"Not hungry tonight?" Alex asked.
"Sort of lost my appetite after working with one of my clients today."
"Who's that?"
Hanna sighed. "It's just the typical mess we see down there at the clinic. This beautiful young girl with a five-year-old son is homeless and living in the women's shelter for protection from her abusive husband."
"Is there enough evidence on this father to bring him in and scare the crap out of him?" he asked.
"She has a restraining order and Greta down at the clinic tells me he is a seriously messed-up kid."
"Will she file another complaint?"
Hanna hesitated. "I don't know. She thinks they can get back together, and she doesn't want to get him in any more trouble."
Alex shook his head in disgust, looking off across the room. "We see this so often and the woman only gets hurt worse by these guys."
"I know. I tried to tell her that."
"Let me know if we can help," Alex said. "I'd be happy to bring him in and try to talk some sense into him."
"Thank you. I'm going to see her again tomorrow over at the clinic.
Alex finally took a sip from his wine and said, "I had a little excitement today."
"What's that?"
"My old man called to let me know my ex is back in town up in Dugganville."
Hanna bristled and put her fork down. Alex had told her some of the details of his failed marriage, particularly the part about her affairs while he was away in Iraq and after he returned. "Where did he see her?"
"Down at his favorite bar, Gilly's. I've told you about it.
"You still have the stink of shrimp and stale beer on you," she said and laughed.
"It's not that bad. Adrienne was in there with her mother who is another "regular" at Gilly's. My dad had a fling with her a few years ago. Surprised they didn't kill each other."
"So, what brings her back to town? I thought she was remarried or living with someone down in Florida."
"So did I," Alex said. "I don't know what's going on, but she apparently wants to see me."
Now he really had Hanna's attention. All her trust issues with men came rushing back. Not just Ben, but even back in college with a young man she had fallen hopelessly in love with, who abruptly left her their junior year to take on a photography assignment in Europe. Sam Collins had never returned and still traveled the world as a photo journalist. She got word a couple of years ago he had married a French woman. There were still times she struggled to push her feelings for the man aside.
Hanna had no reason not to trust Alex, but she had to admit she barely knew the man after just a few months together.
"Don't be upset," Alex said.
"I'm not upset," Hanna said too quickly, reaching again for her wine.
"I'm not going to see her," Alex said. "I even hung up on my old man. He wanted me to come out to dinner at his place...invite Adrienne over. He's always been blind to her nonsense."
"And you're not going?”
"I told you I hung up on him."
Hanna put her napkin on her plate. Only a few bites of the salmon were gone. "I'm sorry, Alex. I shouldn't doubt you. From what you've told me about this woman, though, I have every reason to be concerned about her."
Alex didn't respond.
Hanna said, "I really need to get home and get some sleep tonight."
"I thought you were coming over?"
"I just need to get some sleep. I have an early day tomorrow. Let me get dinner tonight." She looked around for the waiter.
"It's my turn," he said. "You sure you're okay?"
She stood and walked around the small table and then leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She said, "I'll call you tomorrow," and then turned and walked away.
Alex watched her go out the front door and tried not to let his frustration boil over. Adrienne had done enough to ruin his life. He wasn't going to let her get another shot at it.
Chapter Six
It was 7:30 the next morning. Alex was on his way into work. His cell phone on the passenger seat started to buzz. He reached over and looked at the call screen. It was his father again. He was about to decline the call when he decided he needed to put an end to this Adrienne issue. He pressed the screen. "What is it, Pop?"
Alex could immediately tell something was terribly wrong. His father's voice was slurred and tentative, almost weak. "We got a problem, kid."
"What's that?"
"The sheriff picked me up this morning out at the house."
"What the hell for?"
"They think I killed a man."
An hour later, Alex walked into a small room with no windows in the back of the Sheriff's Department office on the outskirts of Dugganville. His father was slumped over an old metal table, his hands cuffed to a ring on the top of it. Jordan "Skipper" Frank had just turned 63, a few months earlier, but he looked ten years older. The years on the water and hard living had taken their toll. He was dressed in orange jail scrubs and his hair was all askew and as usual, he had a good week's worth of gray unshaven beard.
On his way in, Alex had spoken with the Sheriff, Pepper Stokes, an old friend of the family. There had indeed been a murder the past night. A rival shrimp boat captain that Alex's father had issues with for years had been found dead on the deck of his boat last night. There had clearly been a vicious fight and Horton Bayes came out on the wrong end of the scuffle. The left side of his face was caved in and there were multiple stab wounds. Unfortunately, Alex's father had several recent run-ins with Bayes out on the water and at the docks. Last night, they had a very public and drunken fight in front of everyone down at Gilly's Bar. Skipper had loudly threatened to kill the man before a few of his friends broke up the scuffle and got Bayes out of the bar. This morning he was found dead when his crew showed up for work.
Alex's father had no alibi. He claimed to have gone home and passed out until he was arrested this morning. He still had blood and bruises on his hands, likely from the fight at the bar, but it could have also come from another run-in on the deck of Horton Bayes' shrimp boat.
Alex pulled out a chair and sat across from his father. The man finally looked up. His face was ashen and swollen, a dark welt under his left eye.
"I didn't kill no one," he said weakly. "At least I don't think so."
"What do you mean, you don't think so?" Alex pressed.
Skipper Frank sighed and rubbed at his temples. "I've tried to remember, but the last thing I recall is Gilly pushing me out the door at closing. Had a few too many shots I suppose."
"You have no recollection of getting home or anything after that?"
His father shook his head.
Alex asked, "What the hell's been going on between the two of you? I know there's been bad blood for a long time."
"Bayes has been a thorn in my side for twenty years, dammit," the old man growled. "He's always jumpin' my best runs. That bastard couldn't find shrimp on his own if they jumped in his damn boat. And just last week I come out to the Maggie Mae and see my riggings have all been tampered with. I know that sonofabitch did it!"
"How do you know?"
"Who the hell else would do something like that?"
Alex said, "Pepper tells me you haven't given a statement yet or asked for a lawyer."
"I didn't do it, dammit!"
Alex tried to remain calm. "We need to get you a lawyer, Pop. This looks real bad."
The man looked up at his son through rheumy eyes, "I don't know what the hell happened, kid. I mighta killed the bastard."
"Don't ever say that again, you hear me?"
The old man nodded and put his head down in his arms on the table.
Alex said, "I'm going to call Hanna."
"I've never tried a murder case, Alex," Hanna protested. "I want to help your father, but we need to get the best murder trial lawyer we can find. I know of a couple here in Charleston we can talk to."
<
br /> "I understand that, but I need someone up here today who can talk some sense into the man and not let him dig a deeper hole."
Hanna was sitting in her office, looking at the pile of open files on her desk. She also had an appointment to go over to the clinic to see Jenna and her son again before lunch. "Let me push some things back," she finally said. "I'll try to get up there before eleven," she said, looking at the old clock on the wall.
Hanna called Alex when she was ten minutes out of Dugganville and they agreed to meet in the parking lot at the sheriff's office. She pulled her Honda Accord into the lot and saw Alex leaning against his car in the shade of a big live oak at the back. The temperature was already past 90, and she felt the full force of the heat and humidity when she opened her door and stepped out. She and Alex hugged.
"I'm sorry about last night," she said.
"It's alright."
"I can get a little touchy on this former girlfriend and wife stuff. Just bear with me."
"I get it," Alex said. He had filled her in on the details of the situation during their earlier call.
"Has your father ever been arrested before?" she asked.
"Not for murder!" he said and then paused. "He gets tossed in jail a couple times a year, at least, on drunk and disorderly. The local cops do it more out of courtesy, so he doesn't hurt himself. He can walk home, so he wouldn't hurt anybody else, but if he fell off the docks on one of his bad nights, they'd find him floating face down the next morning, chewed up by the gators."
"He still hasn't given a statement?" she asked.
"No. I told him to keep his mouth shut until you got here."
They started toward the back door.
Alex saw her first and then Hanna looked up and saw a tall and pretty woman coming around the corner of the building. She was dressed in tight jeans and a two-sizes-too-small white tank top that showed more cleavage than a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover. The woman's long red hair was piled on top of her head in bouncing swirls.
"Oh crap!" she heard Alex say.
Hanna said, "Let me guess, the ex-wife?"
Alex just grunted.
Adrienne saw them and waved. She made a beeline towards them. Hanna stopped and stood behind Alex. She watched as the woman came up and threw her arms around Alex. He let his arms hang straight as she cooed in a big Southern drawl, "Hello, honey. It's been too long."
Hanna noticed the woman was looking directly at her during the greeting.
Alex pushed her gently away. "Hello, Adrienne. Look, I don't have time right now."
"Heard about your papa," she said. "I can't believe old Skipper would do something like this. I know he and Horton have had this comin' on for a long time, but..."
Alex interrupted. "Really, we need to get inside."
Adrienne looked at Hanna again. "Aren't you gonna introduce us, honey?"
Alex looked over at Hanna who was trying her best to smile.
Hanna reached out her hand, "Hanna Walsh."
Adrienne returned the offered handshake and said, "Adrienne Frank," with particular emphasis on the last name.
Hanna said, "Yes, Alex has told me about you."
"Oh, I bet he has!" she replied. "Skipper told me you had a new girl, Alex."
Alex took Hanna's arm and started them off toward the back door of the sheriff's office. He said, "Whatever this is about, Adrienne, it can wait."
"I'm not going anywhere, honey," she said. "Let's have a drink later."
Alex hesitated and looked back as they continued away from the woman.
"Nice to meet you, Hanna!" they heard as they walked through the door.
Chapter Seven
Sheriff Pepper Stokes had been wearing his badge for nearly thirty years. Born and raised in Dugganville, he joined the department after two tours with the U.S. Army where he served with the Military Police at bases all around the world. He returned to South Carolina, married a girl from Georgetown he met one night in Gilly's in 1986, and went off to college in Gainesville, Florida on the GI Bill. With his Criminal Justice diploma in-hand, he was hired by the County Sheriff's Department in Charleston. He was eventually assigned to his current post in his hometown of Dugganville, and he watched over the one thousand, or so, residents with a firm hand for justice and adherence to the law and local regulations. He was well-liked by the local citizenship for his fairness and at the same time, tough position on indiscretions of the many tourists coming through town who got out of hand in local bars or out on the water.
At 58 years, he had slowed some from his more athletic days on the Dugganville football and baseball teams. His six-foot, two-inch frame was now amply filled-out with more than 250 pounds, much of which lopped over the front of his big gun belt. He'd shaved his head the past ten years when baldness took most of his hair anyway but kept a bushy mustache that was now mostly gray.
Sheriff Stokes and Skipper Frank had been friends since childhood and Alex could tell the man was deeply concerned about his father when he and Hanna sat down across from him in his office. Introductions had been made. Alex asked, "What else do you know about last night you can share with us?"
"I'll tell ya all I know, son," the sheriff said. "Afraid it don't paint a pretty picture." He repeated what they had already learned about the Frank and Bayes feud over the years and particularly the fight last night in Gilly's that led to blows between the two men.
Hanna asked, "Has anyone else come forward with information?"
"Afraid not, ma'am."
"Are there any other suspects who had issues with Horton?" Alex asked.
"Horton Bayes was the orneriest bastard in town," Stokes said. "Forgive my language, ma'am. Weren't too many people around here who would go out of their way to help the old SOB. Alex, I remember your father telling me once he wouldn't take the time for a piss on the man if he was on fire. Sorry, ma'am."
"So, who else would want him dead?" Alex asked.
The sheriff smoothed his mustache as he thought for a moment. "Don't know anybody with reason to take it that far."
"That's what I was afraid off," Alex said. "What did you learn at the crime scene?"
Stokes sat up in his chair and rubbed at his smooth head. "It was a damn mess, Alex. Never seen so much blood. Half the man's face was bashed in. Numerous other wounds consistent with a serious knife fight."
"A knife fight?" Alex thought about this for a moment. "I know my old man has a few bruises, but it doesn't sound like he's been through a war like that."
"I don't know, son. Could argue he was the one dealing out most of the damage," Stokes said. "Hopefully, your old man will sober up enough here soon to remember what in hell happened after he left Gilly's last night."
"We'll want copies of the crime scene photos," Hanna said. "Anything you suspect as a murder weapon?"
Stokes said, "We've got a large piece of rigging off the boat, a spare block that holds the lines to the net booms that was laying on the deck near the body. Lot of blood on it. They're checking for prints. No sign of the knife. Could’ve got tossed overboard or taken with the killer."
"So, you still haven't taken an official statement?" Hanna asked.
"Waitin' for his lawyer to show up."
"Who's the prosecutor and judge?" Hanna asked. "We'll want to talk about bail."
"Don't get too optimistic about bail in a capital murder case, ma'am," the sheriff said. I know damn well the county prosecutor won't go for it.
Alex said, "I want to sit in with Hanna when you take Pop's statement."
"Sure, don't see why not."
They all stood, and the sheriff led them down the hall to the small interrogation room. He called across the office to have one of the deputies bring Skipper Frank down from the lock-up.
Hanna and Alex were a few steps behind the sheriff. Hanna whispered, "Forgive me a moment for thinking about anything other than your father, but were you really married to that woman?"
"Don't even start," he hissed back and then tried to push thoughts aside at how he had really felt when he'd first seen Adrienne earlier that morning. She still had a hold on him and it infuriated him to admit it.
Nothing more was learned from the sheriff's interview with Skipper Frank. He claimed he was still in complete blackout from anything that may have happened after he got thrown out of Gilly's Bar at closing. Alex's father seemed more interested in getting to know his son's new girlfriend than he did in putting together a defense for himself.
When Skipper Frank had first come into the room, he saw Hanna first. "My, Alex was right when he said you was a "looker."
"I didn't say that, Pop!" Alex protested. "I want you to meet Hanna Walsh. She's a very good attorney and she can help you through the first stages of this process. She may want to bring in a specialist in a case like this."
"I don't have money for fancy lawyers, son," the elder Frank said as he sat down at the table.
"Don't worry about the money," Hanna said. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Frank," she said as she extended her hand.
"Thanks for comin' up," he grumbled. "Seems I got myself in a bit of a scrape here."
The sheriff said, "This is more than a damn scrape, Skipper. You're lookin' at the needle here if you don't come up with some kind of defense or alibi."
"Take a pretty big damn needle to take me out, Pepper."
Hanna broke in. "The sheriff needs to take your official statement. Tell him everything you can remember about last night. Answer all of his questions as honestly and completely as you can."
An hour later they were finished, and Skipper Frank was returned to his cell. The sheriff agreed to try to get the prosecutor on the phone later that afternoon for a preliminary discussion. He would call as soon as he could confirm a time. He also mentioned the coroner would be releasing a report on the death of Horton Bayes within the next day or so.
Alex and Hanna walked out into the bright midday sun and sweltering heat.
Hanna said, "I'm sorry, Alex, but this looks really bad."
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