Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(43)

Silence stretched over the line. “What’s this in reference to?”

“A case I’m working on.”

“I can tell you anything you want to know over the phone.”

“I see. Is Mr. Donovan with you? I really wanted to speak with him as well.”

Silence again, then Delaney cleared his throat. “We’re at Java Junkies on Union.”

“That’s where your wife said you probably were. Thanks. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

When Will entered the shop, the two men were sitting at a round table near the back. Neither saw him, and they seemed to be in deep conversation. He ordered a cup of coffee and observed them while he waited.

Delaney, the taller and more muscular of the two, looked as though he might work out every day. Donovan had a softer, refined air. After the barista handed Will his coffee, he walked to the table.

“Good morning,” he said, showing his badge. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“This won’t take long, will it?” Delaney said. “I have an appointment in a few minutes.”

“No.” Will took out his notepad. “Just wanted to ask a couple questions about Stephanie Hollister.”

“Stephanie?” Donovan echoed her name.

“Why are you asking questions about her?” Delaney said. “She was murdered twenty years ago.”

“Eighteen, and I’m looking into her murder,” Will said. “According to my information, you both dated her.”

Irritation crossed Donovan’s face. “I don’t understand why you’re looking into the case. Her ex-boyfriend confessed, and he has a date with the . . .”

His words trailed off when Will speared him with a sharp gaze. “I have proof he didn’t do it.”

Delaney snorted. “If you’re talking about the letter from Lacey Wilson, you don’t have any evidence.”

“How did you know about the letter?”

His face reddened. “Same way you knew we were here.”

Laura. Figured. “Where were you two the night Stephanie was killed?”

“You surely don’t suspect either of us in her death,” Donovan said. “I loved her. I was planning to marry her.”

“Did she return your love?”

“Of course she did. It was just a matter of time before she said yes.”

His tone indicated no woman in her right mind would turn him down.

Donovan stood. “I don’t have time to sit here and be accused of something I didn’t do and don’t have any knowledge of.”

“Before you go, can you tell me where you were the night she was murdered?”

The jeweler rubbed his jaw. “That was eighteen years ago. I don’t have a clue where I was that night. And if you have any other questions, take them up with my lawyer.”

He tossed a five on the table and walked away. Will turned to Delaney. “Seems like if he was in love with Stephanie, he’d remember where he was when he learned she’d been murdered. How about you, do you know where you were?”

“In a restaurant, eating a sandwich with Jillian, who I was dating at the time. We’d pried Laura away from her studies long enough to come with us. Cops were all over the place when I dropped them off at the house.”

Will wrote his answer in the notepad along with Donovan’s. Spencer Delaney remembered right away where he was, but his wife and Donovan did not.



David slowed his steps and Maggie followed suit. It sounded as though an intoxicated Jimmy Shelton had been capable of shooting Stephanie. The question was, had he done it? “How about the other roommate. Jillian Bennett. Did you know her?”

“So-so. She and Spencer Delaney were practically inseparable until Stephanie’s murder, and then they broke up, and a few months later, Spencer started dating Laura.”

“So Spencer Delaney had a relationship with both Jillian and Stephanie before he ended up married to Laura?”

“Yes.” Maggie shook her head and laughed. “I know, it sounds like a soap opera. But he and Laura seem very happy together.”

“What happened to Jillian?”

“She disappeared from the scene not long after Stephanie’s death.”

“What was she like?”

“She was very independent and wanted to go to law school after she received her bachelor’s degree. That was about our only connection, and I’ve often wondered if she followed through. If you find her, I’d like to have her address.”

He nodded. “Was Jillian good friends with the others?”

“She and Stephanie were good friends, went to high school together, but the others—no. Their connection was their jobs—they were all flight attendants—but I don’t think any of them liked it. I was the only one going to school full-time.” Maggie stopped. “I do remember that Jillian seemed very close to Stephanie’s mother. And we better turn around so I can get back to the office.”

“Mind if I ask a few more questions while we walk back?”

She tilted her head toward him. “If you ever decide not to be a cop, I’d gladly hire you to question my clients.”

He wasn’t sure that was a compliment. “I’m just trying to get a picture of what was going on when Stephanie was murdered, but I’ll just make it one more question.”