The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (13 page)

“
Ruby put you in a sugar coma
?
”

“
No, no,
I’
m fine
,”
she said
.“
This is the best job
I’
ve ever had
.
”

“
Speaking of, le
t’
s get to work. Kottke, team meeting at eight tomorrow. That means you, Jazz, if you want in
.
”

“
Of course I do
.
”

“
Hopefully, w
e’
ll get some shut-eye before then
,”
Ruby said.

“
Wher
e’
d you put the Anto
n’
s
?
”

“
With Jimmy
.
”

“I’
ll take care of distribution
.
”

“
I was counting on it. When yo
u’
re done here, head to the Combe
s’
residence. After this, Jazz and I will head over to the jail to interview Susan
.
”

“
Wha
t’
d you observe about her so far
?
”

“
Sh
e’
s no hardened killer
.
”

“
Any kind of killer? Heat of passion? Self-defense
?
”

“
W
e’
ll know soon enough, wo
n’
t we
?
”

“
True. Nice to meet you, Jasmine
.”
He shot her a grin, and strolled over to Jimmy.

Jasmine turned her dreamy smile on Ruby, and snapped out of it when she saw Rub
y’
s amused expression. Summoning a serious look, she asked
,“
Are you sure Justin does
n’
t need a hand
?
”

“
What for? To grab his ass? Sorry, Jazz. Yo
u’
re stuck with me. Although i
t’
s nice to know you have a vice after all
.
”

Jasmine blushed.

“
Do
n’
t let Kottke distract you from why w
e’
re here. Kottke handles forensics. H
e’
ll do a thorough walk-through, and send any samples to a lab in Bloomington. I do my own, independent investigation, and compare notes with him later. What did you notice as we were driving up
?
”

“
Lots of personnel. Is this the usual amount for a murder
?
”

“
Yes. On top of this horde, ther
e’
s another one at the residence. What about the location
?
”

“
Remote
.
”

“
Yes, i
t’
s at the end of the road. One neighbor a significant distance away. I
t’
s a good place to commit murder. I suspect the road is visible from the neighbo
r’
s porch. Did you spot the light on the porch as we were driving up
?
”

“
No, I missed it
.
”

“
Hopefully so did the killer or killers. Le
t’
s find out if anyone was on the porch, shall we
?
”

Chapter 8

“
Why are
n’
t we using the front door
?”
Jasmine asked.

“
I
t’
s visible from the crime scene. We want to fly under the radar. Cops get cranky when they do
n’
t get their coffee and donuts, and when they think w
e’
re interfering with their investigation. W
e’
re within bounds here. Witness interviews are part of mounting a defense. Nothing is stopping them from walking over to speak to . .
.
”

Jasmine consulted her notes
.“
Carol Lawrence. Seventy-two. Recently widowed. Late husband, Jeffrey. Currently works as a librarian, part-time. She has an apartment in the cit
y—
her primary residence. Ran a 5K last month with her daughter. Made the local news. Also has a son
.
”

“
Well done
.”
Ruby knocked on the porch door
.“
She must have been up and moving
,”
Ruby noted when the porch light flicked on and the inside door opened
.“I’
m Ruby Miller and this is Jasmine Sinclair
,”
Ruby called to the woman crossing the porch
.“
W
e’
re looking into what went on at your neighbo
r’
s. You notice the activity going on over there
?
”

“
Yes, yes.
I’
ve been up wondering if anybody was going to ask me about it
.
”

“
No officers have been over
?
”

“
No. Are
n’
t you peace officers
?
”

“
W
e’
re not.
I’
m a lawyer. Jasmine here is an intern with my office. Our client is Susan Combes. W
e’
re here to figure out what happened tonight
.
”

“I’
m Carol Lawrence. Call me Carol. Pleased to meet you Ruby, and Jasmine
.
”

“
Likewise
,”
Jasmine said.

“
I do
n’
t know how much help I can be
.”
She stood at the door and rubbed the age spots on her hand.

“
You might know more than you realize. Mind if we ask you some questions
?
”

“
Not at all. It gets so quiet here at night. In some ways i
t’
s nice. But i
t’
s also nice to have visitors
.”
Her brow furrowed
.“
Although I should ask about the circumstances. I do
n’
t know what happened over there. There are so many uniforms
.
”

“
Jerald Combes was found dead. We want to figure out what happened
.
”

“
Oh my, right next door. Do you think i
t’
s safe for me to stay here? I forget to lock my door half the time. Being out in the middle of nowhere gives a person a sense of securit
y—
a false one, from the sounds of it
.
”

“
We have no reason to think yo
u’
re in any danger. But if yo
u’
d feel better, by all means stay elsewhere until this is cleared up. Do you have somewhere else to stay
?
”

“
Yes, an apartment in the city. I
t’
s near my daughter and grandbabies
.
”

“
Sounds like yo
u’
d be more comfortable there, Carol
.”
Ruby held up her PSC
.“
Do you mind if we record this
?
”

“
Go on ahead
.
”

Ruby engaged the recorder with a few taps
.“
I notice you ca
n’
t see the Combe
s’
cabin from the porch steps. May we come in
?
”

“
Of course
.”
She fluttered her hands, moved back, and waved them in
.“
Where are my manners
?
”

“
I
t’
s a lot to process
.”
Ruby stepped inside, and motioned for Jasmine to join her. She set her PSC on a wrought-iron coffee table
.“
Carol, where were you this evening
?
”

“
I was on this very porch
.
”

“
Were you sitting
?
”

Carol pointed to a paisley loveseat
.“
I was curled up there, reading my book
.
”

“
Do you mind
?”
Ruby gestured.

“
No
.
”

Carol took a seat across from Ruby, and motioned for Jasmine to take the other chair.

“
Thanks, Carol
.”
Jasmine said, and took a seat.

Ruby sat on the loveseat and drew up her legs
.“
Like this
?
”

“
No, my feet were facing the other way
.
”

Ruby made the adjustment.

“
Yes, like that
.
”

“
When I turn my head, I can see out the screen
,”
Ruby said
.“
W
e’
re facing the road. When i
t’
s light out, can you see the traffic coming down this road
?
”

“
Yes, we usually do
n’
t get a lot. Not like tonight.
I’
m near the end of the road, you know
.
”

“
Are you referring to the emergency respondents
?
”

“
No, this was before the flashing lights started coming
.
”

“
What did you see
?
”

“
A car and a truck came barreling down the road at about six-thirty,
I’
d say
.”
She held up a slightly crooked finger and pointed toward the road
.“
It was still light out
.
”

“
Are you familiar with Mr. and Mrs. Combes
?
”

“
No, they keep to themselves. He uses the place much more than she does. H
e’
s said hello, and asked me to let him know if h
e’
s too loud. I had to go over there last weekend. There was quite the ruckus, but it quieted down quickly enough
.
”

“
Would you recognize their vehicles
?
”

“
Yes,
I’
ve seen that truck before. I
t’
s his. I do
n’
t know whose car that was. It might belong to Susan.
I’
ve seen a black sedan parked over there before, but never this car. Bright blue
.
”

“
Did you see anything else
?
”

“
About ten, fifteen minutes later this rattletrap comes puttering down the road. I remember thinking it was on its last legs. It made an awful racket
.
”

“
How long were you on the porch
?
”

“
Until late. I
t’
s just me. Jeffrey passed on a couple months ago. They say it gets easier.
I’
m still waiting for that to happen
.
”

“I’
m so sorry for your loss, Carol
.”
Jasmine reached over to lay her hand on Caro
l’
s.

“
Thank you for that
.”
She sighed and patted Jasmin
e’
s hand
.“I’
ve fallen into a routine. Every Friday, I come here after work. After dinner, I head out here to read until I ca
n’
t see my book. I watch the fireflies dance and listen to the crickets until
I’
m falling asleep in my chair. You ca
n’
t get that kind of peace in the city. It makes me feel closer to Jeffrey when
I’
m here. We loved sitting on this porch together
.
”

“
Sounds like you made wonderful memories with your husband
,”
Jasmine said.

“
Yo
u’
re nice to listen to an old lady ramble.
I’
m sorry. You have a mystery to solve, and here I am going on
.
”

“
You have nothing to apologize for, Carol
,”
Ruby  said
.“
We want to hear wha
t’
s on your mind. Did anything else disturb your peace and quiet
?
”

“
Yes. The truck came roaring past here
.
”

“
What time
?
”

“
It was starting to get dark by then. About seven,
I’
d say
.
”

“
Anything else
?
”

“
I was heading in to make tea when the truck drove by. I made myself a pretty little tray, and carried it out here. I was just finishing my cookies when the truck came back down the road
.
”

“
Did you see the truck leave again that night
?
”

“
No, but a car flew past just as I was taking my tray into the house. And the rattletrap was right behind it
.
”

“
Was it dark out by then
?
”

“
Yes. I do
n’
t move as fast as I used to. No reason to
.
”

“
How could you tell what kind of vehicles they were
?
”

“
I figured it was two cars from the headlights, I guess. And that rattletra
p—
Christ Almighty,
I’
d place that noise anywhere. Wake the dead. I bet my dear Jeffrey heard it
.
”

“
Could other vehicles have come down this road while you were inside
?
”

“
Not likely. W
e’
re up closer to the road than I wanted to be. I told Jeffrey we shoul
d’
ve built further off. That man did
n’
t listen. He drove me crazy half the time
.”
She swallowed hard
.“I’
d give anything to have him back telling me
I’
m a stubborn old woman.
I’
d tell him h
e’
d turned into a grump of a geezer. We brought out the worst in each other, and the best
.
”

“
Sounds like your match
.”
Jasmine said simply.