The Perfect Alibi (Robin Lockwood #2)(68)

“Blaine Hastings is a sociopath. You can’t believe a thing he says. You sat through the trial. You heard the testimony. Hastings raped Randi Stark.”

“Yeah, but Hastings has insisted that Randi gave him a hand job and that he never penetrated her. If he ejaculated in her hand and she put Hastings’s cum in her vagina, the same way Braxton did, it would explain how his DNA got inside her and how he got the idea for his scam.”

“You think Randi’s smart enough to come up with a plan that complicated?”

“You told me that Portis kid said she’s bright, and she’s studying nursing. She told me that she has a 3.65 GPA. That’s up there. I’m pretty sure that Randi would have the medical know-how to pull off something like this.”

“You think she made up the rape?” Jeff asked.

“What do you think?”

“I think that Roche was nervous because you scared the hell out of her, and I think Blaine Hastings raped Randi Stark.”

Robin thought for a minute. Then she shook her head. “You’re right. I’m probably still concussed and not thinking straight.”





CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN


“I found something you need to know,” Peter Okonjo told Carrie Anders as soon as she answered her phone.

“Tell me.”

“We dug a bullet out of the wall in Rex’s place, and I ran it through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. NIBIN came up with a match to a bullet used to murder a lawyer in New York City named Tyler Harrison III.”

“Now that’s interesting. Can you match the bullet to a particular gun?”

“If we had the gun. Without it, all I can say is it’s the kind of bullet that could be fired from a certain type of gun. This one could have been fired from an automatic like a Smith and Wesson, a Beretta, or a Glock nine-millimeter. Why, do you have a specific gun in mind?”

Anders had a thought. “Let me get back to you.”

As soon as she disconnected, Anders phoned Roger Dillon and told him to meet her at the Nylanders’ house.



* * *



Frank Nylander’s widow lived a few blocks from the Armstrongs in a yellow and white Dutch Colonial. Janet Nylander had put on makeup, but it didn’t completely disguise the dark circles under her eyes, evidence of the many sleepless nights she had endured since her husband was murdered.

“We’re sorry to intrude, Mrs. Nylander, but we want to ask you about something that may help us figure out what happened to your husband,” Anders said.

“Go ahead.”

“Did Frank own a gun?”

“Yes, a handgun.”

“Do you know where it is?”

“No.”

“Where did he keep it?”

“I don’t know. He bought it when there were a rash of home burglaries in our neighborhood. But that was a while ago.”

“Could it have been in his office or his car?” Roger Dillon asked.

“I’m not sure where it is.”

“Can you look for it now?” Dillon asked.

“Yes. Of course. Why don’t you wait in the living room?”

Janet returned twenty minutes later. “I can’t find it,” she said. “I looked in our closets, the den. I’ll keep looking after you leave. I could have missed it.”

“Thanks,” Carrie said.

“You know, I think Frank did tell me that he was going to take it downtown.”

“Do you remember what kind of gun Frank owned?” Dillon asked.

Janet’s brow furrowed. “It had a funny name.”

“Beretta?” Dillon asked.

“No. Something that sounded German.”

“Was it a Glock?” Carrie asked.

“Yes, that’s it!”

“Thanks, Mrs. Nylander. You’ve been a big help.”

“Are you any closer to finding out who … did that to Frank?”

“Maybe. And what you’ve told us may help.”





CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT


Robin was in court, asking the presiding judge for a setover in one of her cases. The assistant district attorney had no objection, and the request was granted. When Robin walked into the corridor outside the courtroom, she spotted Les Kreuger talking to another lawyer. She waited for them to finish before walking over to Les.

“Carrie Anders told me you were representing Rex Kellerman. I thought Vanessa went way out on a limb, charging Rex with attempted murder. How do you think the legal issue would have shaken out?”

“I’m not sure. There are good arguments for and against.” Kreuger shrugged. “We’ll never know now.”

“Have you ever had a client murdered before?”

“I’ve been practicing for twenty-seven years, and this is a first.”

“I didn’t like Rex, but I wouldn’t have wished this on him.”

Kreuger flashed a sad smile. “No one liked Rex.”

“Carrie said that Rex left you a cryptic message about finding something odd in the files.”

“He did, but I and my associates are stumped. If there’s something odd in those files, we haven’t been able to discover what it is.”