The Last Mile (Amos Decker 2)

“And this was before the Marses’ murder, you’re sure?”

“Yes. Just shortly before.”

“Do you remember the man’s name?”

“I do, as a matter of fact. His name was Dan Reardon. To my knowledge they never found him.”

“Do you have any records for him?”

“No. They would have been disposed of by now.”

“Can you describe him. Race, height, weight, anything?”

“Well, he was a big man. Tall, about six-four or so. Over two hundred pounds. Dan was in his fifties back then. Strongly built.”

“White, black?”

“White.”

“Did he have any family?”

“No. His wife had died. And they had no children. He lived on the outskirts of town and kept to himself.”

“What did he do for a living?”

“Not much. Odd jobs here and there. Always in hock for something. He’d get some money and then it would be gone. We often had to write off his charges because he just didn’t have the money.”

“Well, thanks, Melissa, this really helped a lot.”

Decker clicked off and looked at Bogart. “Always in hock. Get some money and then it would be gone. What are the odds he visited the pawnshop where Roy worked? And then Roy found out they had the same dentist?”

“Clearly, the physical descriptions tallied, which would have been the reason Roy would have picked him. And with the bodies being burned and the faces obliterated you would just have to be close enough to sell the deception.”

“So Roy kidnapped Dan to later substitute his body in the house. Then he killed Dan and either killed another woman or his wife and set the bodies on fire.”

“And set up his son for the murder. He must have paid off the motel clerk and Ellen Tanner to lie about the time.”

“And messed with the car so it would break down right in front of the motel. Melvin told us his dad was good at working on cars.”

“But why, Decker? Why go to all that trouble to implicate your own son and send him to prison?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Decker.

“Could he have hated Melvin for some reason?”

“Hating your son is one thing. Doing all of this to put him in prison is something else altogether.”

“Unless Roy Mars is some sort of psychopath.”

“He lived here for twenty years without harming anyone,” pointed out Decker. “This was an elaborate scheme and it had to have sufficient motivation.”

“Which brings me back to my earlier question: How are you going to tell Melvin?”

Decker looked out the car window, where yet another storm was descending upon them. “Not a clue,” he replied.

CHAPTER

46

WHEN THEY GOT back to the motel, Mary Oliver was in the small lobby with Jamison. Both women rose when they walked in.

“Any word on Davenport?” asked Oliver breathlessly.

Bogart shook his head. “We’re doing everything we can, but so far, nothing. The locals are reporting in to me every hour. There have been no sightings.”

Oliver glanced down, obviously distraught.

“Are you okay?” asked Bogart.

She balled her hands into fists. “God, this is just so frustrating. First, this man Montgomery comes forward and that gets Melvin out of prison.”

“Well, you helped too,” said Jamison. “You kept him alive to get to that point.”

Surprisingly, Oliver shook her head in disagreement. “I wish I could claim credit for all that, but I can’t. I came on relatively recently. I filed a petition to stop the execution, but the court declined to act on it. Melvin’s other lawyers had washed their hands of him. I think they thought he was guilty. I read about the case and contacted Melvin. I just had a feeling, you know, that something wasn’t right. And then Montgomery coming forward seemed to be a miracle. And now it turns out all of that may have been a lie.”

“But you don’t believe that Melvin is guilty, do you?” asked Jamison.

“No. There’s something else going on here. Something far deeper. But now Davenport has been kidnapped and we may never see her again.”

“Well, we do have some news,” said Bogart.

He told them about the discoveries with the X-rays and the possible switching of the dental records. When he was done both women stared at him, stunned.

“I…I can’t believe this,” stammered Oliver. “Why would Roy Mars have done all that?”

“A good question,” said Decker. “And one we don’t have an answer for.”

Oliver said, “Would it be okay if I worked with all of you on this? I know that you’re the professionals, but I don’t think anyone wants to get to the bottom of this more than Melvin and I do. And I’m a criminal defense lawyer, so I do know my way around investigations.”

Bogart glanced at Decker and Jamison before saying, “Another pair of eyes never hurts.”

“Where’s Melvin?” asked Decker.

“In his room,” said Oliver. “I’ve just come from there. Are…are you going to…?”

“I’m going to try,” said Decker, and he set off.

* * *

A minute later he knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Mars called out.

“Decker.”

Decker heard footsteps coming toward the door and it opened. He said, “You up for a walk?”

Mars gazed at him suspiciously. “Why?”

“Got something I want to talk to you about.”

“Is it bad?”

“It might be. In fact, it probably will be, to you.”

“Is it about Davenport?”

“No. It’s a little more personal. And I just want you to hear me out, okay? And then you can, well, say what you want to.”

“Shit, Decker, you definitely got my attention.”

“Let’s go, we might be able to beat the rain. And you might need some air.”

They started walking on the shoulder along the road. Decker had his hands shoved deeply in his coat pockets.

Mars shot him anxious glances. “Come on, man, don’t go quiet on me now. My belly’s on fire.”

Decker took a long breath and plunged into what they had discovered. To his credit, Mars said nothing until he was finished. In fact, he didn’t say anything until Decker prompted, “Well?”

“What do you want me to say?”