After the briefest hesitation, he smiled, and it was like flipping a light switch as he shook her hand and a smile softened his face. “Forgive me for staring, but you look so much like your sister.”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever been told that,” she said.
“Your features are the same. You are quite lovely in your own right. Have a seat. And then tell me how I can help you.”
The man’s office was Spartan, and she sat in the only other chair in the room. “I want to talk to you about my sister. I didn’t realize you would remember her so well, since she died eighteen years ago.”
“Most people who met Stephanie Hollister would remember her, even that long. What do you want to know?”
He’d thrown her off balance, and she gathered her thoughts. Laura had said Steph dated him, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around this fiftysomething man being one of her sister’s beaus, even though he would only have been in his mid to late thirties then. Still, it was evident Gerald Caldwell could turn on the charm when he wanted to, and most men had wanted to around Steph. “Why were you investigating her?”
“You’re asking me to break confidentiality.” He closed the laptop and leaned back in the chair. “However, you may have information I need on another case, one I planned to see you about last night until I was detained. Perhaps we can trade information.”
He was also cunning, and as he moistened his bottom lip, she realized it wasn’t a hawk he reminded her of, but a wolf licking its chops. “If it’s confidential, would that be ethical?”
He shrugged. “It’s been eighteen years. Whatever reason they had for hiring me is well in the past.”
“What information could I have that you would want?”
“I’ve been hired to locate Jillian Bennett.”
“Jillian? Why?”
“It’s a legal matter. An inheritance, actually.”
Right. Andi was wasting time here, and she had no confidence that if he told her anything it’d be the truth. She stood. “I’d like to help you, but I don’t know where she is.”
“No problem.” He stood as well and pursed his lips. “You know, it’s been so long, I suppose there’d be no harm in telling you that my client had a son who asked for his grandmother’s diamond ring. He planned to give it to your sister if she accepted his proposal.”
Andi managed to keep her mouth from dropping open. Some guy’s mother hired Caldwell to investigate Stephanie? “What did you report back to her?”
A shadow crossed his face. “That she had no worries. Unfortunately for the son, your sister said no.” He paused, an expectant expression on his face.
Quid pro quo. “You might find Jillian if you look under her married name.”
He chuckled. “Unfortunately, that’s a red herring. As far as I can ascertain, she never married.”
Will called Andi and Brad on the way home from Nashville to make sure they knew Lacey’s graveside funeral was at five. With the cemetery close to the Hollister house, they would have thirty or forty minutes to look over the studio. He checked his watch. Three forty-five. He was fifteen minutes late, so where was everyone?
He walked behind the detached garage and checked to see if the studio was unlocked and he could get a head start. No, still padlocked. The building was actually a small two-room house that Tom Hollister’s grandfather had built, and that was probably the only reason Tom hadn’t torn it down after the murder. He’d padlocked it instead.
The padlock looked as though it hadn’t been touched in years, and he saw that the keyhole lock had been replaced with a newer lock that could be opened from the inside, something Andi couldn’t do when Brad and Will had locked her inside and gone to play ball. He felt bad about that now, actually had felt bad when they did it, but she’d been such a pesky little kid, always wanting to tag along.
Will wasn’t sure what he expected to find inside or even what he was looking for, only that he had a sense there might be something in the studio to help break the case.
While he waited for Brad and Andi, he surveyed the backyard, remembering the good times they’d shared here. Will had spent more time in this yard than in his aunt and uncle’s. He glanced toward the two-story house where they’d lived. He’d hated leaving that house, but after Jimmy’s arrest for Stephanie’s murder, his aunt couldn’t bear to stay.
He returned to his car as Andi pulled into the drive. His mood lightened as she climbed out of her Corolla. He’d thought about her all day, and when this case was closed, he planned to ask her out. “Good afternoon,” he said as she approached. She seemed a little unsteady.
“You too.”
Suddenly she stumbled, and he reacted, catching her in his arms. “Whoa,” he said and reluctantly released her.
“Ow!” She grabbed his arm again. “I think I sprained my ankle.”
“Let me carry you to the back porch.” He swept her up in his arms, amazed at how light she was. “This is getting to be a habit. Not that I mind.”
“Sorry.” She looked back at the ground and then gazed into his eyes. “What’d I stumble over?”
She hadn’t stumbled over anything but her own feet, and her pupils were the size of pinpoints. His mouth dried, remembering the pills he’d seen her take. “Are you still taking something for pain?”
“Put me down,” she said sharply. “I can walk.”
Once she was standing, she glared at him. “Have you been talking to Treece?”
“No.” But maybe he should. “Are you all right?”
“Of course I am. Just need a drink of water, maybe something to eat, that’s all.”
“You haven’t eaten lunch?”
She shook her head. “Haven’t had time.”
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Don’t remember.”
He’d bet she hadn’t. They didn’t have time for this. The funeral was in an hour, but he was afraid she’d collapse if he didn’t get food in her. “I’m sure there’s something in the house to eat. Peanut butter, maybe. Why don’t I make you a sandwich?”
“I’m not hungry, that’s why.” She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and then swayed as she stared at him. “I want to get this deal with the studio over with, and then I’ll eat.”
He hadn’t realized how difficult this might be for her. “You don’t have to go into the studio. Brad will be here soon.”
“That might be a good idea.” She took a step and hopped. “Oh!”
“That does it,” Will said and swept her back up in his arms. This time she didn’t protest. “Do you think the back door is open?”
“Probably not, but I have a key in my pocket.” She rested her head on his chest and sighed. “Thank you, Sir Galahad. For everything.”
She was definitely not normal. He carried her to the back of the house and set her on a chest freezer in the garage. “Can you sit there a second?” he asked as he took the key she held out.
Andi nodded. “Sorry I’m so much trouble.”
“You’re not trouble. But I do want to talk to you about the pain medication you’re taking.” He unlocked the door and handed her key back. “Let me see your ankle.”
Will slipped off her shoe. Her ankle didn’t seem swollen, but he massaged it anyway.
“That feels good,” she said.
If she only knew. “Can you put weight on it now?”
Gingerly she put her foot on the floor, then she smiled. “It doesn’t hurt. You must have magic fingers.”
“Yeah, right. How about that sandwich now? Maybe a glass of milk?” One way or another, she would eat.
“Sure.” She carried her shoe to the kitchen chair and sat down. “Peanut butter is in the pantry, bread is in the bread box, and milk is in the fridge.”
After he washed his hands, he made two sandwiches. “I haven’t eaten, either,” he said as he sat across from her. He curbed the impulse to ask about the pain meds again. She’d just get defensive and probably wouldn’t eat. But they weren’t done with the subjec
t.
They ate in silence. Andi stopped at half a sandwich and pushed the plate away.
“You’re not finished.”
“Later. I’ll get the key for the studio.”
“I told you, you don’t have to do this. Brad should be here any minute.”
She clasped her hands together and worried a hangnail on her thumb. The kitchen clock ticked in the background. “You don’t understand. I need to do it.”
Maybe she did need to face whatever it was in the studio that held her in its grip. “Well, hurry. I’ll clean up the table while you get the key.”
22
ANDI ESCAPED TO THE WASHROOM before Will could question her about the pills again. Her head was beginning to clear, but it scared her to think how she’d felt just ten minutes ago. Almost like she was floating and everything was sparkly and bright. And Will . . . he’d looked good enough to kiss.
She sucked in a deep breath. Maybe Treece and Will were right to be concerned. What if she’d had a wreck on the drive over and hurt someone? She had to be more careful about taking the pills that close together. It definitely could never happen again.
In the washroom, she scanned the three rows of keys. Each tag was labeled with what they unlocked in alphabetical order, and she took the studio key from the hook on the third row.
Did she really want to do this? Maybe it’d be better to give the key to Will and stay out of the studio. No. Eighteen years was long enough to run away. She turned and marched back to the kitchen.
Andi stopped short when she saw her brother. “Where’s Will?”
“Went to his car.” He held up a paper. “Got the physical report back on the stationery from Lacey Wilson’s house. She wrote a letter to Jimmy, all right, but she also wrote one to you.” He nodded to the key in her hand. “Is that to the studio?”
“Can I read it?” Andi said, ignoring his question. She hated it when he only gave her partial information.
“That’s why I brought it. Figured you’d want to see it.” Her brother chuckled and handed her two sheets of paper. “Ran into Commander Kennedy. He’s singing your praises. How did you get in with him, anyway?”
She made a face at him. “My winning personality, I guess.” She scanned the photographs. It was amazing what technology could do. The indented impressions on the letter dated in March appeared in black. Other letters appeared in white.
“The letter in white was written the day Lacey died. It was to you. The other one is the letter Jimmy received,” Brad said.
While Will had told Andi what the report said, seeing it in black and white helped her grasp it better. She scanned the opening of the letter to Jimmy, then homed in on what was important . . .
First, I want to apologize for not coming forward sooner. I have no excuse except I was afraid to. Even after I became a Christian three months ago, I couldn’t make myself take responsibility for what I did, really for what I didn’t do. But I want you to know there hasn’t been a night that I haven’t thought about you and your circumstances.
I have decided to leave Memphis and go where no one can find me. That’s why I’m writing to ask if I can visit you before I leave. I’ll explain everything when I come, if you’ll allow it. Most of all, I need your forgiveness for not telling you sooner that I have proof you didn’t kill Stephanie.
“What proof do you think she had?”
“She doesn’t say in either of the letters. The last two pages have the letters she started to you.”
She shuffled the papers and pulled them out.
Dear Andi,
Jimmy Shelton didn’t kill Stephanie, and I can tell you who did. Actually, you have diamonds in your possession—
Lacey had marked through the words and started over.
Dear Andi,
I have information that will exonerate Jimmy Shelton in the death of your sister. I contacted him, but he never responded.
Once again she’d marked through the words. Andi read the next page.
Dear Andi,
I am so sorry I didn’t come forward earlier. Stephanie was my good friend, and I let fear and greed overcome what I knew was right.
That was all she’d written? Why hadn’t she finished the letters? Unless she’d decided to tell her in person. And what diamonds could she be talking about? And what did they have to do with Stephanie’s murder?
Andi raked her fingers through her hair. All this time there’d been evidence within reach about Steph’s murder? She took a shaky breath as Will opened the back door. “What evidence do you think she was talking about?”
“I don’t know,” Brad said. “But maybe Stephanie hid something in the studio.”
Andi followed her brother to the studio but held back as he unlocked the door. “Do we even have time to do this? And what are we looking for, anyway?”
Will checked his watch. “It’s four ten and the cemetery is ten minutes away. That gives us thirty minutes.”
“I have to change my clothes,” Andi said.
“Maybe this would be a good time to do that,” Will said.
The gentleness in his voice brought tears to her eyes, and she looked away to keep him from seeing.
“No. I told you I need to do this.” She followed them into the studio but kept her eyes averted from the spot where she and her mom had found Stephanie.
She could do it. It was only a room. If she could go into Steph’s bedroom in the house, she could do this. “What exactly are we looking for?” she asked again.
Brad surveyed the room. “Anything that looks like it doesn’t belong. Or a place Steph might have hidden something.”
“I’ll search the glaze room,” she said. Anything to get out of the room where her sister was killed. She walked to the smaller room. Glaze buckets on runners lined one wall. A table with pieces ready to go into the kiln, a shelf with greenware . . . She really ought to fire those pieces. Next week, maybe, if the kiln still worked.
Stephanie always kept a journal, and Andi didn’t remember seeing it after her death. “Brad,” she said, going back to the main room. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t already thought about the journal. “Stephanie kept a journal. Do you know if Mom still has it?”
“I’ve never heard her mention it, but you know Steph would not have left it where Mom could find it, anyway. Do you remember what it looked like?”
“She always had to have this special notebook. It wasn’t very big, maybe five by eight, and it was black and had an elastic band on the top.”
“Then that’s the size hiding place we’re looking for.”
Andi returned to the glaze room and searched every nook and cranny in the room. Nothing. She wished she’d been closer in age to her sister. If she had been, Steph might have shared more of what was going on in her life. Andi couldn’t think of anything her sister could have been involved in that resulted in someone wanting to kill her.
Steph always said she had to set an example for Brad and Andi. Steph was Andi’s hero, and she would not have been involved in anything illegal.
Will stuck his head in the doorway. “You need to get dressed. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
“Five minutes? I’ll have to be late.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
“Go ahead. There’s no need for you to wait,” she said, then hurried from the studio to her car for her clothes, then went inside the house to change. Eight minutes later she walked out the back door, dabbing on her lipstick. “You’re still here?” she asked when she saw Will.
“Yeah. Brad went on, but you can ride with me.”
What was he talking about, ride with him? “I’ll drive myself.”
“I’d rather you ride with me. I’ll drop you off and you’ll already be here for supper.”
He’d asked about the pills, and now he didn’t want her to drive. She must have done something totally stupid when she wasn’t herself. But her head was clear now. Andi planted her feet. “There’s no reason I can’t drive myself. I f
eel perfectly fine, and my ankle is perfectly fine.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you’ll either go with me or stay here. You’re not driving.”
She held his gaze until she realized he wasn’t budging. “Okay,” she said with a curt nod.
It wasn’t long before they turned in to the cemetery and drove the winding road around to the back. He hopped out and hurried around to open her door.
“Thank you for making sure I arrived in one piece,” she said stiffly.
He bowed. “Sir Galahad is always at your service.”
Heat infused her cheeks as she faintly remembered calling him that. What else had she said? She shook her embarrassment off and walked to the group of people under the tent.
“I’m so glad you made it,” Laura said, taking her hand. “I wish there were more people here.”
Andi looked around. “I felt like I should be. I see Maggie’s here,” she said.
“Yes. And a few people Lacey went to church with.”
A man in a black suit approached Laura, and Andi squeezed her hand. “I better get a seat.”
She joined Maggie in the back row. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I was afraid no one would come.”
A black Cadillac pulled behind Will’s car, and Jared Donovan climbed out of the driver’s side.
“Why do you think he’s here?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know.” She glanced at Will to see if he took note of Donovan’s arrival. He had. She turned her attention to the front when the pastor stepped to the small podium.
Lacey Wilson’s graveside service was a simple one with no flowers other than a casket spray of red roses. Fifteen minutes after the pastor began, he concluded with a prayer. Andi sighed. A handful of mourners, none who seemed very sad, a few minutes’ recap of a life, and it was over. She pressed her lips together. She wanted her life to count for more than that.
She stood when Maggie did. “See you in the morning at my place around nine? We’ll go in my car.”
Maggie gave a low chuckle. “You mean you don’t want to go in my VW Bug?”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” she said with a grin. “See you in the morning.”
Justice Delayed Page 21
