Best Kept Secrets(148)

been stabbed by anything."

"Gooney Bud stabbed her with Dr. Collins's scalpel," he

stated stubbornly. "He found it in the stable and killed her

with it."

"Where is it now?"



"Now? It's been twenty-five years. You don't expect it to

be lying around in the evidence room, do you?"

"No, but I would expect to have a record of its dispensation.

No one ever called the late Dr. Collins or his son,

asking if they might want it back, even though it was known

to have been a gift from his wife. Doesn't that strike you as

unusual?"

"God knows what happened to it, or to the records concerning

it."

"I think that you disposed of it, Judge. You, not the sheriffs

office, were the last one recorded to have possession of

it. I checked this morning before coming here."

"Why would I dispose of it?"

"Because if someone came along later--an investigator

like me--it would be easy and believable to pass off its

disappearance as a clerical error. Better to be accused of

sloppy bookkeeping than miscarriage of justice."

"You are obnoxious, Miss Gaither," he said stiffly. "Like

most avengers, you're reacting emotionally, and have no basis

whatsoever for your horrid allegations."

"Nevertheless, this is what I intend to present to the grand

jury. Actually, I'm doing you a favor by telling you what I

have. You'll be able to consult with your attorney ahead of

time about the answers you will give. Or will you take the

Fifth?"

"I won't need to do either."

"Do you want to call your lawyer now? I'll gladly

wait."

"I don't need a lawyer."





"Then I'll proceed. Angus asked you for a favor. You

asked for one in return."

"Junior Minton married my daughter because he loved

her."

"I find that impossible to believe, Judge Wallace, since

he's told me himself that he asked my mother to marry him

the night she was killed."

"I can't explain his fickleness."



"I can. Junior was the trade-off for your ruling on Gooney

Bud."

"The district attorney's office--"

"He was on vacation in Canada at the time. I confirmed

that with his widow this morning. His assistant had enough

evidence to arraign Bud Hicks for murder."

"A trial jury would have convicted him, too."

"I disagree, but we'll never know. You prevented that."

She drew a deep breath. "Who was Angus protecting--

himself, Junior, or Reede?"

"No one."

"He must have told you when he called that morning."

"He didn't call."

"He had to have called as soon as Hicks was arrested.

What did Angus tell you?"

"He didn't tell me anything. I never heard from him."

She came out of her chair and leaned over his desk. "He

must have said, 'Look, Joe, I've gotten myself in a jam here.'

Or, 'Junior's taken this boys-will-be-boys thing a little too

far this time,' or 'Can you help Reede out? He's like a son

to me.' Isn't that what happened?"

"No, never."

"You might have argued that you couldn't do it. You

probably asked for time to think about it. Being the nice guy

that he is, Angus granted you a few hours to mull it over.

That's when you came back saying that you would do this

little favor for him in exchange for a marriage between Stacey

and Junior."

"I won't have you--"

"Maybe you even discussed your dilemma with her and

Mrs. Wallace."

"This is defamation of--"

"Or maybe Stacey was the one to suggest the terms of the

deal."

"Stacey never knew anything about it!"

He shot out of his chair and stood nose to nose with Alex,

shouting the words in her face. When he realized what he'd

admitted, he blinked, wet his lips, then eased away from her



and turned his back. Nervously, he ran his fingers over the

row of brass studs on the back of his leather chair. It had

been a gift from his daughter, his only child.

"You knew how much Stacey loved Junior Minton."

"Yes," he said softly. "I knew that she loved him more

than he deserved."

"And that her affection wasn't returned."

"Yes."

"And that Junior slept with her whenever he felt like it.

You thought you had better protect her reputation and the

possibility of an unwanted pregnancy by getting her married

as soon as possible."

The judge's shoulders slumped forward and he answered

in a low, heartbroken voice. "Yes."