“I hope so,” he said. “I’d like to see you clear this thing and get it off your mind.”
“It’s constantly on my mind,” she said. “Sometimes I’d just like to go out and shoot Bruno. No trial, just execution.”
“I read about his court-martial on the Internet,” Teddy confessed, “so I know what he did to you. You won’t have to have the burden of explaining.”
“I’m glad you read about it. The newspaper accounts were accurate and pretty much told the whole story.”
“There was another woman who was a witness against Bruno,” Teddy said.
“Yes. Her name is Holly Barker. She managed to fight him off, and she was a good witness, but the deck was stacked against us.” She got up and began dressing.
“I hope you get him,” Teddy said.
“We will,” she replied. “This time we’re playing with a new deck.” She kissed him, said goodbye and, telling him to stay in bed, left.
Teddy lay there, thinking about how he would like to end this whole thing for her.
28
Lauren arrived at work early and went to her cubicle to pick up a legal pad for use in the weekly staff meeting. She had been there for only a moment when Hurd Wallace came in and sat down in the chair next to her desk.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning, Hurd,” she replied.
“I’ve got some difficult news: Jim Bruno is here, and he wants to attend our morning meeting.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Lauren replied.
“I know this is awkward for you, Lauren.”
“It’s not that it’s awkward for me,” she said, “even though it is. It’s that he’s our only suspect, and we can’t have a suspect attending a meeting at which we’re going to discuss the crimes we suspect him of.”
“That’s a very good point,” Hurd said. “How would you suggest I disinvite him?”
“Tell him we’re not talking about the murders. Tell him we’re discussing something from another jurisdiction that’s confidential.”
Hurd thought about that for a moment. “All right, that’s what I’ll do. But Jimmy Weathers is here, too, and he’s the lead detective on the case. What do I do about him?”
“I’ll call Jimmy later and bring him up-to-date.”
Hurd stood up. “I’ll go talk to both of them, then.”
Hurd went back to his office and found James Bruno and Jimmy Weathers waiting for him.
“Morning, gentlemen,” he said, shaking both their hands. “My secretary tells me you want to attend my staff meeting.”
“That’s right,” Bruno said. “I think it’s best if we know your thinking on these murders, so we can be of more use.”
“I’m afraid the murders are not on our agenda for the meeting. I mean, they may come up, but for the most part we’re dealing with investigations in other jurisdictions, and we have to hold those details in strict confidence, just as you hold the details of the crimes in your jurisdiction in confidence.”
Bruno appeared to be trying not to seem annoyed. “I think it’s important that we share knowledge on these murders,” he said.
“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing, Jim. At least, I thought that’s what we’re doing.”
“Well, maybe you’ve been sharing with Jimmy, but not with me.”
“Jimmy is your lead detective, Jim. Jimmy, do you feel left out of the case?”