French Silk(106)

The remark had made Cassidy mad enough to smash Crowder's face with his fists. Instead, however, he had stormed from Crowder's office. There had been no communication between them since, and that had been two days ago. The hours were ticking off.

The hell of it was that Crowder had hit the target at dead center. He did want to protect Claire. Although he was angry enough to strangle her himself, he didn't want to incarcerate her. But if she was guilty, he'd have no choice. He'd have to put her in prison for the rest of her life, without benefit of suspension, probation, or parole.

"Christ."

He dug the heels of his hands into his eyesockets and propped his elbows on his desk. It was in that vanquished posture that Joshua Wilde found him moments later.

Cassidy looked up when he heard the tentative knock on his office door. Josh stood hesitantly on the threshold. "The secretary said to come on in."

"What do you want?" Cassidy snarled.

"Are you still in charge of my father's murder case?"

"That's what the Times Picayune reported this morning. Come in. But I warn you that I'm in a pissy mood, so if you're here to jack me around, do yourself a favor and leave now."

"I didn't come to jack you around."

"Sit down." The younger man took a chair across the desk from him.

Cassidy nodded toward the front of the building. "Why aren't you down there lending support?"

Ever since his return from Rosesharon, each time Cassidy entered the building, he had to push his way through picket lines declaring him incompetent. It was a vocal and hostile crowd that paraded hour after hour, singing their theme song, and brandishing contentious pickets whenever they caught sight of him.

"That's my stepmother's latest brainstorm," Josh said of the well organized protest demonstration.

"I thought she just got out of the hospital."

"She did, but she dug right in. She's not going to give you a minute's peace until you convict a killer."

"She's not the only one," Cassidy muttered to himself. "Why don't you advise her to put a stop to that nonsense outside? It's serving no real purpose."

"It's getting her on the six-o'clock news. That's what she's after."

"It's only a matter of time before it turns ugly. Some pretty mean characters have business in this building, you know. Somebody's bound to get hurt. Surely Ariel doesn't want any adverse publicity."

"She'd figure a way to swing it to her advantage."

"She didn't fare too well with her picketers at French Silk. The Laurents made you look like goons."

"The way Claire Laurent turned that situation around made Ariel mad as hell." His snickering expression turned thoughtful. "She's an interesting lady. Most people would have resorted to mudslinging. She's got class. I admire her moxie."

Yeah, Cassidy thought dismally. You gotta admire her moxie.

"Anyway, back to Ariel," Josh said. "She doesn't listen to any advice from me. In fact, she doesn't listen to anyone's advice. Once she makes up her mind to do something, she's relentless, unstoppable."

"Are we talking about your stepmother or General Patton?"

"Believe me, Cassidy, you don't know her like I do. She's gone crazy, especially … especially since my father was killed."

Josh's eyes became shifty and skittered away from Cassidy's gaze, giving him a surge of hope. His no-fail instinct was telling him that he was on the brink of a breakthrough. It was tough to carry off, but he pretended to be unimpressed with what he'd heard so far. He raised his hand, indicating that Josh should continue.

"I'm sure you've heard about Ariel's pregnancy."

"Are congratulations in order?"

"You mean am I the father?" Josh shook his head. "She says Daddy was. That's why I'm here." Suddenly he came to his feet and began pacing along the edge of Cassidy's desk.

"Why don't you just relax and tell me what's eating you." Cassidy assumed a confidant's voice, the kind he hoped would inspire trust and give the late preacher's cowardly son courage.

"I lied to you," Josh blurted.

"About what?"

"About that night. About Ariel and me being together the whole time. The truth is … she … she left my suite and went back to theirs."

"When?"

"Earlier. Around midnight."

"For how long?"

"Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."

"Did she speak to your father?"

"I don't know. Swear to God."

"Never mind God. Swear it to me."

Josh wet his lips. "I swear to you I don't know."

"Okay. Go on."

"She trumped up this excuse that she went looking for a piece of sheet music. She says Daddy was asleep. I didn't think anything of it until the following morning. She asked me not to mention that time lapse to you or to the police."

Cassidy's heart was thumping, but he knew better than to let his hopes soar on the word of a man who had already admitted to one crucial lie. This was only hearsay. It would never hold up in court. He still had no real evidence against the widow. However, this would give his investigation new focus and take the heat off Claire. After days of famine, this seemed like a bountiful harvest.