Wrecked (Josie Gray Mysteries #3)(82)
Josie left and headed to the PD. She checked in with Lou, then found Otto upstairs pouring coffee.
“I just left Hec. He says Wally didn’t kill Christina Handley. One of the Conroys did.” She sat down in her chair and pressed her fingertips into her temples, rubbing in circles. “That’s assuming we believe Hec’s story. And, more importantly, that we believe the story Hec’s dad told him.”
Josie recapped her conversation. “I believe him, Otto. I think he finally came all the way clean. Maybe the Conroys went to Dillon’s office for the same reason Wally was there. To steal their own records. They figured it was only a matter of time before they’d be indicted too.”
“How do we know the necklace wasn’t Wally’s?” Otto said.
Josie gave him an exasperated look and he smiled. “Okay. A so-called Catholic saint. Probably not a necklace Wally would wear.”
“Let’s go back to the Conroys. Lay it on thick this time. See if we can shake something loose.”
“Agreed. Let’s call the prosecutor, keep him in the loop,” Otto said.
He picked up his office phone, dialed, and small-talked for a moment with the prosecutor’s secretary before being put on hold.
Tyler Holder was the newly elected prosecutor for Arroyo County. A lucrative private practice in Houston and a short stint as legal counsel for the Houston Oilers had allowed him to follow his new bride to her hometown of Artemis. He had made a name for himself as a former big-city attorney, and then quickly worked his way through the Artemis political machine with a term on the school board, a term on the county council, and finally as the prosecutor. He’d been in office for three months and appeared to be serious about his campaign promise to uphold the letter of the law, as opposed to the politically motivated former prosecutor whom Josie had found reprehensible. The political games the former prosecutor played had won him a few supporters, but the general public had caught on and voted him out in a landslide defeat. Josie had high hopes for Holder. At forty years old, he was young for the job, but he appeared to want the office for the right reasons.
Otto finally connected with Holder and asked him if he could meet with him and Josie about the kidnapping case. An hour later, Josie and Otto were sitting in Holder’s office, presenting their case against the Conroys, hoping for support in the event they needed a warrant later.
“So, you’re basing your case against this family on the story concocted by Hector Follet, whose father admittedly was at Mr. Reese’s office the night Christina was shot? Doesn’t it make more sense that Wally killed her?” Holder asked.
“I believe Hector,” Josie said. After she said it, she realized how ridiculous her comment must have sounded to the prosecutor.
“The kid wants to keep his father from being a murderer. He may even believe his own story, but it just doesn’t make sense to me that the Conroys miraculously showed up at the office the same time Wally did.” Holder looked from Josie to Otto. “Do you buy into this theory too?”
Otto nodded. “I do.”
“Was Dillon also the Conroys’ accountant?” Holder asked.
“Yes,” Josie said. “I think they ran their money through Dillon to make the business transactions seem more legitimate. After the kidnapping, they had to know that everyone associated with Wally was going to be under suspicion. His business had just been indicted.”
Holder held a hand up, waving in the air as if only halfway conceding.
“Maybe the Conroys found out about the kidnapping and assumed Wally would go to the office.”
Otto broke in. “It makes sense that the Medranos would have contacted the Conroys about the kidnapping the same way they did Hec, the night they took Dillon. The Medranos don’t care who finds their money. My guess is they put pressure on anyone who they thought might find Wally and recover their cash.”
“Bea Conroy could have sent one of her boys to watch the office hoping to find Wally and get the money back to the Medranos before their business fell apart. And Christina got in the middle of the fight,” Josie said.
“Go put pressure on them,” Holder said. “I hope like hell you find something.”
*
After leaving the prosecutor’s office, Josie and Otto went back to the police department to plan their visit to the Conroys. They decided Josie should talk to Bea, who clearly had little respect for men. They drove separately, hoping the arrival of two police cars might signal a bigger presence and cause the Conroy boys to back off.
The barn doors were closed and only one car was visible on the property, a red beat-up Chevy Malibu parked haphazardly in front of the house, as if someone had been in too big of a hurry to park straight. Or, Josie thought, more likely they were too lazy to take the time to park right.
Bea answered the door wearing a red T-shirt that looked like a souvenir from New Orleans, with giant white letters that proclaimed THE BIG EASY. Bea looked beyond the two officers, presumably searching for additional police.
“Ought to save the taxpayers some money and share your rides,” she said.
“Where’s the rest of your family, Mrs. Conroy?” Josie glanced around the property.
“Gone.”
“We have some questions for you. May we come inside?” Josie asked.
“Suit yourself.” Bea stepped away from the door. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched as the officers entered her living room. Josie looked around the messy room and thought Otto had described it perfectly.