Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(61)

“Yes,” they said in unison, then burst into laughter.

“Don’t know what we’re going to do with you, girlfriend,” Treece said, shaking her head. She handed her the cell phone. “Would you do the honors?”

Andi obliged and took shots from every angle, then handed the phone back. “You can change everything except this,” she said, picking up the clay sculpture. Over the years it had turned almost black.

“Could we at least move it to the bedroom?” Treece asked.

“Let me think about it.” She rubbed her thumb over the horse’s head and down the mane. A small piece of clay broke loose from the rump. No. It can’t crumble.

She tried to smooth the dry clay, snagging her thumb on a piece of wire. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, tasting her own blood.

Treece cleared her throat. “Okay, you’re in good hands. I think I’ll retire to my apartment.”

“You don’t have to go,” Andi said.

“Yes, I do. I’m tired.”

After Treece closed the door behind her, Andi turned to Will. “Now will you tell me what was on the stationery?”

“Basically everything Jimmy said was there—that she had evidence that he didn’t kill Stephanie. She planned to explain everything if he allowed her to visit him. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the letter until after she was dead.”

“What do you think this evidence is?”

“I don’t know.” He hesitated and wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“What?”

“There were other letters imprinted on the stationery. One was to you and mentioned that she had written Jimmy, but he hadn’t responded. She wanted to tell you before she left the area that he hadn’t killed your sister.”

“Was there anything else?”

“She said that you have diamonds in your possession. Then she scribbled lines through what she’d written.”

“You’re kidding. Why would she say that?” She wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I don’t know, but I wonder if that’s why someone broke into your apartment Tuesday night.”

“He was looking for diamonds, all right.” She glanced around the room. “But there’s certainly none here. Do you think Lacey told the person who killed her that I have these diamonds?”

“That or he saw the letter.”

The hair on the back of her neck rose. What if the intruder had known she’d forgotten to set the alarm? What if he’d entered the apartment and had been waiting for her when she returned?

She stared at the figurine in her hands. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be alone. “You don’t have to go just yet, do you? Have you eaten?”

“Picked up a couple of burgers on the way over. They’re in the car. Want one?”

She wasn’t hungry, but if it kept him here for a while longer, she’d eat. She set the horse back on the mantel. “Let me get some plates.”

When she turned around, he had the horse in his hands, studying it. “Stephanie was quite good. Why don’t you have this fired?”

She quelled the impulse to tell him to be careful with it. “It’s so old, I’m afraid it might explode in the kiln. I think I’d die if I lost it.” He set it back on the mantel, and she breathed again.

“I still don’t understand why it’s so special. Don’t you have other things that your sister made?”

“Yeah, but . . .” Most of the time, Andi was able to block that night from her mind. “I’ll tell you about it while we eat.”

She had cleared off her table and pulled up the stool from the bar by the time he returned from his car. She really needed to get more furniture. When Andi took the top off her burger, she said, “You remembered.”

Will smiled. “Mustard, pickle, no onion.”

Andi ducked her head, pleased that he’d gone to the trouble. After they finished the burgers, Andi made a pot of coffee. “Danish or lemon cookies?”

“Cookies.”

When the coffee was done brewing, she poured each of them a cup and arranged the cookies on a plate. “The sofa?”

He nodded and sat down. “You were going to tell me about the statue.”

“Yes, I was.” She hadn’t thought about how close Will would be on the sofa, or maybe she had. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, going back to that night. “For the first time in months, we were celebrating . . .”

Andi could barely wait to tell Stephanie the good news.

“Do you think she’ll be surprised?” she asked. Her sister had been so worried.

Mom grinned. “I think she will.”

Just today, they’d been told the doctor would donate his services, and with Le Bonheur accepting whatever they could pay, the surgery had been scheduled.

“I’m sorry I got sick,” Andi said. She hated being a burden and wished she were grown instead of just thirteen. Then she could take care of the bill herself, ’cause she knew her dad. He’d work and pay every penny of the hospital bill even if it took him forever.

“Honey, you can’t help it. Just like Dad can’t help losing his job.”

And insurance, Andi wanted to add. If she was going to get sick, why didn’t God let it happen two months ago when they had insurance? She cringed. What if lightning struck her for thinking something like that?