Split Second (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 1)

“Ritter? That’s crazy. They killed the man who did that.”

“Can you be sure he was acting alone?”

“How the hell can I be sure?”

“Exactly. So, again, how was your mother killed?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Michelle decided to try a different angle. “I only met with your mother for a little while, but I definitely liked what I saw. She was a real pistol who said what was on her mind. You have to respect that. She was a lifetime of wisdom rolled up into one very tough shell.”

“Yes, she was,” said the son. “And go to hell.” He hung up.

“Damn,” said Michelle. “I thought I had him.”

“You do. He’ll call back. Give him time, he has to ditch the cops.”

“Sean, he just told me to go to hell.”

“So he’s not the most subtle person in the world. He’s a guy. Just be patient. We’re not multitaskers like you women; we can only do one thing at a time.”

About thirty minutes later the phone rang.

Michelle looked at him. “How’d you know?”

“Guys are suckers for a good phone voice. And you said all the right things about his mother. We’re suckers for our mothers too.”

“Okay,” said the son over the phone, “they found her in the bathtub, drowned.”

“Drowned? So how do they know it wasn’t an accident? Maybe she had a heart attack.”

“There was money stuffed in her mouth, and the house had been ransacked. I don’t call that a damn accident.”

“House ransacked and money stuffed in her mouth?” repeated Michelle, and King raised his eyebrows.

“Yep, a hundred bucks. Five twenties. I found her. I had called that night but she didn’t answer. I live about forty miles away. I drove over. Damn! Seeing her like that.” His voice broke off.

“I’m sorry. And I’m also sorry that I never even asked your name.”

“Tony. Tony Baldwin.”

“Tony, I’m sorry. I visited your mother to talk about the Ritter assassination. I was interested in how it happened. I found out she was there that day and still lived in Bowlington, and I went to visit her. I talked to two other former maids too. I can give you their names. That’s all I did, I swear.”

“Okay, I guess I believe you. So you got any idea who did this?”

“Not yet, but starting right now, finding out is my number one priority.”

She thanked him, hung up and turned to King.

“Money stuffed in her mouth,” he said thoughtfully.

“My money,” said Michelle miserably. “I gave her that hundred dollars, five twenties, for answering my questions.”

King rubbed his chin. “Okay, robbery wasn’t a motive. They wouldn’t have left the cash. But they searched the house. The person was looking for something.”

“But the cash in her mouth. My God, that’s gruesome.”

“Maybe not so much gruesome as making a statement.”