The Perfect Alibi (Robin Lockwood #2)(74)

“Why would I murder a New York attorney I’d never met?”

“Come on, Doug. Don’t do this.”

“No, Robin. I’m really curious.”

“You knew that Harrison would hear about Frank’s murder the next time he called him about the Voss case. Once that happened, there was a chance that he would tell the police that you never graduated from law school. That would reveal your motive to murder Frank, which no one could figure out otherwise. You couldn’t take that chance.

“But, you had a problem: How would you get to New York without anyone knowing? You couldn’t fly or take any other form of public transportation, because that would leave a paper trail. That’s when you remembered that Frank’s car was in the garage. Driving to New York and back would take days, and that presented another problem. How could you disappear for the time it took to drive to New York in Frank’s car, murder Harrison, and drive back to Portland? Amnesia was the answer.”

“Those are several clever deductions. Hercule Poirot would have been proud of you. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove I killed anyone in New York.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Did you stop for gas? You must have. Did the gas station have a surveillance camera? You must have gotten food. Can a clerk identify you? This is the age of surveillance, Doug. There are eyes in the sky that see everything. And you’ll still face criminal charges once I tell the authorities that you’ve never been an attorney, which will destroy you.”

“Are you going to do that? You’re my attorney.”

“Was your attorney.”

“So, you’re going to go to the police?”

Robin shook her head. She looked sad. “I like you, Doug. Everyone likes you. So, I’m going to give you the opportunity to turn yourself in.” Robin stood. “Get yourself a good attorney and have her negotiate a deal. Maybe she can even convince Vanessa to keep the fact that you’ve been lying about being a lawyer secret so you can keep your dignity.”

“I’ll give that suggestion serious thought.”

“Don’t think too long. If I haven’t heard by tomorrow from you or your attorney that you’ve confessed, I’m going to the police with everything I know.”





CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR


The meeting with Doug Armstrong had drained Robin, and she was exhausted when she got home. She fixed supper, watched TV, and waited. At eleven, she turned off the set, turned out all the lights in her apartment, and went into the bedroom. At one in the morning, her doorbell rang.

Robin walked to the front door and looked through the peephole. When she saw who was at her door, she started to open it. As soon as the door began to open, Doug pulled out Frank Nylander’s Glock.

“Freeze!” screamed Jeff, who had been hiding in the stairwell.

Doug swung toward Jeff, and Robin smashed her fist into Doug’s gun hand, moving the barrel the inch she needed to force the bullet to go into the floor. Doug was turning back toward Robin when she buried her fist in his solar plexus. The blow drove the wind out of Armstrong. He dropped the Glock and collapsed in the hallway.

Robin kicked the gun away just as Jeff appeared beside her with his gun drawn. “Bag the Glock and call Carrie,” Robin said as she knelt next to Armstrong. “You were going to kill me, weren’t you, Doug? Attempted murder is going to be easy to prove with two witnesses and one big fat motive.”

Armstrong didn’t say anything. When Jeff was satisfied that Armstrong had caught his breath, he pulled him to his feet and cuffed him. Doug stared at the floor as Robin and Jeff escorted him inside the apartment.

No one said anything until Carrie, Roger Dillon, Vanessa Cole, and two uniforms arrived twenty minutes later.

“Damn it, Robin,” Carrie said after Robin explained what had happened, “Armstrong could have shot you.”

“Unlike Blaine Hastings, Doug is soft and no athlete. I was counting on slow reflexes and a lack of conditioning. Plus, Jeff had the drop on him, and Jeff is a very good shot.”

“It was still irresponsible.”

Robin pulled up her sweatshirt to reveal a bulletproof vest. “I’ve been wearing this ever since I met with Doug at his office.

“What if he’d shot you in the head?”

“Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“You would never have let me hold myself out as bait, but this was the only way to get Frank Nylander’s Glock, the evidence you need to connect Armstrong to the murders of Tyler Harrison and Rex Kellerman. So, feel free to say thank you at any time.”

“I agree with Carrie. You are an idiot,” Vanessa said, “but thank you.”



* * *



The officers escorted Doug Armstrong out of the apartment, and Vanessa and Carrie left shortly after. Robin shut the door and walked toward the bedroom. She didn’t look happy.

“What’s the matter?” Jeff asked.

“I know I shouldn’t, but I feel awful. I really liked Doug, and I can’t imagine what this will do to his wife.”

“Tyler Harrison and Frank Nylander had wives, too.”

Robin sighed. “You’re right.”

“Even though I agree with Carrie that you’re an idiot, you’ve convinced me that you had to do what you did. Without the Glock, there’s no case against Doug for killing Rex, and New York would never be able to prove Doug killed Tyler Harrison.”