Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(9)

“I guess I assumed based on the previous question.” Matthews checked his watch and stood. “Gentlemen, unless you plan to arrest me, I have a plane to fly.”

“Are you flying internationally?”

“Not tonight. Just shuttling to Charlotte, North Carolina.”

“One last question. Did she have any new friends or hobbies?”

“Don’t know the answer to that one, but you might check with that church she went to. Covenant something-or-other.” Matthews pressed his lips together. “You might want to look at her old friends. The crowd she ran around with when we first got married.”

“Can you give me a list?” Brad said.

Matthews checked his watch again. “There were several people we used to have dinner with, but I’ll have to think about it.”

“Can you remember any of them offhand?”

He glanced toward the ceiling. “Laura and Spencer Delaney. Madeline . . . something-or-other.” He shrugged.

“Laura Delaney, the district attorney?”

“They’d been friends a long time. Look, I always have time to kill once I get to the airport. Can I text you any other names I remember from there? I really need to leave.”

“Just don’t skip the country.”

Matthews’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t kill her. If I had, it would have been years and thousands of dollars ago.”

He stopped at the door. “Oh, you might want to check the mechanic at Taylor’s Garage. That neighbor who told me she was buying a new car—Lacey claimed it was because the mechanic there who worked on her car did something to her transmission. She’d threatened to ruin his business, and he didn’t take too kindly to her accusations.”

Will turned to Brad when Matthews drove away. “Why did you ask him if he knew Stephanie?”

“She was working with the airlines during the time he said he met his wife. When Steph was murdered, she was sharing the house where my parents live now with four other women, and three of them were flight attendants.”

“I remember that. Don’t remember any of their names, though. Do you?” Will asked.

“The only one I remember is one called Maggie,” Brad said.

“I remember her—helped crank that old mower more than once.” He and Brad had been about fifteen then. “What do you think about Matthews?”

“He’s either telling the truth or he’s a really good liar. Not sure which yet. But at least we have a few leads to check out if the medical examiner rules it a homicide.”

“You think he will?”

“I could go either way on this one. If she was bipolar, she could have slipped over the edge.”

It would surprise Will if she committed suicide. Why would she have gone to the trouble of packing for Hawaii? He turned Lacey Wilson’s name over in his mind. “Does the victim’s name ring a bell?”

Brad rubbed his chin. “You too? Ever since I heard it, I’ve tried to place how I could know her. In fact, this whole case has a déjà vu feeling.”

“Hey, Brad.” A tech approached them, holding the victim’s purse and cell phone. “Found something I think you’ll find interesting. Looks like the victim had your sister’s phone number in her phone.”

He took the phone, and Will looked over his shoulder at the screen. “What’s Andi’s phone number doing in Lacey Wilson’s list of recent calls?”

Brad shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”





4


“ANDI, WHAT HAPPENED? Talk to me.”

Treece’s voice filtered through the darkness holding Andi prisoner. Go away, Treece—don’t come in . . . A cold cloth touched her face, and she groaned. “Is he gone?”

“Who? What are you talking about? You fainted. I’ve told you not to skip meals!”

“Didn’t . . . faint . . .” Andi struggled to sit up, but the room wouldn’t stop spinning. She covered her eyes with her hand.

“Lay still,” Treece commanded. “Have you eaten today? And why did you leave your kitchen window open? It’s cold in here.”

No, gotta get up . . . Why couldn’t she get the words out? She peeked through her fingers, and slowly the room stilled. Treece came into focus. The man. Andi tried to push her friend away. “Go. He’ll hurt—”

“What is wrong with you?”

Andi squinted against the light shining from the ceiling. “Is he gone?”

“Is who gone? Are you telling me someone was in here?” Treece’s voice cracked. “I thought you fainted. I’m calling your brother.”

Andi didn’t stop her. She tried to pull out what happened, but pounding on the front door scrambled her thoughts even more.

“Brad and Will are here.”

Already?

“They were on their way when I called. You sit tight while I let them in.”

Treece didn’t have to worry about her moving. She didn’t think she could stand if her life depended on it. And why was Brad coming to see her? Her brother hardly ever came, and Will never. She raked her fingers through her hair. “Ouch!”

Andi jerked her hand away from a lump on the back of her head and stared at the blood on her fingers. No wonder she couldn’t get her thoughts together—he’d knocked her out.