Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(82)
Otto nodded. “I like it. She could have called Ferris. Told him that she needed to talk to him before he left town. Maybe she said she wanted to make things right between them. Mend fences.”
“The Zaner was another detail that bothered me,” said Josie. “Billy’s a big guy. If he wanted to stop Ferris from walking down the hallway, he hardly needed to stun the kid. But Brenda would have needed it.”
“After it was all over with, Billy couldn’t take the guilt. He found out his wife killed Ferris and allowed him to burn in a fire. Not only had he lost his lover, but he’d driven his own wife to murder. Billy’s life was over so he asked Hank to help him end it for good.” Otto banged his fist on the table. “We got this.”
“Let’s talk to Hank one more time. See if we can cement a few details before we go to the prosecutor,” Josie said.
*
They arrived at the Hell-Bent at a little after nine that morning but it wasn’t yet open for business. They drove a quarter of a mile down the lane and found Hank at home, watching ESPN, eating a bowl of cereal in the living room. He invited them inside and they sat down in the living room as they had done the last time they visited his home. While Hank carried his bowl into the kitchen Josie noticed a pair of women’s beige dress shoes lying on the floor, underneath a chair that was pushed against the wall in the kitchen. She hadn’t noticed them the last time they visited. The shoes looked as if they might have been shoved under the chair and forgotten about. Josie averted her eyes as he returned so that Hank wouldn’t realize she had seen them.
“Hank, we have some follow-up questions to ask you about Billy. You’re free to call an attorney, but we’re just here to follow up.”
Given their last conversation, Josie expected the guarded look he gave her. He studied her a moment and finally said, “Okay, go ahead.”
“We’re still struggling with the story Billy told you. It doesn’t make sense for several reasons.”
He gave her a puzzled look. “Why would Billy lie to me before ending his life?”
Josie wondered at his choice of words. She hadn’t said Billy had lied, just that his story didn’t make sense.
“I think Billy lied because he was trying to protect his wife,” she said.
“Protect her from what?”
“The day after the evacuations, do you remember me coming into the Hell-Bent to talk to you about the Nixes leaving town?”
“Sure.”
“Do you remember me asking you about the timing? What time they arrived, what time Billy got into the dressing room?”
“Yeah, I told you to talk to Angela. She said you talked to her and she told you he got the guitar at five thirty.”
“Where was Brenda during that time?” Josie asked.
He frowned. “I don’t know. She was in the bar.”
“Did you see her sitting with someone?”
His eyes darted from Josie to Otto. “Sure. Everybody was talking in groups, walking around.”
“Specifically, who did you see her sitting with?” she asked.
“I can’t name a specific person.”
“That’s funny. Because people gave us the names of people Billy talked to. Angela said that when they were done in the dressing room Billy looked for his wife and couldn’t find her. He sat down and talked to John Lummin because he couldn’t find Brenda.”
Hank wrinkled his forehead. “What are you getting at?”
“I think Billy made up that big story because he was covering for his wife. He drove his wife to murder and couldn’t handle the guilt.”
“That’s ridiculous! She’s not a killer! Look at the hell that woman’s been through, and now you’re calling her a murderer on top of it all?”
“Think back to that day in the bar, Hank. Who did she talk to? Who did you see her with?”
He frowned and looked exasperated with the questions. “I told you. The bar was chaos that day. I can’t remember all the people I talked to, let alone somebody else.”
Josie put a hand up in a gesture meant to calm the tension. “I’m not trying to be confrontational. We have to make sure we have the right person before we close the case. We’re just sorting through the specifics.”
He nodded. “Sure. I get that. I just know you’re barking up the wrong tree with Brenda.”
Josie gave Hank an embarrassed look. “I hate to do this, but we’ve been out of the office all morning. Would you mind if I used your restroom before we take off?” Josie asked.
He pointed behind him down a dark hallway. “First door on your right.”
Josie walked by Otto, knowing he would keep up the conversation for a few minutes. She decided to follow up on a hunch.
She shut the door to the bathroom and scanned the room for anything that would indicate who the female was that wore the beige shoes lying in his kitchen. Sensible heels, not the shoes of one of the waitresses he supposedly chased after. She opened the medicine cabinet that hung over the single basin and found the typical bottles and tubes. She flushed the toilet and scanned the medicine bottles, and she found one prescribed to Brenda Nix. Xanax. Her pill of choice for sleeping while she and Billy traveled: apparently also her pill of choice while sleeping with Hank.
Josie took her cell phone out of her pocket and took a picture of the bathroom, the cabinet, and then the pill bottle that clearly stated Brenda’s name. Hank had invited them freely into his home, and he had given her permission to enter his bathroom. She wasn’t sure the photograph of Brenda’s pills would be admissible in court, but it was worth the effort. It might be enough to coerce something out of Hank.