Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(11)

“Yeah,” Treece said, “but you were almost here when I called. What’s going on?”

Will frowned. “How did you hear about the promotion? I haven’t told anyone except him.” He jerked his thumb at Brad.

Her brother winced. “I told Mom, and she called, right?”

“This afternoon. Congratulations.” She glanced at the clock. “But it’s eight thirty, and the game started an hour ago. What’s going on?”

“A possible suicide, maybe murder case,” Brad said. “We were coming to find out why your cell phone number is on the victim’s phone.”

“What?” Andi combed her mind, trying to imagine which of her contacts could have ended up dead, and more than one popped into her mind. “Who’s your victim?”

“That conversation can wait,” Will said, and Brad nodded agreement. “Let’s get you checked out first.”

“No, I want—”

“Don’t argue with the man. My case isn’t going anywhere, and I’ll be here when you get back.” Brad crossed his arms. “And the sooner you go, the sooner you get answers.”

She narrowed her eyes at the two men. Sometimes she got her way with them, but the looks on their faces said that wasn’t going to happen tonight. “Okay,” she grumbled. “But don’t be surprised if my blood pressure blows the machine.”



Now that JD knew where she lived, he should have waited for a better time, but in this neighborhood, there wouldn’t ever be a good time. Too many prying eyes when it was daylight, and who knew how long he’d have to wait for Andi to be away at night.

Eighteen years he’d wondered what Stephanie did with the diamonds. And after he read Lacey’s letter to Andi with a reference to her having the diamonds, he hadn’t wanted to wait any longer.

Andi had been easy to tail from the TV station to the airport, but he’d almost run over her at the exit. If he hadn’t caught up with her on I-240 just before she’d exited on Union, tracking her down would have been difficult. While Andi Hollister’s phone number was listed in Lacey’s phone, her address wasn’t.

JD almost missed her again when he dropped back on the residential street, but he hit pay dirt when he saw her taillights turn into the drive. After parking and walking to the house, he’d walked around to the back where her car was parked. One apartment was lit up, the other dark. JD risked climbing the back stairs and discovered the silly girl had left her window unlocked.

He’d been inside Andi’s apartment when he heard the two women climb the stairs, and was about to leave when Andi accepted the other woman’s invitation to eat pizza. How was he to know she’d pop over in only fifteen minutes? It hadn’t been enough time to find the diamonds or even a likely place to hide them.

“Stephanie, why couldn’t you just give me the diamonds?” He spoke the words aloud in the darkness of his vehicle. They were the same words he had used eighteen years ago after he’d discovered what she’d done . . .

JD took a threatening step toward her.

Her eyes narrowed as she pulled a .38 from her pocket. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Give me the diamonds, or I’ll take the gun away and use it on you.”

“I don’t think you can.” Stephanie waved the gun.

“Be reasonable,” he said. “Hand over those diamonds I put in your purse, and we can all walk away from this.”

“How many times do I have to say this? They are going to stay where they are until I need them.”

He took another step closer to Stephanie, and she raised the gun level with his chest. “Stop right there.”

Just what he needed. A crazy woman with a gun. “Come on, honey. You’re not going to shoot me. Not after all we’ve meant to each other.”

The gun didn’t waver. Stephanie jutted her chin. “You’re wrong about that, just like I was wrong about you. You never loved me. You used me, just like you did Jillian. I just hate it took me two months to figure it out.”

He moistened his dry lips as he took a step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Come on, give me the gun and then tell me where the diamonds are . . .”

Except she hadn’t told him, and the money he had to pay the supplier had wiped him out. He’d bounced back, but the loss was like a burr in his shoe. He wanted those diamonds. He couldn’t believe they had been under his nose all these years. Tomorrow he’d search the apartment.

As he started his car, something one of the women said came back to him.

“It was someone with initials . . .”

Cold chills raced over his body. Evidently, Lacey had mentioned his name to Andi. He’d been so focused on the diamonds that the words hadn’t registered until now. If she remembered his name and repeated that to the wrong person . . .

He should have killed Andi Hollister instead of knocking her out.





5


WILL WAITED IN THE RECEPTION AREA while Treece accompanied Andi to the examining room. Waiting gave him plenty of time to worry about what Andi had possibly gotten herself into this time. As a girl, she hadn’t known how to stay out of trouble, and nothing had changed now that she was a woman. A beautiful woman at that. He quickly squelched that thought.