Split Second (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 1)

“Ramsey hit his target. And Sean killed Ramsey,” said Parks. “So who’s left to take out revenge?” he added suspiciously.

“Keep in mind the gun in Loretta’s backyard,” said King. “Maybe there were two assassins there that day. I killed one of them, and the other one got away until Loretta started blackmailing him. If I’m reading the tea leaves right, the guy is on the scene now, and Loretta paid the ultimate price for her scheme. As did Mildred Martin when she messed up on the Bruno end of things.”

Parks shook his head. “So that guy’s coming after you? Why now? And why involve Bruno and the Martins? That’s going to a lot of trouble. Don’t take this the wrong way, but if this psycho wanted to pay you back, he could have killed you the other night when Michelle almost had her neck snapped.”

“I don’t think they wanted Sean to die that night,” said Joan. She looked at Michelle. “They clearly didn’t feel the same about you.”

One of Michelle’s hands went to her throat. “That’s comforting.”

“I’m not in the habit of making people comfortable,” said Joan. “It’s usually such a waste of time.”

Parks sat back in his chair. “Okay, let’s just suppose that Bruno and Ritter are somehow tied together. That accounts for the Martin murders and Loretta Baldwin too. Susan Whitehead’s murder might have just been a way for the killer to put an exclamation point on the note left with you, Sean. But how does Howard Jennings tie into all this?”

“He worked for me,” said King, putting aside for now his gut instinct that Parks’s agenda was broader than merely finding Jennings’s killer. “Maybe that’s enough. I think Susan Whitehead was killed merely because the killer spotted her with me, maybe on the morning I discovered Jennings’s body. He wanted to leave me that note, and decided to include a body with it as a sick way of making a point.”

“I’d buy that if Jennings were just one of your neighbors. But he was a WITSEC.”

King said, “Okay, how about this? Jennings goes into my office late that night for some reason, to catch up on some work, and he stumbles on this maniac going through my office. And he gets popped for his troubles.”

Parks rubbed his chin and looked unconvinced while Joan nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s plausible,” she said. “But let’s get back to the revenge angle. Revenge against Sean for what? Allowing Ritter to die?”

“Maybe our killer is some nut from Ritter’s political party,” said Michelle.

“Well, if so, he’s held a long grudge,” said King.

“Think, Sean, there must be someone,” urged Joan.

“I didn’t really know many of the Ritter people. Just Sidney Morse, Doug Denby—and maybe a couple of others.”

“Morse is institutionalized,” said Joan. “We saw that for ourselves. He catches tennis balls. He couldn’t mastermind something like this.”

“And besides,” said King, “if the person we’re after is the same guy who hid the gun in the supply closet and then was blackmailed by Loretta and then killed her, that person couldn’t be someone backing Ritter’s candidacy.”

“You mean he would have been killing his own golden goose?” said Parks.

“Right. That’s why we can rule out Sidney Morse even if he weren’t a vegetable, and Doug Denby too. They’d have no motive.”

Michelle suddenly looked excited. “What about Bob Scott, the detail leader?”

“But that doesn’t make any sense either,” said King. “Scott wouldn’t have had to hide his gun. No one would have searched him. And even if they did, it would have been strange finding him not armed.”

Michelle shook her head. “No, I meant his career, like yours, was ruined when Ritter died. That could be a motive for revenge. Does anybody even know where he is?”

“We can find out,” said Joan.

King scowled. “But that doesn’t explain the gun I found and why Loretta was killed. She was killed because she was blackmailing someone. And that someone couldn’t have been Bobby Scott because he’d have no reason to hide a gun.”

Parks said, “Okay, Scott looks to be a strikeout. But let’s go back to this Denby guy. Who was he?”

Joan said, “Clyde Ritter’s chief of staff.”

“Any idea where he is now?” asked Parks.

“No,” said Joan. She looked at King. “How about you?”

“I haven’t seen Denby since Ritter died. He pretty much dropped off the planet. It wasn’t like any of the major parties would be picking him up. I imagine he was pretty much a pariah after partnering with Ritter.”