Low Pressure

me text message, identified the victim as retired police officer Dale Moody, and given the detective the number of Gall’s cell phone.

“It’s believed a guy named Ray Strickland has the phone, and that he’s the one who sent the text. He’s being sought for a suspected assault, so you’ve already got a report on him. The three of us are leaving now and will be there soon.”

When they arrived at the police station, they’d been immediately met by the homicide detective with whom Haymaker had spoken, Nagle, and another named Abbott. To Dent they looked interchangeable. Same age. Same height and body build. Similar sport jackets.

They’d taken Bellamy’s phone from her, looked at the picture that had been texted, and had admitted that they didn’t yet have an address for one Ray Strickland, but that they were trying to locate him by triangulating the cellphone signal.

“We’ve also issued a BoLO.” Which Haymaker had translated to Dent and Bellamy as be on the lookout.

“Why would this Strickland want to kill Dale Moody?” Nagle had asked.

Haymaker had handed over the copied Susan Lyston case file. “It all goes back to this.”

Now, more than an hour later, they were still talking, answering questions, painstakingly telling the entire story. At one point, a uniformed officer had stuck his head in and summoned Abbott into the hallway. Nagle urged Bellamy to continue.

She was retelling him about her conversation with Moody at the funeral reception when, suddenly, Abbott returned and announced, “Moody’s body was discovered inside Strickland’s residence.”

“How’d they find it?” Nagle asked. “The cell phone?”

“No, we got a tip on where he lived.”

“From who?” Nagle asked.

“Rupe Collier.”

“What?” Bellamy and Dent exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah, seems Mr. Collier took pity on Strickland after his brother was killed in prison. He found him living on welfare. He gave him a job, set him up in a duplex, where he still lives. He said Strickland’s never bothered anybody. A loner, but no troublemaker. Fairly good mechanic as well as a glass man. Does windshield work for him.”

The detective glanced uneasily at Bellamy. “But, according to Mr. Collier, ever since your book came out and gained so much attention, Ray’s been missing work days. He’s been belligerent toward his boss and co-workers. Mr. Collier says he’s talked to him several times by phone, trying to persuade him not to dwell on the past.

“But he says Strickland grew increasingly agitated and had recently made some threats against the two of you and Dale Moody. Yesterday, he took off with a car belonging to Mr. Collier. He made several attempts to speak with him by phone and talk him into returning the car before he was forced to report it stolen. Strickland didn’t answer his phone and never called him back.

“Then, a short while ago, Mr. Collier retrieved a voice-mail message from Strickland, which had been left very early this morning. He said that Moody was dead and mentioned that he might have to move because of the mess. Mr. Collier called nine-one-one immediately and gave them Strickland’s address.”

“What a guy,” Dent muttered. But the detectives didn’t hear him because Nagle was asking Abbott about Strickland’s state of mind when he was taken into custody.

“He wasn’t.”

“He’s at large?”

“ ’Fraid so. We’ve got the license plate number for the car. Shouldn’t take too long to bring him in. He’s been upgraded to an armed-and-dangerous.”

“How did he manage to get away?” Bellamy asked.

“According to the first officers in, they found him in the bedroom, asleep on the bed. They surrounded him. He was startled awake and launched an immediate attack with a knife, apparently the murder weapon. They said he was a wild man. Didn’t heed their orders to drop the knife.

“One of the officers was wounded. He took the blade in the shoulder. Deep and dirty, but it looks like he’ll be okay. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Strickland made good his escape.

“There’s something else,” Abbot said, looking down at Bellamy. “Strickland left these behind on the bed.” From his jacket pocket he removed a sealed evidence bag and held it out to her. “Could these have belonged to your sister?”

Bellamy was loath to touch the bag, but she took it from the detective and looked at the article inside. Her throat seized up. Dumbly she nodded, then said, “That’s the type she wore.”

Abbott took back the evidence bag. “I’ll get them to the lab, see if there’s any forensic evidence to prove they were hers.”

Haymaker said, “Dale always contended that the guy who had her underpants was the guy who killed her. If I’m remembering right, Allen was Ray’s guardian. Maybe he took the fall for his little brother.”

Bellamy ventured another theory. “Perhaps Allen gave them to Ray so he wouldn’t be caught with them in his possession.”