gone awry? Then I read he often went to the gym after work, cleaning up there before coming home. This was the reason he first gave to police, which quickly fell apart once records revealed he hadn’t attended the fitness centre in three days.
Moron.
Julie claimed they hadn’t talked about any future plans. “We aren’t in love,” she stated emphatically. “It was just about the sex and maybe some companionship a couple nights a week. Eric wasn’t going to leave Lucy.”
It was reported that Julie’s testimony on the stand was strong, but the female jurists couldn’t get past the cheating aspect, or that Eric had recently “loaned” her $2500 to buy new clothes for work.
Moron’s girlfriend.
The police probe of Julie (unlike Eric’s) was superficial. In their minds she was covering for him and was a possible accomplice, an avenue Detectives Dutton and Ingles failed to go down, presumably not wanting to jeopardize their perfect conviction record. The hired investigators also barely scratched the surface of what made Julie tick. If I took the case, Eric would be my first interview, followed by a sit-down with Julie not long after. If they really didn’t have any connection to Lucy’s murder, I needed to be sure before pursuing other leads I might find.
As we ate at the kitchen table, Dawn and I sifted through the other folders.
“Any gut feelings, yay or nay?” I asked Dawn. On past investigations, I’d found her to be a very good judge of people and trusted her point of view. The difference this time around was she’d met the potential client, whom she thought was genuine in her beliefs.
Dawn put down her fork and pointed to an insurance policy receipt. “I’m a bit troubled that Eric bought this two years earlier, not two months or two weeks, which would have been a dead giveaway he was planning something.”
I nodded in agreement. “Go on.”
“But the thing that really bothers me is the 911 phone call,” Dawn continued. “No one ever found a connection between the killer’s school’s out line and Lucy. The prosecution said it was Eric’s last sick joke because she was a teacher, but to me it doesn’t ring true. That line meant something specific to the killer and to Lucy. When he was interrogated, Eric was so clueless he didn’t know it was a song lyric. The line meant nothing to him.”
“Interesting,” I said stroking my hand on my chin in an exaggerated manner.
“Interesting as in, I never thought of that Dawn, you’re a genius or as in, when I was speaking all you heard was Charlie Brown’s teacher’s voice?”
“Surprisingly both,” I replied with a wide grin.
“Loser,” Dawn said with an equally wide smile. “What about you, smart guy? Share your wisdom with the little people.”
I picked up my empty plate and placed it in the sink. Returning to the table, I said, “What I want to share with the little people is not wisdom, but since you asked.” I sat and organized the folders. “The insurance policy isn’t a big concern for me. Two weeks, two years, doesn’t matter. It only comes into play if it appears to be the sole motive for getting rid of Lucy. From what I can piece together, Eric isn’t the vindictive kind. He didn’t hate Lucy and he already had plenty of money. A divorce seems like the most natural play here.”
“What about his reputation or family pride, once word got out he’d been cheating on his wife with his secretary?”
“Do you think being charged and convicted of murder helped his reputation in the community?” I asked.
“No, but I’m just saying most killers believe they can commit the perfect crime.”
“In this case though, even if someone else was convicted of Lucy’s murder, Eric’s dirty laundry would be exposed in time, ruining his reputation in the process. A dead wife is still going to cause him problems down the line.”
“Then what about Julie’s influence over him?” Dawn countered. “Maybe she gave him an ultimatum.”
“I’ve read all her interviews and get the impression she’s simply an educated young woman who got caught up in an office romance that ended badly—”
“For Lucy.”
“Yes, for Lucy and Julie, and possibly Eric,” I said.
“You appear to be leaning toward taking this case,” Dawn said as she took her plate to the sink.
I cleared the table and put all the folders back in the box. “My intuition is telling me Eric and Julie had nothing to do with Lucy’s killing. They could have been leaving an out-of-town movie theatre with a hundred witnesses, instead of watching television at her place. I think that fateful night began like all their other clandestine evenings, only this time they were caught in a lie.”
“Bad karma.”
“Very bad karma,” I agreed.
“So, if Eric wasn’t involved and there are no new leads, where would you start your investigation?”
I took Dawn’s hand and led her to the couch to relax after our delicious and filling meal. “The lone person left in this love triangle.”
“Lucy?”
“The one and only.”
“Are you saying the victim brought this upon herself?” Dawn asked slowly.
“I’m saying when you eliminate two of the three people in this equation, you’re left no other option than to train your sights on the third party, regardless if they’re dead or alive.”
“Lucy holds the key.”
“In my mind, yes.”
“Her mother isn’t going to like this, you know that, right?”
I took a deep breath and stared at the bank draft on the coffee table. “No, I don’t think she will.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
