Twisted Interest (Margot Harris 7)

“Come on Anderson,” Ames told him, “You don’t want to go out like this.”

“I don’t?” Anderson said as he put the gun under his own chin and pulled the trigger.

Rodriguez shook her head and sat down.

“I knew we shouldn’t have done this in my office,” she said as she put her gun away.

Chapter 14

“You still awake?” Radcliff asked as they both laid on his bed in the dark.

“Yeah.”

“You should be exhausted. You’ve been up nearly twenty-four hours.”

“I could be in jail right now while the D.A. charges me with a double homicide. Assuming no one shanked me already.”

“It didn’t happen though.”

“True, and I didn’t get shot in that drive-by either, but it would be nice to get a night in without someone trying to kill me.”

“It’s after midnight, you’re at my place. I think you’ll make it.”

“Do you think Anderson really killed Masterson and Rita Helms?”

“He had the murder weapon. Otherwise, he couldn’t have planted it at you

r place. He had motive and opportunity. He most definitely killed Lucas who was probably helping him. And I don’t think he would have shot himself in the face for no reason.”

“Worked out for Phoebe.”

“Maybe that’s because she didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Maybe. If she did, she got away with it and I don’t like that part.”

“Sometimes people get away,” Radcliff said. “Honestly, while I think Phoebe is capable of a lot of truly bad things, I don’t see her doing that. I never did, and nothing that’s happened has changed my mind.”

“I wish I could be as sure.”

“Yeah, but on the bright side, even if she was involved, I’d say for her it was a one-time thing.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It’s what I tell myself when I let one get away.”

“Does it help?”

“With a couple of shots of Patron, it’s pretty effective. Do you think Anderson set up the drive-by? He’d have known someone willing to do it.”

“I’ve been thinking about it and no. He had no reason to worry about me at that point. He wasn’t even on my radar.”

“He knew you were investigating, and he knew you found Lucas.”

“True, but I think he’d be more about the frame job. He didn’t save the murder weapon as a souvenir. He was going to plant it on somebody at some point.”

“True. You sure it wasn’t Mal?”

“He could have killed me anytime and while it wouldn’t stand up in court when he told me he wouldn’t do it that way, I believed him.”