Two-Dollar Bill (Stone Barrington 11)

“Shut up.”

“Hey, y’all,” Billy Bob said, delighted to see them. “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to eat by myself. Y’all have a drink.”

“So, Billy Bob,” Dino said, “did your lawyer tell you you’ve been eliminated as a suspect in the girl’s murder? We checked with Buffett’s office, and they confirmed that you were in Omaha.”

“Naw, Stone didn’t mention that,” Billy Bob said, looking askance at Stone.

“First time I’ve seen you,” Stone said.

“Stone isn’t off the hook, though,” Dino said. “In fact, he’s our prime suspect.”

“Now why would ol’ Stone want to kill Tiffany? You wouldn’t do that, would you, Stone?”

Stone sipped his bourbon and ignored the question.

“Well, what we look for in a suspect,” Dino said, “is motive, means and opportunity. Stone had the means—his hands—and the opportunity—he was alone in the house with the girl all day—and as for motive, well, two out of three is often enough for a jury.”

Stone ended his silence. “Dino forgot to mention that he needs physical evidence or an eyewitness,” Stone said. “And, of course, he has neither.”

“No, no physical evidence, though we did find his fingerprints on her throat.”

“I felt her throat for a pulse,” Stone said to Billy Bob.

“And the DNA from the sperm inside her,” Dino added.

“Whose DNA?” Stone asked.

“His,” Dino said, pointing at Billy Bob.

“He told you he had sex with her before leaving for Omaha,” Stone pointed out.

“And that room was completely wiped clean of prints,” Dino said.

“And why would either Billy Bob or I bother to do that? It’s my house—perfectly normal for my prints to be found there, and Billy Bob was a guest, living in that room. Normal for his prints to be there, too. Would I bother to do that in my own house?”

“Right,” Billy Bob said.

“Dino,” Stone said, “has it occurred to you that the murderer took his time? He wasn’t in a rush, what with wiping down the room and putting an electric blanket over the body.”

“That’s kinda weird, ain’t it?” Billy Bob asked. “Why would somebody want to keep her warm?”

“To screw up our estimate of when she was murdered,” Dino said. “For instanc

e, if you had killed her before you left for Omaha that morning, the blanket would have made it seem that she died much later, because the body wouldn’t have cooled as quickly. What have you got to say about that, Billy Bob?”

“Don’t answer that,” Stone said.

“Oh, we’re completely off the record here,” Dino said, smiling.

“Don’t say a word, Billy Bob.”

Billy Bob was looking worried, now.

“So, Dino, what’s the ME’s new stab at time of death, now that he knows about the electric blanket?”

“Earlier than before,” Dino said.

“Earlier? That’s it? No ballpark?”