Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(24)

“When I read Lacey’s letter, something clicked inside me. For years I’ve had this dream, a nightmare, really. Stephanie and I are in her studio, and I hear her yelling.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “But lately, I don’t think I’m the one yelling back.”

“Was someone else there?”

“I don’t know. In the dream, there’s someone in the shadows.” He dropped his head.

Jimmy didn’t kill Stephanie. The thought took root in Will’s heart and settled there. “You asked if I believed you.”

Jimmy lifted his head, hope stamped in the lines of his face.

“I do.”

Jimmy sagged back against the chair. “Thank you. At least there’s that, but without the letter . . .”

“We’ll just have to work harder and quicker.” Will turned to Andi. “Are you in?”

She gazed at Jimmy like she was searching for something.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in. The coincidences of Lacey’s death and the letter have raised enough doubt to make me question what I believed.” She turned to Jimmy. “I’m not saying I believe you’re innocent. I just want to know the truth. So, let’s go find the officer who saw the letter.”

“Let’s finish here first.” Will took out a notebook. “Do you remember what the letter said?”

Jimmy closed his eyes. “Not word for word. It was on blue paper, and she had pretty handwriting. At first she talked about being Stephanie’s roommate and that I might not remember her. But I did. She was always nice to me, even when I was drunk.” He pressed his fingertips against his eyes. “If only I’d quit drinking.”

“What else did it say?” Andi asked.

“She apologized for not coming forward sooner and then said she’d become a Christian.” He inhaled deeply and blew the breath out.

“Anything else?” Will asked.

“She asked for my forgiveness, then she said I didn’t kill Stephanie.”

“If only we had that letter,” Andi muttered.

Defeat etched Jimmy’s face as he slumped in the chair. “So, other than Walter Simmons, there’s no proof of anything I’ve said.” Suddenly he jerked upright. “Wait! After you hung up, Walter took a picture of the letter with his phone. It was blurry, and he took another one, but it wasn’t any better. He said maybe his granddaughter would help him get the picture to you. That maybe you could fix it.”

Will checked his phone. “He didn’t send it.” He stood. “We’ll find him and get the photo he took. Can you write down a list of people Stephanie hung around with eighteen years ago?”

“You think someone close to her killed her?”

“That’s usually the case. Do you remember who any of her friends were?”

“Yeah. Do you have a pen?”

Will handed him his pen and notebook. A minute later, Jimmy looked up.

“This last person—Jared Donovan—was pretty serious about Steph. Told me to leave her alone, that he was going to marry her.” He handed Will the notebook back.

“This is a start,” Will said. “Keep thinking and write down anything you remember. I’ll be back, maybe Friday, but I’ll be in touch.”

“Wait. There’s something else I want you to do.”

Will sat back down.

“One of Stephanie’s roommates is a lawyer.” Jimmy shifted his gaze to Andi. “You might remember her—Madeline Starr?”

“Maggie?” Andi asked.

Jimmy nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s her.”

Will looked from Andi to his cousin. “Do you think she’ll remember you?”

“I hope so,” Jimmy said. “She’s the one who got another prisoner freed from death row. I want you to contact her, see if she will take my case.”

“Let me go with you,” Andi said. “I know a softer side of Maggie Starr.”

“Deal.” Will leaned back. He’d gotten to know Maggie when he helped Brad mow the yard at the Hollisters’ east Memphis house. He couldn’t believe this Maggie, the quiet, easygoing college girl five years his senior, was the bulldog attorney.

But if anyone could get Jimmy off of death row, it would be Madeline Starr. He nodded at Andi. “Ready to go?”

“Not quite,” Andi said. “I have something to ask Jimmy.”





9


ANDI WAS GOOD AT READING PEOPLE, and she’d been studying Jimmy’s body language. So far everything he’d said indicated he wasn’t hiding anything. Like now as he sat in front of her, his arms on the table, his gray eyes unguarded.

He was nothing like she had expected. And she certainly hadn’t expected him to knock holes in her belief he was guilty.

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

“I want to hear you say you didn’t kill my sister.”

He tented his hands and rested his chin on his thumbs. Then he shook his head. “I can’t. I don’t remember.” He sighed. “I don’t think I killed her, but if I did, I’m willing to pay for it.”

Andi stood. At least he was honest, and that made her want to believe that he hadn’t murdered her sister. “We’ll find the truth.”