Her Last Word(74)
“A mistress could be motive for murder.”
“Sure. But what’s the motive for killing Jennifer Ralston?” The two women knew each other and had seen each other occasionally at Saint Mathew’s events, but he believed more than ever that their deaths were linked to Kaitlin’s stabbing and whatever happened to Gina. He didn’t have all the answers yet, but he was getting closer. “The motive goes beyond a girlfriend and a bad marriage.”
“Back to Gina?”
“Yep,” he said.
INTERVIEW FILE #20
HIDDEN MESSAGES
After the police released my name to the media, I started to get letters. A few weren’t bad. There were people praying for me. Others wanted to shame me. Most were menacing.
You don’t deserve to live.
God will punish you.
Judgment Day is coming.
Some were sent via US Mail with no return address, and some were left at my aunt’s house. Those letters, coupled with continued media scrutiny, were what finally drove me out of Virginia. I moved back to Dallas, changed my name, and dyed my hair blond. The letters and media calls finally stopped, and I had an opportunity to start over. I threw myself into school and later my career. And in the rare off hours, I partied hard like there was no tomorrow.
Over the years, there were times when I could almost believe losing Gina wasn’t my fault, and I didn’t deserve to be punished.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Wednesday, March 21, 2018; 9:00 a.m.
Randy Hayward watched Steven Marcus lift the jailhouse phone as he stared through the thick glass separating them. The reporter’s build was still slight, and he couldn’t be much older than Randy, but he looked like the boy next door. A place like this would eat him alive.
Hayward raised the phone to his ear and grinned. “I didn’t think you’d come. I figured you were done with me after our meeting in January.”
“I wasn’t interested in playing games.”
They’d met after Randy’s release from prison in early January. Marcus asked for an interview, and Randy had agreed in exchanged for cash. But when the time came to meet, Randy had had better things to do and had blown off their appointment. “You won’t be sorry you came.”
Marcus didn’t look convinced. “Why am I here?”
“I’m in a bad way. I need a friend,” Randy said.
“If you want a friend, then tell me where Gina is. You know I want to find her.”
Randy looked to the guard standing nearby and leaned forward. “I can’t tell you right now.”
“Then we aren’t friends.” The reporter’s eyes flashed with unexpected anger as he rose and looked ready to leave.
Randy had a knack for knowing how far to push his luck, and with Marcus he was reaching his limit. “Hey now, don’t be so harsh. I can give you what you want, just not right this minute.”
Marcus released a breath and stared through the glass at him. “What do you want?”
“I need the public to know I’m not a monster.”
“I’d say you fit the bill. I know you killed Gina, and the cops have you on security footage stabbing the woman in the convenience store you robbed.”
Randy shook his head, but his grin turned sly. “The attorneys have worked out a deal. I’m gonna be taking the cops to Gina real soon.”
Marcus sat back. “You made a deal?”
“A real sweet one.”
“What happened to Gina?”
Randy rubbed the side of his head, his handcuffs jostling on his wrists. “I can’t tell you before the cops.”
“Why did you kill her?”
“I’ll tell you that after Friday.”
“Friday?”
“That’s when I talk to the cops about her. I’d do it today, but Kaitlin’s the one holding up the show. Cops say she can’t come with us until Friday, and I’ve got to have my sweet Kaitlin at the big reveal.”
“She was stabbed. She’s out of the hospital tomorrow.”
Randy couldn’t say he was sorry. He should have done the same to her years ago. “Ouch. Stabbed. Well, if there ever was a bitch who deserved it, it was her.”
“I thought you were tight with Kaitlin Roe? She was your girlfriend. From what people told me, she would have done anything for you at one point.”
“Not anymore. She’s a viper.” He’d been real nice to her when they’d been dating, and then at the Fourth of July party, he’d gotten a little too drunk. Yeah, he’d hit her, but looking back, he knew both she and Gina got what they deserved.
“When’s the last time you saw her?” Marcus asked.
“Last week.” He made a sucking sound as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “She’d been trying to talk to me for months, visiting and hoping I’d open up to her. She’s like you. She wants your precious little Gina found.”
Marcus shook his head. “Gina was never mine. I never knew her.”
“But you did all kinds of research on her, and you fell for her just like any other guy who spent any time with her. Shit, even dead, Gina could win a man’s heart.”
“If you’re talking to the cops, why am I here?”
“Like I said, I need my story told. I’m going to be on trial, and public opinion matters. You can tell my story best because you understand the effect Gina had on men.”