“Can you zero in on it, bring it closer?” Virgil asked.
“You bet,” Stephen said punching some keys.
A rectangular outline appeared on the screen surrounding the object. Stephen punched keys until the rectangle filled the screen. The blown up image was blurred but showed an unmistakable outline.
“It looks like a screwdriver,” Jamie said. “Somebody must have dropped it on the track during the cleanup of the previous crash.”
“Or it could have been left under Dunn’s hood after the last pit stop,” Stephen said. “It must have punctured your tire and caused a blowout. Either way it proves you didn’t go into a slide for no reason.”
Jamie expelled a long breath. “During the cleanup it was likely overlooked and picked up along with all the other debris. My tires only had thirty laps on them so they probably didn’t even examine them for a blowout. Plus they were badly charred by the fire.”
Stephen grinned. “Whatever. You can take this tape to the association and let those big heads know you’re innocent. I’ll make a print out of the blowup and another of the overall shot.”
Jamie glanced from Quint to Virgil.
“She can’t use it,” Virgil said. “And you can’t tell anyone about it.”
Stephen looked at Jamie, thinking Virgil has lost his marbles. “Why the hell not?”
When Jamie started to answer Virgil interrupted her. “Just trust me on it. There are circumstances—”
“Let me guess,” Stephen snorted. “You’re pulling a lawyer confidentiality trick on me. What’s going on?” He directed the question at Quint as though he might enlighten him.
Quint shrugged. “Virg is right. You need to keep this quiet for now.”
Stephen looked at each one of them in turn. “You guys suck. You’re all just going to leave me hanging on this aren’t you?”
“Sorry,” Jamie said, sympathetically. “It’s best that way. We can’t explain until…later.”
Stephen contemplated that for a moment. Then he chuckled. He looked from Jamie to Quint. “You did something illegal, didn’t you? Where did you get this tape? And why hasn’t the association already looked at it?”
Virgil laughed. “Stop trying to be a private dick, and get those centerfolds for Jamie to sign before she changes her mind.”
Stephen turned back to his computer mumbling something under his breath. He tapped on the key that would make a printout of the screwdriver, brought the screen back to the distance shot and punched it again. Seconds later, two printed sheets came out of the printer. He glanced at them before handing the sheets to Jamie.
Jamie stared at the close-up of the screwdriver for a moment. “Well,” she said. “It didn’t come out of Dunn’s pit. Their tools have a green band around them, just like ours are identified with a pink band. This one is clearly red and white—it comes from the rescue team.”
She gave Stephen one of her sweetest smiles. “Thank you, Stephen. You really know what you’re doing. I thought they could only do this kind of thing in the movies. I’m indebted to you.”
Stephen grinned. “I’ll get my centerfolds. I actually brought sixteen. I have a lot of friends.”
“Wonders never cease,” Virgil muttered.
Chapter Seventeen
Virgil and Jamie walked up the steps of the Richmond police department at nine o’clock the next morning. The aging building, constructed of rust-red brick bore a plaque beside the swinging glass doors dating it back to 1898. Inside, a matronly receptionist directed them to the homicide records department.
A feeling of dread gripped Jamie as they rode the elevator to the third floor. While Virgil had warned her they might not discover anything new, she still had the feeling she was taking a step back into another time, a time before Buster, before T-Roy, before racing. Jamie’s memories of her early childhood were dim, but one thing was vivid. She was extremely happy living with her mother.
A young woman approached them from behind a cluttered counter, stacked with disorderly files, two neglected plants and computer monitor. Virgil gave her a dazzling smile. Even though he had assured Jamie they were well within their rights requesting information on her mother, his smile was reminiscent of an old 007 movie where Sean Connery always got what he wanted by charming a beautiful woman.
“Can I help you?” The clerk asked, returning Virgil’s smile, ignoring Jamie completely.
“I hope so, Candy,” Virgil said, glancing at her nametag. “My client here is looking for some information on her mother.”
Candy gave Jamie a dismissive look and turned back to Virgil. “What is it exactly that you’re looking for?”
“Anything you can tell us.”
“Are you with the police department?” she asked.
“No, I’m Ms. LeCorre’s attorney.”
Candy’s smile brightened at that news. “Do you have some ID, some credentials?”
When Virgil handed her the papers, she pulled out a keyboard drawer from beneath the counter. “Do you have a case number?”
“No, just a name and date.” He gave her the information and her fingers quickly moved over the keys. She stared for a moment at the screen then looked up at him frowning. “This case is still open.”
Virgil was silent while she punched more keys. “This is real interesting,” she said. “A twenty-three year old murder, never solved. Now you’re the second person here today wanting to see this file.” Candy shrugged. “You just want to look or do you need copies of anything?”
“Copies. Of everything,” Virgil said.
“It’ll cost you thirty cents a page.”
“Fine,” Virgil said, reaching for his wallet.
“You best wait to pay until I find it. It’s a pretty old file, and not in our computer system. You may as well have a seat. It could take me a while.”
Jamie sighed impatiently. “Well, if somebody else just requested it, and since you’ve only been open an hour, it’s probably real handy.”
Candy gave Jamie a scathing look but she reached for the shortest stack of folders on the counter and started flipping through them. It was the third one down. With another look at Virgil, she gave a heavy sigh. “This thing is an inch thick. It’s going to take me some time. Why don’t you have a seat?” She gave Jamie a smug look and walked with the folder to a copy machine behind the counter.
Jamie shook her head. “Do all women fall at your feet like that?”
Virgil grinned. “Only the blondes.”
“I’m blonde,” Jamie said quickly.
Virgil raised an eyebrow at her. “Does that answer your question?”
Jamie threw her head back and laughed.
“Quint’s a lucky man to have you in his corner,” Virgil said, smiling. “Let’s have a seat. I have a couple of questions for you.” He motioned her to the small sitting area where five threadbare padded chairs lined the far wall.
“I suppose Ralph Sampson was the other person looking at those files,” Jamie said as she sat down.
“That was my guess,” Virgil agreed. “I’m also guessing he’ll be around to see you as soon as he takes a look at it.”
“You said you wanted to ask me something?”
“Yeah. Did the authorities question you the night your mother died?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember exactly what I told them. There were several of them. They all seemed to be so big and wore intimidating uniforms and badges. I was really scared. I kept asking for my mother but they wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“God. That must have been a nightmare for you.”
“It was, and it didn’t stop there. They took me to the police station and handed me over to some lady with stringy gray hair. I had to sleep at her house in a dark room by myself. To put it mildly, I wasn’t very happy and I let her know about it.”
Virgil chuckled. “I’ll bet you were feisty, even back then.”
“It got worse the next day when she told me everything would be okay because I was
going to live with my father.” Jamie hissed through her teeth. “I didn’t even know I had a father. I started screaming all the bad words I knew at her, demanding to see my mother. I’m sure I carried that attitude with me, since my father wasn’t any happier to see me than I was to see him.”
Virgil swore softly. “Christ. Quint told me some about your father.”
“He can be a hard man, but I suppose I didn’t help matters any. Neither did the fact that he made it clear that he despised my mother.”
“You’re forgetting that he was supposed to be the adult.”
“Yeah…well…”
Jamie didn’t say any more as she watched a couple walk by. The man held a toddler in his arms while the little boy smothered his father with kisses. The mother leaned against him, touching the child, laughing.
Virgil interrupted her thoughts. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at that file before you see it.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to find out what you told them, and then question you. I’d rather pick your brain before it’s biased by what you read.”
Jamie shrugged. “I don’t know what good it will do since I’m sure I already told them everything I knew, but I’ll go along with that. As long as I can see the file afterwards.”
“Good enough,” Virgil said. “I wonder what’s going on over there?” He nodded toward Candy at the copy machine. Two men had approached her. The men were talking to her while looking and gesturing at Virgil and Jamie.
“They’re probably warning her about smooth talking lawyers.”
Virgil gave her his charismatic lawyer’s grin.
Jamie rolled her eyes. “Why is it that you aren’t married?”
Virgil leaned back and stretched his long legs out in front of him, his eyes on the three chatty individuals at the copy machine. They appeared to be arguing, but Candy continued to copy while she talked.
“I almost was,” he said. “In fact, I would have been if Quint and Hunter hadn’t run a check on my lovely bride-to-be.”
Jamie stared up at him. “What did they find that was so terrible?”
Virgil shook his head, sighing. “It seems she already had a husband and two kids in New Mexico. Not only that, but when she left him, she wiped out their savings and sold his valuable coin collection.”
Jamie made a soft, indrawn, whistling sound. “That must have been devastating. How did you handle it?”
“Like a man, of course,” Virgil chuckled. “I stayed drunk for three months.”
When Jamie laughed Virgil smiled at her. “You have a pleasant laugh, musical, like you sing.” He glanced back at Candy. She was getting near the bottom of the file. “If I forget to mention it, Jamie, thanks for letting Quint into your life. I’ve never seen him happier. If anyone deserves a little happiness in life, it’s Quint. I don’t know what he did to you, but according to him it was pretty bad.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Then I won’t either. I can tell you I was pretty miffed that he didn’t try to see me until after he found out I was a NASCAR driver.”
Virgil chuckled. “He didn’t change his mind about coming to see you because he learned you were a NASCAR driver. He was like a man possessed that whole week. The only reason he didn’t try to contact you was because he believed you wouldn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Your family does so much watching out for each other. I’m surprised you didn’t run a check on me.”
Virgil snickered. “It was a little difficult since Jamie Devon didn’t exist.” At Jamie’s raised brows he quickly added, “But in case you’re wondering, Quint didn’t know I was trying to investigate you. It was just that he was acting so besotted, I wanted to be prepared if he decided to act on—how should I say—his male instincts.”
“You men seem to be ruled by your male instincts.”
“You’re right on target there,” Virgil said laughing. “But I’m guessing it was the right move for Quint, in this case.”
Jamie was thoughtfully quiet for a few moments before she commented. “I’m not so sure,” she said softly.
Virgil lifted dark brows in silent query.
“Quint has a problem with my racing,” she explained. “I’ve had any number of male responses to my profession, but never fear. I’m not convinced he can deal with it.”
“He’s probably afraid for you because he cares.”
“That means the more he cares the more it will disturb him. There’s no question, it’s a dangerous business. Most men I know thrive on fast cars and action sports.”
Virgil scratched the back of his neck. “Are you aware that Quint’s parents were killed in a car crash?”
Jamie drew a quick breath. “My God. I didn’t know. Both of them?”
Virgil nodded. “Yes, along with my sister Diana. Quint, his brother Grant, and Hunter were in the car too. Hunter and Grant weren’t hurt but Quint had several broken bones. He was pretty banged up. I can’t even tell you how many surgeries he had to have. He was just a little tyke, only five years old. That’s when he came to live with us. Mom nursed him back to health.”
“Losing a child must have been awful for your parents.”
“It was awful for all of us. Somehow Quint filled a void with Diana gone. For a long time he was afraid to get in a car. I thought you should know, since he rarely talks about it.”
Jamie blinked rapidly at a rush of tears. She’d seen Quint’s scars, at least the physical ones. She sympathized with the entire Hunter family.
Understanding Quint’s fear didn’t help any. Instead, it reinforced her trepidation that he may not overcome it. If their relationship became serious it could come down to her quitting NASCAR or him leaving her. Racing was all she knew, and if she left racing it had to be her decision alone. She wouldn’t be coerced by a man, any man, even one she loved, but she already knew Quint would leave before he’d ask her to stop driving.
“It appears Quint and I have something in common,” she said. “Our lives both changed when we were five years old.”
When Candy motioned them to the counter she handed Virgil the file, told him he owed twelve dollars and thirty-five cents, and turned adoring eyes on Jamie. “My co-workers would like your autograph, Ms. LeCorre.”
Virgil handed Candy a twenty while Jamie signed her name on five scraps of paper, including one for Candy.
“So much for my male charm,” Virgil mumbled on the way out.
Chapter Eighteen
Jamie waited impatiently with Stephen while Virgil and Quint sat at the small table in her hotel suite and studied Katherine Devon’s file. They conferred in hushed tones while making notes as they read through the thick stack of papers. Quint sat with his back to her so Jamie carefully watched Virgil’s face. It remained expressionless throughout and when he finally closed the folder and looked up, his face was still expressionless.
He motioned to the chair across the table from him. “Why don’t you have a seat, Jamie?”
She got up and walked across the room.
Virgil gave her a reassuring smile. “Relax, you’re not on trial.”
“Why do I feel like I am?” she said, as she sat down.
“Why don’t you start by telling us everything you remember about the night your mother died.”
Jamie braced herself with a deep sigh. “She went out with a man, to the car races. Funny, now that I think of it, she hated racing. Penny, my regular babysitter, stayed with me. Anyway when they came home, it was dark outside, but not late enough for me to be in bed. They talked. He left, then she left too. I never saw her again.”
“Did the babysitter stay with you?” Virgil asked.
Jamie shrugged. “I suppose so. Mom never left me alone for more than a few minutes.”
“Did you know the man she was with? His name?”
Jamie thought for a moment. “She called him Wally. He was real nice to me. Once he brought me a coloring book abou
t zoo animals. He rarely stayed for any length of time so I didn’t get to know him very well, and when they left I never went with them.”
“Where there any other men in her life?”
Jamie gritted her teeth. “Ralph Sampson asked me that. Like I told him, I don’t know of anybody else.”
“Do you remember a phone call she received before she left the second time?”
“No.”
“A call that made your mother very upset?”
Jamie swallowed at the dryness in her throat. “No.”
“Do you know Penny’s last name?”
“No.”
“Where she lived?”
Jamie’s heart did an odd double beat. She looked at Virgil but she didn’t see him. “Someone else asked me that,” she whispered. “The officer who came to tell me that my mother wouldn’t be coming home.”
“You told him you didn’t know where Penny lived?” Virgil asked.
“Yes, but I was angry with him…and scared. I thought they were going to get Penny back to stay with me, and I just wanted my mother. I kept asking for her but the officer just ignored my pleas and continued badgering me with questions.”
“But you knew, didn’t you? You knew where Penny lived.”
“Yes.”
“Do you still know?”
Jamie nodded. “I think so. It wasn’t very far away. She lived in a pretty white house with a front porch and lots of flowers. She used to take me home with her sometimes when mother was gone for a long time. She said not to tell Mama…it was a secret.” Jamie frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t understand why the police asked me about Penny. Why didn’t they just question her?”
“Because,” Virgil said, tapping his pencil on his note pad as though agitated, “Penny wasn’t there. You were home alone.”
Jamie’s heart thudded rapidly. “My mother wouldn’t have left me alone.”
Up to this point Quint had sat quietly, listening, allowing Virgil to ask the questions. He moved his chair closer to Jamie and put an arm around her shoulders. “If the babysitter wasn’t there, how did they know about the phone call?” he asked.
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