Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(44)

“Why don’t you ask Laura? Don’t you work with her?”

“I do, but I have another reason for coming to you first that I’ll get to in a minute. Do you remember if she was hanging around new friends? Or does anything unusual stand out in your memory?”

“I think that was two questions,” she said, looking up at him. She smiled before answering. “I remember she was focused on Andi’s surgery . . . I probably would have attributed any tenseness to that.”

“How about Lacey Wilson? What do you remember about her?”

“That’s now three.”

“So it is.” He was surprised by how much he enjoyed her sense of humor. He raised his eyebrows, signaling he wanted an answer, and she obliged.

“Not much from that time frame. I got to know her better after Stephanie died and the Hollisters needed their house back. For a year I rented an apartment with Laura and Lacey.” She slipped her hands in her jacket. “Lacey had made an appointment with me for the day she died.”

He noted that on his pad. “Do you know why she wanted to see you?”

“No. I was so busy that day I didn’t realize she’d missed the appointment until Laura called yesterday with the news about her death. I certainly would not have pegged Lacey for suicide, though.”

“I’m not certain she committed suicide.”

Maggie stopped. “What do you mean?”

“There are a lot of unanswered questions about her death.” He turned to face her. “Since you knew her, and you’re good at reading people, let me ask you something.”

“Okay, but I hadn’t talked to her in years. I was surprised when I learned she’d made an appointment.”

Too bad Maggie hadn’t kept up with Lacey. It would have been nice to have inside information on the victim. “Do you think someone who kept detailed records on everything would kill themselves and omit a suicide note?”

“Over half the people who commit suicide don’t leave a note.” She tilted her head. “Give me more.”

“She’d booked a flight to Hawaii for Tuesday night, and her bags were by the back door.”

“Is that all?”

“She was meeting Andi Hollister at the airport before the flight with information of some sort about her sister. And she planned to go to Riverbend.”

“Add her appointment with me that afternoon, and that does put a different spin on it.” She walked in silence for a few minutes. “If Lacey didn’t commit suicide, then someone murdered her, like Stephanie.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

Maggie stared toward the river again. “I’ve always wondered about Jimmy’s conviction. He was so in love with her, and I never saw him with a gun. But then there was his alcohol problem, and when the detective said he’d confessed . . .”

“I know. People don’t usually confess to crimes they didn’t commit, except George Barnes was the investigating officer, and he wasn’t above coercing a confession.”

She frowned. “That’s why you were in my office. You don’t think Jimmy killed her, and you want me to take his case. But what does Lacey have to do with Jimmy?”

He glanced around. “Why don’t we sit?” he said, pointing to a wrought iron bench.

The wind had picked up, blowing a loose strand of hair across her face. It was strange seeing Maggie dressed so casually, and for the first time, he noticed her eyes were the color of her sweater, and both were the color of the forget-me-nots his mother grew when he was a child. Probably the only flowers other than roses that he knew by name.

She brushed the hair from her eyes. “Exactly what is your interest in this?”

“Jimmy’s execution date is Sunday night at eleven fifty-nine. Tuesday he received a letter stating the author had evidence that he didn’t kill Stephanie Hollister.”

She leaned toward him. “What’s the evidence?”

“I don’t know—the letter disappeared.”

“Then get in touch with whoever sent it.”

“Lacey Wilson wrote it.”

“Oh.” Maggie sank back on the bench. “How do you know there even was a letter?”

“A corrections officer saw it and photographed it, but unfortunately he wasn’t a great photographer. He wasn’t even good. The photo was too blurry to read. The letter is the only evidence we have. That and the possibility that Lacey Wilson was murdered.” He didn’t want to mention the guard suspected of stealing the letter until he had more information. “I don’t know that we have enough time to pull a case together.”

She gave him a wry grin. “And that’s where I come in.”

He acknowledged her guess with a matching grin. “Jimmy asked Will to talk to you, and I offered to come in his place to see if you’d be willing to take his case.”

She didn’t bat an eyelash. “I’ll get started today. First thing we have to do is get a stay of execution and then get to work finding that evidence.”

He stood and offered his hand to pull her up. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to your office.”

A few minutes later, they walked inside Maggie’s building just as Andi stepped off the elevator.

“Oh, good!” she said. “Your secretary said you had gone for a walk. I’m glad I caught you two. Did David tell you I planned to come with him?”