Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(94)

The tracker had been right. They had stopped at the post office. “Do you know where I can find her or them?”

“The photo they had looked like this one.” She pointed to the version that had been aged without other enhancements. “And it didn’t ring any bells, but this skinny person . . .” Bergman glanced at the other woman. “Wouldn’t you say this is Mrs. Darby if her hair was cut short and dyed platinum?”

“Yep, could be her,” Hannah said. “She lives in a cabin overlooking the river. I can give you directions.”

He pulled a notepad from his pocket and handed it to her. Five minutes later, he was back in the car. “Directions to Jillian’s house.”

The directions looked easy enough, but when he came to a washed-out bridge, JD swore. He’d missed a turn somewhere. “See if you can get a fix on our position.”

“There’s still no signal. This tracker just says it’s locating. Oh, wait. The map’s coming up. Looks like they’re on some sort of road parallel to where we are. River is about a half mile away.”

“Good. We’ll hike in and stay south of them.”

“Do you think they’ve found Jillian?”

“I hope so.”

“What do you plan to do with the women once we get what we want?”

“Not sure yet. The river is always an option.” JD exited the car and opened the trunk, choosing two rifles from the four he had stashed there.

A fire wasn’t a bad option, either.





32


WILL NODDED TO LEE AND CARTER. “Let me know if you find anything pertaining to this case.”

“Are you going on to Nashville?” Carter asked.

“Not with Johnson dead.” The only reason he would drive to Nashville would be to see Jimmy, but he didn’t have any news to share with him. His time would be better spent finding the person who set his cousin up.

“Thanks for the help,” Carter said. “This is a murder investigation now, so any information you get, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it.”

“You got it,” Will said.

Back in his car, he checked his phone for messages, then debated calling Brad to see if he’d found anything in the studio. Not wanting to risk another confrontation, he chose David’s number instead. When he didn’t answer, Will left a message for him to call. If David didn’t call back by the time Will reached Memphis, he’d reconsider calling Brad.

Once he was on I-40, Will looked for the exit with the Exxon Service Plaza. Ten minutes later, he exited off the interstate and parked in front of the Blue Cafe. Now if Josie was working, he’d be in business. His stomach growled as he walked to the counter. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast at the Hollisters’ and looked over the menu on the wall behind the counter. Steak sandwich looked pretty good. “Do I order here or take a seat?” he asked the waitress whose name was stitched over her uniform pocket. Ruth.

She looked him up and down. “I can take it. What will you have?”

“Steak sandwich with fries and coffee.”

“That’ll be eight-fifty.”

Will pulled a ten-dollar bill from his wallet. “Is Josie here today?”

Ruth nodded to the corner. “She’s taking her lunch break.”

“Thanks.” Will walked to the corner booth, where an older woman was polishing off a hamburger. “Josie?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Will Kincade, Memphis Police Department.” He showed his badge.

“You’re a far piece from home. What can I help you with?”

“Sergeant Lee with the Tennessee Highway Patrol said you served the man involved in the wreck Wednesday night.”

Josie nodded. “I told the patrolman all I could remember.”

“How about the man he met here? The one you described to the sketch artist. Have you remembered anything else about him?”

She dipped a fry in ketchup and bit into it. “You want to sit? Kind of hurts my neck looking up at you.”

“Thank you.” Will sat opposite her in the booth and leaned forward. “A lot of people come in here. Why did you remember him?”

“His hands.”

“What about his hands?”

“They didn’t match his clothes. He was a big man and looked like most of the men who come in here. But when he paid me, I noticed his hands were soft, and it looked like he had clear polish on his nails. Hunters and farmers around here don’t get manicures. Heck, most of them have grease embedded around the nails.”

Ruth brought his sandwich, fries, and coffee and set them in front of him. “Cream?” she asked.

“No, thank you.”

She kept standing by the booth. “Y’all talking about that guy that had the wreck? That state trooper said the tie rod came loose. My husband is a mechanic, and when I told him that, he said somebody tried to kill that fella. Is that true?”

Will took a sip of his coffee. “That’s the way it looks.”

Across the table from him, Josie nodded. “One of the men who was here when the trooper was asking questions said if a person knew what he was doing, a minute and a half is all it’d take to loosen the nut and pry the rod loose.”

“Really?” Will hadn’t realized it would be that easy. He looked up at Ruth. “Did you see either of the men?”