C.J. Urban - Julie Townsend 01 - Hidden Intent (8 page)

“Nice to meet you,” She said, trying to appear as confident as Skye.

I believe he’s in his room,” Helen continued. “I’ll tell him you’re here.”

Skye nudged Julie with his foot. She realized she had to improvise, somehow. “Um, do you have a restroom I could use?”

“Certainly,” Nurse Helen answered. “Down to the end of the hall. You can meet Skye in his father’s room, 118.”

Julie headed down the hall, hoping Jacob Leigh’s room was located that way and not down the other hall behind her.

“Before I see my father, I was wondering if we could go over his medications?” Skye was asking. Clearly he was buying time. Their voices faded as she walked away.

Still frightened from the out of control patient, Julie made her way quietly, glancing from side to side to read the patients’ names on the doors. Some of the patients’ rooms were open, while others were locked, with men peering out the small box windows at her as she passed. She tried not to look at them.

But no luck. She reached the end of the hall to the restroom, but hadn’t passed Leigh’s room.
Got to be the other way,
Julie thought, turning around.

She reached the nurse’s station and peeped her head around the wall at Skye. He was still conversing with Helen. She shook her head to indicate she hadn’t found his room, then jerked it in the direction of the other hall.

Skye didn’t look straight at Julie, but registered her sign language with just a hint of a nod. He shifted to his left a little, causing Nurse Helen to move, her back now to Julie.

Julie darted across the main crossway and down the other hall, thankful her shoes made little noise.

This hall was much the same as the other one, except there were more locked doors. Julie glanced behind her to make sure she was alone.

She continued down the white tiled hall, heart beating more quickly. She forced herself to calm down. She decided that, if caught, she would just say she got lost.

Finally she came to a door labeled “Leigh, Jacob.” She let out a sigh of relief, but stiffened as she heard someone coming around a corner in front of her.

Julie glanced around, frantic. At the last moment she ducked into a small alcove for a drinking fountain, forcing herself to be still. She didn’t even breathe as a janitor made his way past.

She remained frozen until she couldn’t hear him anymore, then peeked her head out. The hallway was empty, but Julie decided she couldn’t wait for Skye. She moved silently to Jacob Leigh’s door, praying it would be unlocked.

It was.

Jacob Leigh looked to be in his early forties, with brown hair and hard, light-brown eyes. He sat at his window, but snapped his head around as Julie entered, and eyed her with suspicion.

“You’re not anyone I know,” he declared in a harsh tone. “Who are you?”

Julie cleared her throat nervously. “My name is Julie.”

“That’s not very helpful,” he said. “What do you want? I’m guessing it’s not a friendly visit. No one visits me.” He looked tired, and his voice was raspy.

“Not exactly unfriendly, though,” Julie tried to be nice. “I wanted to talk with you about why you’re here.” She wanted to avoid using the word “murder,” unless absolutely necessary.

“Well, what makes you think I want to talk to you about that?”

Just then Skye appeared behind her, closing the door behind him. “This is Skye. We’d just like to ask you a few questions, and then we’ll be gone. I swear.”

Skye nodded, staying back against the wall. He didn’t want to make Jacob feel threatened.

“Look,” Julie said, “I just moved into the house where Tara…used to live, and I’ve found some interesting information. I thought you might be able to help. Could you please hear me out?”

“Interesting how?” Jacob asked.

“Interesting in the way that might have you found innocent,” she answered. “Could you tell me what happened that night?”

“I wish I could,” Jacob said roughly. “Problem is, I wasn’t near that house the night Tara McGuire was killed.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is
I was clear on the other side of town.”

Julie frowned, trying to make sense of this. “Then how did you get arrested?”

Jacob leaned back in his chair. It was obvious he’d told his story many times before. He wasn’t too pleased to go over all of it again, but Julie had told him she might be able to help him. No one had offered that in a long, long time.

“The night Tara was killed and I was arrested for her murder, I had been wandering around town, pretty drunk. I was just passing time, really, until I was tired enough to find a place to sleep. Then, out of nowhere the cops showed up, threw me to the ground, and arrested me. They said the charge was murder.”

Jacob was animating along with his speech now, getting a little worked up, but Julie and Skye remained calm.

“Sure,” he continued, voice sour, “I know I was a bit of a nuisance to the people in town, being homeless and all. But I never killed anyone. Never.” He crossed his arms and legs and narrowed his eyes. “Chief Langley was the one who arrested me. Maybe she just wanted me out of the way, but that’s a pretty bad rap for a harmless guy like me. I think she intentionally wanted to pin the charge on me.”

Skye remained silent, listening closely. This was Julie’s thing.

“Why aren’t you in prison?” Julie asked. “Forgive me for saying so, but a psychiatric hospital seems like an odd place to keep a convicted murderer.”

Jacob looked Julie dead in the eye. “I’m schizophrenic. Probably another reason those idiots figured they could pin the murder on me.” Jacob was angry now. “Don’t get me wrong. Convicted or not, I need this hospital to stay well. But my reputation is ruined now. I’m a leper, even in here.” Jacob looked down at his hands with disdain, wringing them.

Julie couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. He seemed harmless enough. But she didn’t want to get pulled in by his words. He could be Tara’s killer, she reminded herself, shivering. She stood in front of Leigh, considering what he’d just told them.

“Well?” Jacob asked bluntly. “Any more questions?”

“No, Mr. Leigh. Thank you so much for your time.”

“You’re welcome,” he said grudgingly. “One more thing, though. There was a boy who used to hang around her house a lot, right before she was killed. Once, I saw him up in a tree, staring. I told the police that, but they just thought I was crazy. I don’t think I imagined it. I don’t know who he was. You might want to look into that.”

Both Julie and Skye were stunned that Jacob knew about the boy, but they didn’t say anything. They thanked him again for his time and left.

Back in the truck, Julie looked over at Skye, who was deep in thought. She nudged him to get his attention.

“What do you think about his story?” Julie asked.

“I really don’t know what to think,” Skye said running his hands through his hair. “Do you think he’s innocent?”

“It’s strange, but I do.”

“I’m not a good judge of whether someone’s lying or not. Things are starting to fit, though. I mean, why would he have murdered Tara? It just doesn’t make sense.”

“I know. Plus, he seems genuinely upset about the injustice of it all.”

“Well, we can’t know for sure. Lots of murderers are good liars too.”

“That’s true. But at least we’ve got Mr. Leigh’s side of the story,” she said.

Chapter
14

Julie was obviously upset on the drive back to Dupont, so Skye let her be. This wasn’t just any mystery; it was about her cousin. Family. He tried to imagine what she was feeling.

“It was him,” Julie finally said, angry. “It was the boy she called D who murdered her. I just know it.”

“I’m beginning to think so, too,” Skye agreed. “But we don’t even know who D is, Julie.”

“Then I have to find out. It’s the only way Tara will get the justice she deserves.”

With another two hours of driving ahead of them, Skye slipped a CD of relatively calming music in. He knew visiting Jacob Leigh had been a real ordeal for Julie. The hospital, the hostile patient, everything. So he let her be, and soon she fell asleep.

Skye kept glancing at her, thinking how beautiful she was. Beautiful, smart, brave. He shook his head, amazed at how life could change on a dime. A week ago, he wouldn’t have imagined it, yet there she was, right beside him.

Julie stirred when they pulled into Gloria’s driveway, and she saw that Gloria and Sam were sitting on a red and blue checkered blanket, having a picnic on the lawn. She and Skye got out of the truck and walked over to them.

“Looks like you’ve been having a good time,” Julie said, looking down at them.

“Yeah, Gloria is awesome. Can I come over every day?”

“I think we need to give Gloria a break.”

“Anytime you need a sitter, just ask,” Gloria said. “He was wonderful.”

“Hey Julie, can Skye and Gloria come over for dinner?” Sam asked suddenly.

This is one of the things Julie wasn’t used to yet when it came to Sam. He wasn’t particularly adept at controlling what came out of his mouth.

“Well, we have to find out if they’re free first,” Julie said, feeling cornered. She hadn’t been planning on having any guests over, and wasn’t really ready to entertain.

“I’m sorry, Sam, but I have a previous engagement,” Gloria said.

“I’m free though,” Skye said. He then knelt down to Sam’s eye level. “If my mom doesn’t come, am I still invited?”

Sam gave the question some serious thought. “Yeah, you can come.”

“Excellent,” Skye said. “Anything you’d like me to bring, Julie?”

“Could you bring bread? That’s the one thing I don’t have, and Sam loves it. Especially if it’s garlic bread.”

“Sure thing. Let me take you guys back to your car, and I’ll go pick some up.”

They reached the hardware store and Skye pulled up next to Julie’s truck. “What time should I be at your house?” he asked Julie as she and Sam got into her truck.

“Let’s make it six o’clock,” she said, checking her cell phone for the time. “That’ll give me a good hour.”

“Soun
ds great, I’ll see you at six.”

Skye was elated at having an opportunity to spend more time with Julie. He couldn’t help wanting to be around her, getting to know her better. The way she looked when she smiled made his heart skip a beat every time.

Skye headed for the only grocery store in Dupont. It wasn’t busy, and he was in and out of the tiny store within minutes, clutching two loaves of freshly baked garlic bread. It was only 5:15 when he got home, so he turned on the oven and stuck the bread inside to keep it warm, and then settled into his favorite brown leather chair, waiting, and thinking.

Skye understood Julie’s interest in the murder, although he was a little uneasy that she might get herself into trouble. After all, Tara had been Julie’s cousin. And, they were finding more and more evidence to support Julie’s theory.

She’s got a bold spirit
, he thought to himself. And he was impressed by her devotion to Sam. He knew it couldn’t be easy on her to be a mother figure to him, when she was also dealing with the loss of her parents herself.

Skye checked his watch again and saw it was nearing six, so he grabbed the bread from the oven and left his apartment, arriving at Julie’s house right on time. He knocked on Julie’s door and came face to face with Sam.

“Hey Sam,” Skye said, putting the bread quickly behind his back. “I brought something I think you’re really going to like.”

Sam peered around Skye and sniffed the air. “Garlic bread?”

“Yep,” Skye said as he pulled it out from behind his back.

“Awesome,” Sam exclaimed as Skye handed it to him.

Skye walked into the entryway and closed the door behind him. “Is she in the kitchen?” he asked Sam.

“Hey Skye,” said a soft female voice to his left. Skye smiled and turned to see Julie walking towards him. “Dinner’s ready.”

Skye followed her into the dining room where they sat at a small round table that Julie had decorated with a vase full of daisies. Skye watched as Sam quickly took his seat, eyeing the garlic bread.

“Sam is a little garlic bread fiend,” Julie laughed.

“Eat as much as you want,” Skye said as he began dishing himself some chicken. “So, do you guys enjoy living here?”

“I do,” Julie said. “What about you Sam? Do you like it here?”

“It’s all right,” he answered without enthusiasm. “I don’t really have any friends, though. I don’t think there are many kids on this street.”

“You’ll make friends, buddy. Don’t worry. Do you have a job lined up yet?” Skye asked Julie.

“Not yet. My dream is to open a private investigation business, but that takes money that I don’t have. Plus, I don’t know about the work in this town. I didn’t really think the move through, job-wise. I was more interested in being able to provide Sam with a house again and figured the job situation would work itself out, you know?”