by Kat's behavior.

“Cloris Howard keeps dodging me,” David finally said, breaking the silence. “Were you able to interview her?”

“Yes. I spoke with her just after the bank opened. Bitner never mentioned Kat's call. Cloris seemed stunned that he would go out to the riverboat to see anyone. His church was death on gambling, liquor—the whole riverboat scene. Cloris is determined to help catch Bitner's killer. The bank is offering a five-thousand dollar reward for info leading to the killer's arrest.”

Deputy Lancaster burst through the door. “The mayor's here, sir.”

Mayor Peebles pushed by the deputy into the room. “I need to talk to you,” Peebles said in a coolly impersonal tone as if he were speaking to some clerk in his office.

David stood up. “I was just going.” He hustled his puppy out of the office. The deputy nodded to Justin and followed David out.

Justin's temper had flared at Peebles' tone, but he refused to allow his emotions to show. Peebles was a politician, bound for the state capital or even Washington. Unsolved murders in his town couldn't be tolerated.

Peebles took David's seat. “I just had Judge Kincaid, Buck Mason, and Reverend Applegate in my office, howling for your blood. Is it true that you've refused to arrest Kat Wells?”

“We can't find her,” Justin countered, seething but struggling not to show it. “But if we could locate her, we haven't sufficient grounds for an arrest. There's no evidence she was at the crime scene.”

The primal glint in Peebles' dark eyes indicated what a fearsome competitor he'd been—and still was. He didn't easily take no for an answer. “HP reported her car on the road to the casino.”

“But not
at
the casino.” As calmly as he could manage, he added, “Being on the road is not a crime. We want to question her, of course. She's a person of interest in the case.”

“I'd say she's a prime suspect,” Peebles shot back, the cold edge of irony in his voice. “Who else would want to kill Elmer Bitner? He never harmed a fly, but he did testify against that woman.”

“True,” Justin conceded. “Her disappearance makes me very suspicious. We have an APB out on her and the Toyota. So far—nothing.”

“Buck says he had to tell you that Elmer was meeting the Wells woman at the riverboat. You didn't know.”

Justin reached under the desk with one hand and petted Redd. He waited a beat before explaining. “How was I supposed to find out? When I interviewed Elmer's wife, she didn't mention it.”

Peebles shifted his bulky frame in the chair. “Bitner met Buck at Rebel Roost and told him about the meeting.”

Justin understood what Peebles was doing. A politician to the core, he was trying to please everyone. No doubt, Kincaid and Mason had ratcheted up the pressure on Peebles, hoping to get rid of Justin.

“I went to see Ida Lou Bitner just after the body was found. Gossip flies around this town. I didn't want her hearing about Elmer's death from some old biddy over the phone,” Justin explained, keeping his tone even with an effort. “As soon as she told me Elmer had gone to meet Buck, I went to interview him.”

“You did the right thing.” Peebles sighed. “Buck just has a hard-on for you. And the judge—”

“Doesn't want Kat around. It could hurt his political plans.”

“You're right,” Peebles admitted. “He keeps squawking about leaving cons in prison where they belong. He's tuning up for the election. He wants her back in jail.”

Justin didn't tell him that being out of touch with her handler, not reporting to work, and a number of other things—not to mention murder—would get Kat's furlough revoked. Apparently, the men weren't familiar with work furlough rules. “Crime is a hot button. Two murders in six months defies the odds. We went years without a homicide. Could be coincidence, but I don't buy it. The crimes are linked somehow.”

“I guess you would have called me if you'd found the murder weapon.”

Yeah, right. Keeping the mayor posted wasn't a top priority. “We dragged the river. Nothing. But with the current, the gun could have been washed downstream. My men searched the woods around the
Lucky Seven.
Nothing there, either.”

“What about clues at the scene? Footprints or something.”

“There were lots of footprints. They all appeared to be men's shoes. The guys who discovered the body tramped around pretty good. I doubt we'll get a usable shoe print.” With a shake of his head, Justin added, “The crime techs didn't find much either.”

“The murderer had to have driven out there. Walking to the casino is out of the question.” The mayor rose. “I guess the perp could have come by boat.”

“No way. The kudzu vines have choked off the shore. It costs the casino a bundle to keep their pier open.”

It all came back to Kat, Justin thought. Motive and opportunity.

 

I
T WAS ALMOST MIDNIGHT
before Justin's deputy returned from Jackson with a search warrant signed by a judge. Justin could have saved time by going to Kincaid, but he didn't want the prick horning in on his case and telling him what to do—or worse—using information against him.

The phone records would have to wait until morning when the telephone company in Jackson opened for business. Justin took two deputies with him to Kat's studio. The place was so small that he could have searched it on his own easily, but he wanted witnesses.

He was determined to find Kat and get to the bottom of this. She'd used a lot of good people, gotten them to trust her. Justin burned with frustration. She could be miles away by now, and he wouldn't be the one to collar her. Still, there might be a clue in her place to tell him where she'd gone. He'd take off after her even if it meant leaving his jurisdiction.

David Noyes was sitting in his T-Bird with his puppy when Justin drove up. Justin cursed under his breath. Noyes did not know when to give up. He'd become way too attached to Kaitlin Wells.

David stepped out of his car. “You've obtained a search warrant.”

“Yes, and tomorrow we'll be looking at the phone records.”

The older man's brow knit into a tight frown. “You might want to get a warrant for Elmer's phone records—at the bank and at home.”

“Why's that?”

“I spoke with Connie, my copy editor, after I left you. She says Kat received a call from a man yesterday afternoon.”

“Okay, so? Could have been the guy monitoring her furlough or something.”

“Connie thought it was Bitner. She knows him.”

For a moment, doubts swirled through Justin's brain.
Don't go there,
the reasonable part of his conscience thought.
Rely on the facts.
On the force in New Orleans, he'd learned to cleave his emotions from cold reality.
Don't become any more involved than you already are,
an inner voice warned him.

“If Bitner's number doesn't turn up on Kat's phone or the
Trib
's, I'll check Bitner's phone records. But why would he call Kat? I spoke with him earlier in the day. He didn't want to have anything to do with her.”

Noyes shrugged. “We're missing something important. I can feel it.”

“Why don't you go home? This will take us some time.”

Noyes leaned against his car. “I'll wait and walk Max. I'm betting you don't find anything.”

 

D
AVID WAS STIFF
from sitting in the car so long. These days he had more than just a touch of arthritis. He sluggishly strolled down the street, letting Max sniff at will. The pup was curious about everything and not particularly interested in doing his business. The muggy air was still heavy from the earlier rain. The scent of azaleas mixed with the fragrance of jasmine, but David was too stricken with anxiety about Kat to really notice. Unanswered questions twisted through his mind.

What would make Kat simply vanish? She seemed so interested in being a reporter, so eager to have a second chance at life. He remembered the way her green eyes narrowed when she was concentrating on writing copy. It didn't seem reasonable that she would blow her opportunity by killing Elmer Bitner.

He believed Connie was correct. The woman rarely made any mistakes. Elmer had called Kat. Why? What could he want with her? Why meet in the dark out by the riverboat when no one would be around?

He turned and gazed up at Kat's studio. Justin had forced the lock and entered the apartment. The lights were blazing. With a pang of sympathy, he imagined them rifling through Kat's things. After years in prison and a meager furlough allowance, she couldn't have much.

“Come home, Kat,” he muttered. His breath hitched. “I'll help you.”

From a nearby tree, an owl hooted once, twice. David waited in the darkness, still perplexed by what had happened. He slowly turned and headed Max back toward All Washed Up.

The lights went off in Kat's studio above the shop. That was a fast search, David thought. He waited beside Justin's pickup. Redd stuck his head out the window, inviting David to pet him for the first time. He usually cowered under Justin's desk or hid behind his legs.

“Good boy.” He stroked the dog's head. Max jumped up against his knees and pawed him, begging to be petted, too. He stroked the puppy with his other hand.

He spotted Justin striding across the street. The gas lamp at the corner was a quaint touch but provided little light on a moonless evening. Justin had something in his hand, but David couldn't see what it was.

“Find anything?”

Justin stopped a few feet away from David. “Off the record?”