“Tell you one thing—it’s damn beautiful out there on that part of the river. Lonnie inherited the place from his family. I believe Cathy said it’s been in the family, why, I think for four or five decades. A long time, anyway. Long before waterfront properties got so pricey.”
When Will walked up, his frown had been replaced with a neutral expression, but he still didn’t look pleased by Julia’s familiarity with Charlie. Charlie looked up at the bigger man and said, “Hello, Will. How you doin’?”
“I’m fine. I need to ask you some questions, Mr. Sinclair. You have the time?”
“You bet. I’m ready. Go ahead, and call me Charlie. Everybody around here does.”
“I didn’t know you and Detective Cass were such close friends.” Brannock looked from one of them to the other, not exactly suspiciously, but something was there. What was it? Jealousy, maybe? Already? Charlie wouldn’t be surprised. Julia had a way of charming men before they knew what hit them. Himself included.
“Yeah, we go way back together.”
“Charlie taught me everything I know about dog handling. He’s one of my best friends.” Julia hugged his shoulders again.
“Then maybe I better do the questioning,” Will said without much tact.
Charlie thought Julia looked a mite chagrined by that somewhat suggestive remark, but she merely nodded. “You’re in charge, Brannock. I’ll just sit back, listen, and learn.”
Charlie heard the mild sarcasm, but he knew Julia well. Will Brannock didn’t seem to notice. Even if he did, he probably was the kind of man who wouldn’t show it.
“Have a seat, Mr. Sinclair. This won’t take but a minute.”
“No problem. Court’s called off until Lockhart’s cases can be reassigned. I’m just killin’ time and twiddlin’ my thumbs.”
“All right. First off, Ms. Cansell in there told us that Judge Lockhart had a confrontation with a Battle Street gangbanger. Name is Jesus Ramos.”
“Yes, he sure did. That little punk cursed him all the way to the holdin’ cell.”
“Direct threats?”
“That’s right. He was yellin’ in Spanish, tellin’ him he was goin’ to die, that his homeboys would get him, among other more vulgar remarks.”
“You speak Spanish?”
“Yes, my wife was from Puerto Rico.” Charlie glanced at Julia. “Bet you didn’t know that. San Juan. I met her when I was in the navy.”
She shook her head but didn’t respond. Charlie immediately knew what she was thinking. Will Brannock was in charge at the moment, and being the newbie, she wasn’t going to make waves. She was a smart gal, always had been. She knew when to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself.
“Tell me, Charlie, do you think this gang could have done this?”
Charlie considered Brannock’s question a moment. “Of course. They’re brutal. The rumor out in the hall is that the judge got his tongue cut out. That true?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t divulge the details of the crime.”
“Well, if it is, I know for a fact that the Battle Street Ten boys are known to do that to people who cross them.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read the papers. It happened somewhere over around Charlotte. I hear they’re thick as thieves in North Carolina.”
Will didn’t comment. “What about Jane Cansell? You think she’s capable of killing the judge?”
Charlie laughed—couldn’t help it. “I think she’d slash her own throat before she’d harm a hair on his head. He treated her like a piece of garbage, and everybody knew it. She’s a good-lookin’ woman. I don’t understand why she let him put her down like that.”
“Are you interested in her?”
“How do you mean? Like a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, like a girlfriend.”
Somehow Will’s tone antagonized Charlie. “Nope. Actually, I haven’t been much interested in women at all since my wife died.”
“I’m sorry. When was that?”
“Nine years, ten months, and twenty-six days ago.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sinclair. I do have to ask you these questions.”
“I know that, Brannock. Please, ask away.”
He saw Brannock glance at Julia, who looked away. She remained silent. Charlie had a feeling she’d probably give Brannock an earful when they were alone. Then again, the TBI agent was only doing his job.
“Have you ever had a run-in with the judge?”
“Near every day. I guess you could say we had one of those love-hate relationships. More like a like-dislike relationship. We liked to shoot barbs at each other but spent a lot of time together.”
“Are you saying you hated him?”
“I hated the way he treated people. I hated his arrogance and elitism and superior attitude. But so did everybody else in this building.”
“Do you remember any other cases where somebody threatened him?”
“Probably about a hundred or so. He had a way of insultin’ nearly everyone he ran into. His contempt citations became a joke down at booking.”
“That means we’ll have to go into his files and read the transcripts.”
“Good luck. Jane might be able to pull the ones she remembers getting nasty.”
“Yeah. Anything else you want us to know?”
“Nope.”
“By the way, where were you night before last?”
“Home, mindin’ my dogs and my own business.”
“Alone.”
“Yes, sir, except for my dogs. They’re my family. Julia can attest to that.”
Julia nodded agreement.
“You have neighbors who might vouch that you were there?”
“I have neighbors. Not close ones, though. I don’t know what they’d vouch to. You can ask them, if you want. They might’ve seen me comin’ or goin’.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks for your time, Mr. Sinclair. If you think of anything else that might help us get to the bottom of this, please let us know.”
Charlie took the card that the big TBI agent handed him and stuck it in his shirt pocket. He shook the hand that Brannock held out to him, and he gave Julia a big hug.
“Oh, by the by, Julia, guess who I ran into the other day? Mr. Max Hazard, in the flesh. He was askin’ about you, wantin’ to know if you were still single. I told him you were movin’ to town.”
“Well, I hope you didn’t tell him anything else about me.”
“Who’s Max Hazard?” Brannock interrupted.
“Oh, he’s an obnoxious private eye that I arrested a couple of times,” she said, shrugging off the subject. “He and Charlie are old friends.”
Charlie chuckled, but he was astute enough to notice Brannock’s interest in her past relationship with Max Hazard. He watched the two detectives walk out of the silent courtroom. And if Brannock was contemplating a romantic interest in Julia, he should be worried. Max Hazard was still carrying quite a torch for Julia and didn’t mind people knowing it. He was one cool guy who just might give Brannock a run for his money. What’s more, Julia rather liked him, too, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
Chapter 7
Julia was worn-out. It had been over a week since she landed in Chattanooga, and she had been on this case almost from the moment her plane set down. Will Brannock was turning out to be rather intense. In fact, he was a veritable slave driver when it came to the Lockhart investigation. They had interviewed, and were still interviewing, everybody whom Lucien Lockhart had known or seemingly ever spoke to, especially the ones he’d locked up for contempt. At least, that’s what it seemed like. But that’s okay. That’s the way she liked it. Get on it, solve it. Get it done, the sooner the better. The case was gruesome, and whoever had mutilated the victim had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He’d planned it down to the minutest detail and executed it to perfection.
Jasper was sitting in the backseat of her dad’s old ’68 Dodge Charger, and he had been very glad to get out of the confines of J.D.
’s house. J.D. had a nice place, true, and Signal Mountain was a nice area, but the last thing J.D. needed, now that he was seriously involved with Audrey Sherrod, was his little sister moving into his house and causing complications in his love life or in raising his daughter. She had loved being around Zoe, of course, and she planned to spend a lot more time with the fifteen-year-old, but that wouldn’t happen until they solved the Lockhart case.
Cathy Bateman Axelrod lived somewhere up along the Tennessee River. Julia hadn’t been there before, but Cathy had given her directions. She was passing by lots of luxurious homes. Apparently, the area was inhabited predominately by the rich and famous and infamous of Chattanooga. As Charlie had told her, Cathy’s new husband, Lonnie Axelrod, and his family had owned a good-sized acreage on the river for years. From what she understood from Cathy, it originally had been a family farm but had ended operations when his father died. Apparently, Lonnie Axelrod had been offered well over a million dollars to sell out to a multimillionaire who wanted a spectacular river view. He’d refused. Lonnie liked the view, too, more than he liked money. Rare indeed, but admirable. So, good for him. One didn’t see principled men like that much anymore.
The mailbox was brand-new, shiny aluminum with MR. AND MRS. LONNIE AXELROD and the numbers 443 printed in black on the side, inside a heart. Newlyweds, Julia thought, amused.
Julia took a right turn and followed a gravel road down a bit of a hill through some seriously big oak trees and lots of thick and dusty underbrush. The property was surrounded by dense, deep woods, but when she came out of the leafy canopy of trees, she saw that Cathy’s house was a really nice log cabin with a wide, screened-in front porch, a green tin roof, and a magnificent view of the river beyond the grassy front yard.
Cathy was sitting on the front steps, waiting for her. Julia smiled and brought the Charger to a stop next to the lamppost at the end of the front walk made of bricks arranged in a herringbone pattern. Cathy was a vivacious, green-eyed girl, with lots of freckles, lots of wild auburn hair, lots of energy, and lots of personality. Tall and fit and slender, Cathy was one of Julia’s best friends, and she’d missed Cathy since she had married Lonnie and moved away from Nashville.
She opened the door to release Jasper from the backseat, and he bounded out of the car and down the sidewalk to meet Cathy. He loved Cathy as much as Julia did. After all, she’d had a hand in training him. And she was Julia’s dog sitter extraordinaire when they had both lived in Nashville. Laughing, Cathy leaned down and hugged the excited dog. Hearing Jasper’s barking, four of Cathy’s dogs shot around the side of the house. All were German shepherds, all trained service dogs, and they set up a din that got Jasper started with his delighted baying. Yes, their dogs were friends, too.
“Just like old times, right?” Julia said, giving Cathy a big hug.
“It just didn’t happen soon enough.”
Julia glanced out at the wide, swift-flowing river in front of them. “Wow. This place is phenomenal. You may never get me out of here.”
“Yeah, I know. Lon just loves this place. Says it fills him with peace when he looks out over the river.”
“That sounds like what I need. And it looks like your dogs like it, too. Where’s Tasha?” Julia looked around for the snow-white Akita that was her favorite of all Cathy’s dogs.
“She stepped on a sharp rock out in the woods. Split the pad on her left front paw. Charlie doctored her and is keeping her at his place until she feels better.”
“I saw him today.”
“You did? Out at his place? Talk about a layout. He’s got an A-frame up on a high bluff that overlooks the woods and pastures, and a big babbling creek running through it all. Lots of room for his dog runs.”
“No, I saw him down at the criminal courts. I haven’t had time to visit him, but I will. Same goes for not getting out here sooner. I picked up a major murder investigation right after I got here.”
“Are you serious? You’re already on a case?”
“Yeah, and it’s a big one.”
“Darn, I was hoping we could hang out for the next couple of days, swim and sunbathe, make up a big batch of margaritas, and catch up on everything.”
“That’s what I was planning, too, but looks like it’s a no-go for now. The TBI’s involved. And the special agent that’s my liaison is gung ho, to say the least.”
“No kidding. Can you tell me anything about it?”
“Not yet, but the newspapers are bound to get hold of it soon. It’s high-profile, very high-profile.”
“Now you’ve got me curious.”
Both turned around when they heard a man’s voice coming from the front porch. “Hey, girls. I thought I heard a party going on out here.”
Julia watched the man walking toward them. He had a white towel hung around his neck as if he’d been working out, and was wearing a pair of long denim shorts and a white T-shirt. He wore tan boat shoes without socks. She hadn’t seen Lonnie since Cathy’s wedding reception, but he was still gazing at Cathy with the same I adore you, I adore you forever and ever look. This guy idolized his wife, no doubt about it.
“She’s finally here, Lonnie,” Cathy called out to him. “I can’t wait to show her the boathouse.”
Lonnie Axelrod was around six feet tall, with a stocky build that looked like he had lots of strength in his body. He had dark brown hair but was balding in front, graying on the sides, and he wore old-fashioned wire-rimmed glasses. Julia knew he was retired from the air force, and he looked the part. Cathy put her arms around his waist, and he squeezed her close against his side.
“My wife’s been counting the days until you showed up,” he said to Julia. He had a nice smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and put double creases in his clean-shaven cheeks. He had made Cathy very happy after several years of pure misery that she’d suffered after she’d divorced her first husband. Julia hadn’t seen her friend this content in a long, long time.
“And who is this fine-lookin’ fellow?” Lonnie said, kneeling down and putting his hand on Jasper’s back. Jasper took to him at once, leaning up against Lonnie’s knee and pushing his head under his hand for more petting.
“That’s Jasper. He likes you already, I do believe.”
“I usually have a way with dogs. Can’t say exactly why. Well, welcome. It’s good to have you here. We can’t get enough dogs around here to suit Cathy. Jasper’s going to love running around our property. It’s fenced and posted, so you can just let him go. I doubt if he’ll try to swim the river.”
“No, he won’t.”
All the same, Julia wasn’t sure she was going to let Jasper roam to that extent, but he was well trained in any event and wouldn’t wander off on his own. Yep, he was going to love it here. Julia already did. The rushing sound of the river alone was soothing and must be great to go to sleep by. She loved the water, loved just sitting and looking out over it. “I love your place, Lonnie. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re willing to let me stay here for a while. Just long enough to find a house that I like.”
“Anything that makes my wife happy makes me happy.”
Julia liked that, and the warm way Lonnie smiled down at Cathy almost melted Julia’s heart. They were extremely compatible, and the happiness emanated from them like fragrance from a rose. Cathy deserved it. She’d had a rough go-round the first time. Her first husband had started taking dope, gotten addicted, and ended up in prison. He was still there, doing hard time. He was bad news.
“Let’s go down to the boathouse. I know you’re going to like it.”
“You bet I will,” Julia said to Cathy, then held out her hand to Lonnie. “Nice seeing you again, Lon. Again, thanks for your hospitality. I’ll be glad to pay whatever you want.”
“No, no, of course not. That old boathouse has sat empty since my mom died. It’ll be good to see somebody enjoy it again. I couldn’t bring myself to clear it out. Still can’t. I like to go there sometimes when I get to missing her. It make
s me feel better.”
Julia and Cathy made their way to the Charger. Julia opened the door and waited while Jasper jumped up on the backseat. Cathy climbed into the passenger side, and Julia started the engine. The motor had been missing some now and then, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to take it into the shop.
“Well, looks like you got a good one there,” Julia said as she put the car in gear.
“I’m so lucky. He’s everything I ever wanted.” Cathy was actually beaming.
Julia laughed at Cathy’s in-love sigh. “I’m glad to finally get to move in out here. I want to get settled. I’m still tired, though. J.D. and I have been staying up late and talking about the good old days when we lived in Memphis.”
“How is he? I run into him once in a while when I go down to the courthouse to see Charlie.”
“He’s fine. Finally found himself a woman to love.”
“No way. I thought you said he’d never settle down, not with so many women chasing him.”
“I was shocked, too, believe me. But he’s got it almost as bad as Lonnie, the poor guy.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you never move out. I’ve got lots of plans for us. You still like to fish?”
“You know it. Is there good fishing along here?”
“I caught a whole string of catfish this morning. I’ll cook them up tomorrow for the three of us. Hush puppies and fried potatoes. Sound good?”
“My stomach’s growling, just thinking about it. Heard you’re still training dogs with Charlie.”
“Yeah. We get by on Lonnie’s retirement, but he encouraged me to continue with the dogs if I want to. He’s supportive like that.”
Julia followed the gravel road down through more towering trees, some overhanging the river, their leafy limbs touching the water in places. A few minutes later, she saw her temporary new home. It was pretty much a miniature version of the main house, with the big brown logs and green tin roof. She couldn’t wait for the next rain so she could hear it drum on that roof. The house in Memphis that she’d grown up in had a tin roof, and thoughts of it brought back some pleasant memories. The boathouse also had a large screened-in porch that faced the water, and a side screen door facing a forked path that led to the driveway and down to the river. Underneath the apartment was a boat dock with an old runabout speedboat and a johnboat moored inside.
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