Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(85)

She shook her head, trying to clear it. “I never would have believed you’d do something like this.”

“Andi, I’m a cop, and when I see evidence like this—”

“If she was smuggling diamonds, why would they be hidden in the horse?”

Will’s gaze dropped, and so did his shoulders.

He thinks Steph was stealing them. It was as though she’d been dropped down a rabbit hole. The sculpture. What had he said about it? “What are you going to do with the horse? It’s all I have left of my sister.”

“I’m only going to scan it. I promise I won’t damage it.”

Her chest heaved. “I don’t care what you find. My sister did not smuggle diamonds into this country.” Disappointment lay heavy in her heart, but she pushed it aside. “I’ll prove you’re wrong. I’ll find Jillian, and she’ll set the record straight.”

She turned to Maggie, who stood frozen, dismay written on her face. “Are you ready to go?”

Maggie threw a look at Will, but Andi didn’t wait to see his reaction. She ran down the steps to her car. A minute later, Maggie slid into the passenger side.

“Will is only—”

Andi held up her hand and blinked back the tears stinging the back of her eyes. “Please, don’t defend him, and I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Okay,” Maggie said slowly. “We’ll stay off the subject of Will Kincade unless you bring it up.”

“That’s so not happening.” She fastened her seat belt and turned the key. “I knew my sister. She wouldn’t do anything illegal, and when we find Jillian, she’ll confirm that.”

“I hope so,” Maggie said as she fastened her seat belt. “Would you like me to drive? Or we can go in my Beetle.”

“You’re joking, right? About the Beetle.” She shot a quick glance at Maggie. “You’re not.”

“Well, you are really upset.”

“I’m fine. And I’ll be careful.”

Maggie settled back in the seat. “See that you are,” she said.





28


TREECE LAID HER HAND ON WILL’S ARM. “Andi will get over this.”

“I don’t know. She loved her sister. And I can’t ignore evidence because of how I feel about Andi.” He wrapped the horse in bubble wrap the crime scene unit had given him. The CJC had a scanner that he could use to look inside the sculpture.

“Give her time to process all of this.”

He patted Treece’s hand, and his fingers brushed over the ring on her finger. “Hey, Reggie proposed?”

She beamed at him. “And I said yes.”

He hugged her. “I’m happy for you. He’s a good guy. And now if you’re ready, I’ll follow you to your folks’ house.”

Twenty minutes later, Will returned Treece’s wave from her parents’ front porch. He wished a little of her happiness could rub off on him. He’d thought Andi was the one, but if she couldn’t understand that he was a cop and couldn’t look the other way when the evidence didn’t suit him, then they weren’t on the same page.

Before he pulled away from the curb, Will dialed the number he had for Larry Ray Johnson’s estranged wife and identified himself. “I had hoped to drive to Nashville today, but the hospital informed me that your husband is still critical and in a coma. I thought I’d see if you’re willing to answer a few questions over the phone.”

“Soon to be ex-husband. We’re getting a divorce,” she corrected. “That’s what they told me too. I don’t know why you want to talk to me. Like I told the state trooper, I don’t know anything about the accident.”

“Did your husband ever talk about earning extra money?” he asked and heard a slight gasp over the phone.

“How did you know? It took me three years to find out someone was sending him a hundred dollar bill every month.”

Will braked for a slow-moving car, then waited for it to make a left turn. “Do you know who sent it?”

“Not their real name. It was somebody he called JD. Larry Ray told me about it one night when he was drinking. Said this JD guy called him up out of the blue and offered him a hundred dollars a month to keep a watch on one of the prisoners. He was to call him if anything unusual happened.”

“And you don’t think JD was his real name?”

“I don’t know. Larry Ray didn’t think it was.”

He gripped the steering wheel. “Does he have a phone number for this man?”

She hesitated. “Look, I don’t want to get him in any trouble . . .”

Larry Ray had gotten himself in his own trouble. “Giving me the number won’t make any difference in what happens to your husband. But if I’m right, JD caused the accident that put Larry Ray in ICU.”

“Oh no,” she said softly. “I could tell he was afraid of this JD. I don’t have the number, but it’s on his cell phone.”

Will thanked her and disconnected. When he pulled into the parking garage across from the CJC, he scanned his contacts for the state trooper’s number. Once he answered, Will asked if Johnson’s cell phone had been found.

“I’m not at headquarters, but I can check and call you back.”