Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(32)

“Who was it?” Brenda said.

“The body hasn’t been identified. We’re hoping you might be able to help us,” Josie said.

Brenda looked at Billy, who continued staring at Josie in apparent shock.

“Billy, can you think of a friend, maybe a band member or a fan, who might have stopped by your house after you left? Maybe they needed a place to crash for the night?”

He opened his mouth as if to speak but said nothing.

“We don’t run a flophouse!” Brenda said. “And who would stay at our house in the middle of an evacuation with a wildfire raging across the county?”

Josie kept her attention on Billy. “Can you think of anyone? Maybe someone you asked to stop by the house and check on things while you were away?”

He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “No, nobody. You don’t know anything about the body? A man or woman?”

“A male. We believe he was between the ages of twenty-five and fifty.”

Josie watched Billy struggle to swallow and clear his throat. “Do you have a drink? Some water?” he asked.

Brenda looked over at Billy, and Josie noted that her expression had changed slightly. She seemed irritated with him. Josie remembered Angela’s comment about Brenda calling Billy weak.

Otto stood and retrieved a bottle of water from the small refrigerator at the back of the office. Billy removed the lid and drank half the bottle.

Josie faced Brenda again. “If not friends, do you have family members who might have stopped by unannounced?”

Brenda’s face flushed and she sat up straight in her seat. “I’m not sure how else to say this to you. We don’t have people stopping by to sleep on our couch. I have no idea who that person could be.”

“The police found a dead man in your living room. We will do everything in our power to determine who that victim is. You also need to understand that you could be in danger as well. The death has been ruled a homicide.”

“What?” She whispered the word, her expression shocked again.

“Why would someone kill someone in our home?” Billy looked confused. “You’re saying that the man wasn’t killed in the fire? That someone killed him?”

Brenda’s face had turned bright red and a sheen of sweat covered her forehead. “I want an attorney. We’re done talking here. This is outrageous.”





ELEVEN

Once the Nixes requested an attorney the interview ended. Josie had already called Manny and booked a room at his motel for the Nixes. The room had just been vacated by a family who had stayed during the evacuation but whose home was not caught in the fire. Josie wanted the Nixes close by for questioning, and fortunately, they didn’t resist. The couple had left angry and thoroughly unstrung but agreed to remain reachable via their cell phones.

After the Nixes left, Otto and Josie drove back to the house to reexamine the scene. The Arroyo County judge had granted approval for the search warrant and Josie was anxious to get ahold of the computer and various files in the home office that might provide a glimpse into the Nixes’ personal life. Otto drove his jeep and Josie rode beside him.

“Anything surprise you from Billy or Brenda?” Otto asked.

“Not really. I’d hoped for more. You?”

“Considering what we learned from the band and bar interviews, I’d say they were both predictable in their answers. Brenda struggled not to dominate the interview. She pulled back to allow Billy to talk.”

“And he didn’t seem to want to talk.” She paused, recalling the conversation. “I kept thinking how I might feel, sitting down to learn that the police had found a burned body, dead on my couch. I realize because of my law enforcement background I’m not your normal suspect.”

“You think?”

She ignored the sarcasm. “But I think after the initial shock I’d be angry. I’d want to know what the police were doing. I’d want to know who was inside my house. Who the police had talked to, and what they were doing to find out who this person was. I’d want answers.”

Otto stopped the car so Josie could get out and take down the yellow crime-scene tape at the end of the Nixes’ driveway. He pulled up the driveway, parked, and joined Josie, who was now standing on the concrete pad just outside the front of the house.

“So, what’s your point?” he asked.

“I know Brenda isn’t well liked, but her reaction seemed right to me. She’s mad as hell. Her house is destroyed. Some guy not only got into her home, but he was murdered there. And now the police are asking questions that make her feel like she’s a suspect.” She turned and faced Otto. “And what did Billy do?”

“He clammed up. But doesn’t that fit his personality?”

Josie narrowed her eyes. “It was more than that though. I thought he looked scared. He got choked up and he had to drink water before he could even talk. That’s a sign of fear, not worry.”

“I’m still not sure what you’re getting at.”

Josie stared at the gaping hole in the living room. “I don’t know yet. I’m just thinking out loud.”

They spent the next hour searching through the rubble in the house for something that might explain Billy’s reaction, but they found nothing more than personal mementos, music paraphernalia, and the bills and paperwork typical of any other married couple. They retrieved several boxes of charred evidence, including a desktop computer and a file cabinet full of business and personal files, and tagged and loaded the evidence into Josie’s jeep before going back into the house.