“Bought his way in?” said Julia.
“That’s right. He knew exactly who to wine and dine. My dear departed husband was as underhanded as the day is long. Bribes, graft, whatever, you name it. He was just too clever for anybody to catch him. Maybe that will change now that the FBI’s in on this case. Good luck to both of you. I have a feeling you’re going to get more than you bargained for before this case is wrapped up.”
Will and Julia didn’t comment, but Will couldn’t say he was shocked by the revelation. There had been lots of rumors through the years that Judge Lockhart was into dirty politics and other felony crimes. He’d heard the whispers himself. As his wife intimated, the judge knew how to cover his tracks.
“Now, Officers, if y’all will excuse me. I’ve got to see to my husband’s funeral arrangements. His position gave him a certain gravitas hereabouts, and I will have to make sure he’s treated with respect, no matter how much he doesn’t deserve it. If I had my way, I’d cremate him and be done with it, but I have always done my duty as the wife of a judge, and I’ll do it now.”
“You are truly remarkably cold and uncaring,” said Julia.
Iris gave her a long look, then laughed with utter disdain. “You have no idea, my pretty little girl. No idea at all.”
“You’ll need to stay in town until this investigation is done,” Julia told her with remarkable restraint.
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. Don’t threaten me. I don’t care for it.”
“You will, or be faced with an arrest warrant,” Will told her quietly.
At that, they took their leave. Outside, Will walked swiftly to the truck, jaw set, fists clenched. Pissed off big-time. Julia got in without comment, but once the doors were shut, she said in a tight voice, “I believe she’s the most disgusting woman I’ve ever met. At least your sexy little Ginger Snap had some color in her cheeks.”
“Lay off the Ginger cracks, okay? And you’re right. Iris won’t win any prizes for Sweetheart of the Year, that’s for sure.”
“What do you think? Is she involved?”
“I don’t know. I think she probably wanted him dead and is glad he is, but doing it herself doesn’t seem her style. Might mess up her snowy carpet.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Julia adjusted the vents to direct the air-conditioning toward her face, still flushed with anger. “Her alibi will be easy enough to check out and will probably hold up. She’s the type who would hire a thug to kill him for her.”
“Maybe. She seems amenable to maintaining her lavish lifestyle. Bitter, hard as nails, and superior, but she did her own thing for years. If he’s had that many other women during his marriage, why would she suddenly want him dead and rock her boat of plenty?”
Julia ticked off some reasons. “Insurance money? Freedom to marry somebody else? Maybe she’s got a lover stashed down on Bourbon Street, some lifeguard or pool boy that she wants to marry.”
“Could be. Go ahead and check it out. And check out her daughter, too. Her name’s Tanya. She lives out in Seattle. You can get the number from Willie Mullins. He was the one who notified her, poor girl. Imagine having a mom like Iris.”
“Will do. Did Willie tell you anything about her?”
“Just that she moved as far away from her parents as she could get. Pretty much hated their guts. But who wouldn’t.”
“I’ll call her and get the interview today.”
“Good. Right now, I think we need to pay a call on Jane Cansell down at the courthouse.”
Tam Lovelady was sick to death of the trial. More than that, she was sick and tired of reliving terrible, long-ago memories that the Rocking Chair Murders brought down on her and her best friend, Audrey Sherrod, and lots of other innocent people. She didn’t ever want to think about it, much less remember all the details, especially those concerning Audrey’s stepbrother, Hart Roberts. She could hardly believe he was really gone,
murdered
. She had loved him for so long, those feelings hidden deep inside her heart. And their child, the child she conceived with him so many years ago and aborted when she was only eighteen. She lived to regret that decision, but knew it was her only choice, because she and Hart could never have been together. She’d never gotten over it. Never. Hart’s death had hit her hard, even after all the years that had gone by, even after she had married Marcus, the kindest, most considerate, most wonderful man in the world.
Agitated by the deep and painful thoughts resurrected inside her, Tam rose from the wood bench in the hallway outside the criminal courtroom and paced the length of the marble floor to the windows overlooking the street.
J.D. was testifying again. He had been on the stand for three hours. And she wasn’t even next in line on the witness list. She turned around and leaned against the windowsill. They’d break for lunch soon, thank goodness. She was tired and wasn’t sleeping. She missed Marcus. They’d been separated for almost a year. Her idea, because of Hart, of course; it had always been about Hart. But she missed her husband since the first day she’d left their home. Her idea. He didn’t want her to go, but she had temporarily moved back home with her parents. Her heart hurt, grieved over their separation.
She had cut Marcus out of her life, but not out of her heart. She truly loved him. More now. She’d seen him a couple of times. Not often. He’d given her the space she’d said she needed, and at first, she had welcomed the time alone, still struggling with her love for Hart—wanting to help Hart overcome the demons that had possessed him since he was the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy she had fallen so desperately in love with. He had been mentally unstable even back then, drowning in drugs and alcohol and living to forget the bad things in his life.
Across from her, the elevator doors slid open and a tall, handsome man and a woman stepped out. Pleasantly surprised, she hurried toward them. It was her new partner, Julia Cass, and J.D.’s fellow TBI agent, Will Brannock. Tam had first met Julia when Julia interviewed for detective, and had been impressed with her knowledge and experience. Will Brannock she had always gotten along with. He was a good agent, but ultra-private, the kind of guy that nobody ever seemed to know very well, not even J.D., who worked so closely with him. Closemouthed but nice enough.
“Hey, Julia,” she called out as they turned in the other direction and hurried off down the shiny corridor.
Both turned around, and Julia smiled and waved. Tam really regretted being tied up at the trial, so eager was she to get back to work and partner up with Julia. Especially on this new case, yet another murder involving a member of the Chattanooga legal community. People were going to wonder if anyone in the courthouse walked the straight and narrow anymore. Once the details of the killing leaked out to the press and general populace, Judge Lucien Lockhart’s death was going to be a raging media sensation. Tam wished she could help solve it before that happened.
Will said something to Julia, waved at Tam, and then strode off toward Judge Lockhart’s private chambers. Julia headed back to her. Smiling, Julia said, “You’re still waiting to testify, I take it.”
“That’s right. I’m about to climb the walls. Why are y’all here?”
“We’ve come down to interview Judge Lockhart’s staff. Will’s gone to see if they’re available.”
“The clerks are all here. I saw them earlier today. They seemed in total shock. Especially Jane Cansell.”
Julia glanced around and lowered her voice. “Do you know her?”
“Not real well. Why?”
“Iris Lockhart told us straight out that Jane was in a longtime affair with her husband. Know anything about that?”
“Yeah, who doesn’t? It’s been common knowledge around the criminal courts. And she’s not the only one he was messing around with.”
Julia shook her head, frowning. “Good grief, who did this guy not sleep with?”
Tam grinned. She really liked J.D.’s sister. They were going to be great friends; Tam felt it. “How’s the investigation going? Wish I could help out.”
“How much longer will you be down here?”
“Who knows? The defense is constantly delaying the proceedings. The judge is getting ticked off big-time. So is everybody else.”
“This Lockhart case is going to be a doozy. Has your dad told you the details?”
“No, but I have clearance to join you as soon as I’m done here, so you can tell me everything.”
They moved over to a deserted corner, and Tam listened intently as Julia ran the case for her in low tones. The mutilation of the body shocked Tam. “Oh God, his tongue was cut out? And what the hell’s the deal with the dimes?”
“We’re not sure yet. We’re just getting started, but nobody we’ve interviewed seems to know anything. Except that Lucien Lockhart had lots of women on the side, and his wife hates his guts. You ever meet Iris Lockhart?”
“Hell no, she sticks her nose in the air when she runs into peons like me.” She glanced down at the courtroom doors, but no one was coming out yet. J.D. was still on the stand. Lucky him. “I’ve heard rumors. He was a flirty guy. He came on to me a couple of times. Pretty lightweight stuff. I ignored him, but he’s well-known for liking the women.”
“Sounds like Will Brannock, huh?”
“Will?” Tam had to laugh at that. Will was so private that few people knew anything about his love life. She sure didn’t. Not that she wouldn’t want to. She bet it was as hot as everything else about him. “I haven’t heard that one. What? Did he come on to you?”
“No, not exactly, but I saw him in full throttle, lady-killer form when he picked me up at the airport. Flight attendants galore and all of them eating out of his hand.”
“I know his sister’s a pilot with Delta, but that’s about all I know about him. He seems like a good guy, but he’s so private it’s almost creepy. At least, that’s what J.D. tells me. Will is friendly and is easy to talk to, but when you get done talking, you don’t know a single thing about him that you didn’t know before. Are you two having trouble working the case together?”
Julia shook her head. “No, not at all. We’re getting along fine. He knows what he’s doing. Actually, I’ve been pretty much wowed by him. He was sort of flirty and silly at first, but man, once we got the case, he was all business.”
“He and J.D. were the ones who saved the last victim of the Rocking Chair killer. Did you know that? She’s here. See her, down there? She’s the girl in the black suit and white blouse. Her name’s Somer Ellis, and she barely made it out alive. She told me the other day that Will was the guy who untied her and carried her out of that awful church basement where the victims were taken. She said he was very kind and comforting and even came to see her in the hospital a time or two.”
“He hasn’t discussed that case with me yet. Like I said, he teased around with me some when he was driving me to J.D.’s house, but he’s been serious since we were assigned to this case together. He’s very thorough, and he doesn’t give me that superior act that some special agents put on for the locals.”
Down the hallway, Will had reappeared and was motioning for Julia to join him.
“Will’s ready to start the interviews, Tam. I’ll catch you later.”
“Yeah, keep me posted, will you?”
“You bet.”
As Julia moved away, a thought occurred to Tam. “Hey, Julia! Audrey and I are having lunch tomorrow downtown at the River Street Deli. How about joining us?”
“I’d like that, but I’m not sure I can get away. I’ll let you know, okay?”
“Sure. You’ve got my cell number. Talk to you later.”
Tam watched Julia hurry off. Yeah, J.D.’s sister was okay. J.D. was right about Julia and Zoe, but the resemblance was not just in looks, with all their dark hair and delicate features, but in other ways as well. She looked forward to getting to know Julia better. Actually, that couldn’t happen too soon. She watched Will and Julia disappear into Judge Lockhart’s chambers, and then she sighed and went back to the interminable waiting.
Chapter 6
Pleased that she’d bumped into Tam Lovelady, Julia had a feeling that in time they were going to be a great homicide team. She had never worked with a female partner, but they seemed to fit together well. She hoped Tam would soon be available. The task force could use her help. Even after this short time, she was feeling more than comfortable teaming up with Brannock, too. Their investigatory techniques were pretty well matched. At least, so far, and a lot more than she had thought they would be when they’d first met. Despite the fact that not much was adding up yet, Will was running a tight ship.
“Jane Cansell’s ready for us. They said we could use the judge’s private office for the interview,” Will said as soon as Julia reached him.
“Okay, let’s just hope this lady’s more forthcoming than his wife was,” Julia answered. “She can’t be any more unlikable.”
Once they reached the portal to Lucien Lockhart’s private inner sanctum, it didn’t take Julia long to locate Jane Cansell. Loud weeping could be heard through the door. Once inside, she and Will found Lockhart’s clerk/ lover/mourner sobbing like crazy in the judge’s high-back chair, her face hidden in her folded arms where they rested on top of his magnificent mahogany desk. Will and Julia looked at each other. This was not the most optimal moment to interview the woman, but sometimes roiling emotions left a person less guarded in their revelations. Maybe Jane would be one of them. First off, they needed to get her to turn off the waterworks and settle down. That was the trick.
When Jane sensed their presence, she lifted her head and stared at them as if they had their weapons out, their laser target indicators focused on her forehead. Puffy, bloodshot eyes—blotchy, pale skin—disheveled, tinted blond hair—nope, she did not look picture-perfect. She looked like she’d been crying all night, or all year. It occurred to Julia that Jane Cansell was the first person they’d met who showed any real sadness for the judge’s grotesque mutilation and violent death. Maybe that was the most telling thing they’d found out yet.
The poor woman was truly distraught, however, and Julia walked around the desk and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Ms. Cansell, if you’re not up to this interview, we can wait awhile. Until you feel better and are up to talking. We understand this is an extremely difficult time for you.”
“No, no, I’m okay. I know why y’all are here. I want to help you. Please sit down.”
Will and Julia took the two comfortable, chocolate-brown upholstered chairs across from the desk. Jane sat up and ran both hands through her short, highlighted brown hair. “I just can’t accept this, I really can’t.”
Jane Cansell was attractive and very petite, probably barely five feet tall, and she looked younger than she really was. Court employment records obtained by Will stated that she was forty-nine, but her tear-ravaged skin was clear and unwrinkled—whether thanks to good genes, face-lifts, or Botox, Julia didn’t know. Jane looked haggard now, the loss of sleep showing on her face. But her emotions seemed genuine. She was grieving for Lucien Lockhart, all right. It seemed the man did have one person in the world who cared about him.
“My name is Julia Cass. I’m a detective with the Chattanooga PD.”
“You’re new, then. I know most of the officers down there.” Jane was dabbing at her tears with a tissue now, smearing her heavy black mascara but trying her best to gain control.
“Yes, I just started. After this case, I’m slated to work with Tam Lovelady.”
“I know her. She’s Chief Mullins’s daughter.”
“That’s right.” Julia nodded and gestured at Will. “This is TBI Special Agent Will Brannock. He’s in charge of this investigation.”
“We already know each other,” Will told her. “I’m sorry for your loss, Janie.”
Janie? Julia wondered if Jane used to be a flight attendant, and therefore right down Will’s landing strip. Somehow she didn’t think so. In fact, she wasn’t at all sure anymore that he was quite the lascivious Lothario she’d first branded him. If he was, no one around him seemed to know it.
Jane said, “Tell me, Will, do you know anything yet? Who could do this awful, awful thing?”
“That’s what we’re here to find out. Do you have anything you can tell us?”
Jane averted her eyes, looking guilty, an obvious sign that if she knew anything, she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell them. “He has enemies, true. All judges do. But to do this kind of thing to him. Oh my God, I can’t believe anyone could be so, my God . . . be so . . . savage.” She looked back at Julia, tears springing up again. “Is it true, Detective? What they’re saying? That the killer cut out . . .” Her voice fading, Jane couldn’t finish her question.
“We’re not at liberty to discuss that aspect of the case right now, Ms. Cansell,” Julia told her. “But we really need you to be honest with us. It’s very important.”
Tugging another tissue out of the blue Puffs Plus box on her lap, Jane tried again to gain control of her grief. “It’s just such a shock to me, all of it. Out of the blue, you understand?”
Will said, “Of course we do, Janie. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to speak plainly to you. Is that okay? You do understand why we have to ask you these questions, right?”
“Yes.” Despite her answer, she looked wary and afraid, as though she wished she were somewhere far, far away from her two interrogators. Tibet, maybe.
“We were told that you’ve been having a long-term sexual affair with the judge. Is that true?”
At Will’s blunt words, shock suffused Jane Cansell’s face, followed by a swift rush of blood-red color. Tears swiftly went on hold. “Will, who told you such a thing?”
“Iris Lockhart.”
“Is it true?” Julia asked again.
Appearing mortified, Jane stared down at her hands. She was engaging now in a lot of wringing of hands and squeezing of fingers and twisting of the four expensive diamond rings she wore. One was a wedding band. “Yes. It’s true.”
“How serious was it?” Julia asked.
“I loved him. I tried to break it off many times, but I just couldn’t do it. I’m so weak when it comes to Lucien. He was like cocaine to me. An addiction I couldn’t break. Oh, my husband’s going to be so hurt if he finds this out.”
“You are aware that he had other women?” Will asked her, but he looked and acted sympathetic, maybe even embarrassed at having to ask these questions.
“Yes, he liked to tell me about them. Making me jealous amused him.”
Not just a jerk, but a cruel jerk
, Julia thought, disgusted. There were going to be dozens of suspects in this case, mostly abused and spurned women. Any one of them could have finally had enough, snapped, and gotten even with Lucien Lockhart in a very deadly way. Even gentle, heartbroken little Jane, sitting so distraught before them. Maybe she came off so distraught because she had just cut out her lover’s tongue in a fit of rage and now wished she hadn’t.
“Where were you night before last?” asked Will, seemingly right on cue.
“Oh my Lord, y’all don’t think I had anything to do with this? That I would hurt him, butcher him, like people are saying?”
“It sounds to us like he enjoyed hurting you, saying things to make you angry and unhappy.” Will stared down at her. “Everybody’s got a breaking point. People snap. Even good and decent people.”
“I’d never hurt him. I loved him. And he loved me, in his own kind of way.”
Julia was thinking it was in his own kind of nasty, selfish, and manipulative way, but she smiled encouragingly. This woman was extremely fragile. Maybe not particularly bright or emotionally stable, but fragile. “Was your affair current?” she asked.
“Yes. Things weren’t like they were at first when we spent every weekend together. It had come to maybe once a month, when he’d ask me to meet him at a hotel and spend a few hours there. Like you said, Iris knew all about me. She didn’t care. All she cares about is the prestige she got for being his wife.”
“What about your working relationship, here at the court?” Will asked.
“It was good. I took care of all his judicial paperwork. He doesn’t trust anybody else in the office. He doesn’t—I mean, didn’t—trust much of anybody.”
“Why not?”
“He’s not the most, well, not the easiest person to work for. He treats people as if they were his own personal property. Just ask around. Nobody likes him here at the criminal court.”
Will leaned forward, searching her face. “Yet you protect him and make excuses for his behavior.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t make excuses. I know what he is . . .” Her tired eyes overflowed. “Was. I couldn’t help it.”
“Are any of these coworkers capable of killing him?”
“Some speak openly about how much they hate him.”
“Who?”
“The bailiff, for one.”
“The name?”
“Charlie Sinclair.”
Julia stiffened when she heard the name. Will noticed and sent her a questioning look. She intentionally relaxed her tensed shoulders but couldn’t stop the rush of anger at Jane Cansell’s implication of her old friend. Charlie Sinclair was the guy who had trained both Cathy Axelrod and Julia to work with service dogs. He was a nice guy, a good friend. If he disliked the judge, the judge deserved it. By all counts, Charlie wasn’t the only one. Julia had heard he had taken a job as a bailiff after he retired from the Tennessee State Police. He had taught both Julia and Cathy everything they knew about dog handling. There was no way he could have been involved in such a horrific crime. No way.
Eager to defend her friend, Julia jumped right in. “What makes you think Charlie Sinclair could be a person of interest?”
“Just his attitude toward the judge. They clashed constantly, but for some reason, the judge seemed to cut Charlie some slack. No matter how outspoken Charlie got.”
“Did Charlie ever make a verbal threat?”
“Not in so many words. He just made it known that he didn’t think the judge handled criminal cases very well. Went so far as to question his integrity. You’d think he was an attorney the way he argued law with the judge.”
If Charlie had training in the law, Julia had certainly never heard anything about it. Charlie was another bright spot in her move to Chattanooga. She loved the guy almost like a father, and he was still actively training and boarding service dogs. Cathy was working part-time for him. If anyone could give her the truth about Lucien Lockhart, it was Charlie Sinclair.
“Was there ever any kind of physical confrontation between the two men?” Will asked, slanting Julia another curious look.
“Oh no. Both of them were too smart for something like that. In fact, I suspect they respected each other in some bizarre alpha male sort of way.”
“What about the judge’s cases? Any of them go down with any notable or particularly violent threats?”
“There was one. A gang member on trial for armed robbery. He yelled curses and said Lucien’d get payback for railroading him. Lucien slapped him with several days in jail for contempt.”
“What gang?”
“I don’t recall. It had the name of a street in it. And a number.”
Will looked more interested. “Battle Street Ten?”
“Yes, sir. That’s it, I believe.”
“What’s this gangbanger’s name? Do you remember?”
“Jesus Remos. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, no chance of parole.”
“He’s in prison now?”
“As far as I know.”
“Were there any reprisals against Judge Lockhart by the Battle Street gang?”
“I don’t know. There were a bunch of them who came to court for the trial. They all sat in the back together in their black pants and hoodies and their tattoos and black head scarves. We were all a little scared. Not Lucien. He stared them down, not the least bit intimidated.”
“And now he’s dead,” Julia pointed out.
“I had a feeling gangbangers might be involved,” Will said. “We’ll check it out as soon as we get done here.”
“Anything else you want to tell us?” Julia studied Jane’s face. She was in control now, but her eyes were strained and troubled and horribly red.
“I just want you to catch whoever did this to Lucien. He didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Will took over again. “What do you know about Lucien’s relationship with his wife?”
“You mean, was she capable of murdering him?”
“Yeah.”
Jane hesitated, looking from Julia to Will and back again. “I think she’s a mean, ruthless bitch who probably caused him to look for comfort with me and other women. Could she have killed him? I think she could. I think she could take a knife and carve up anybody without batting an eye. Except for those ugly little dogs of hers. She treats them better than the people in her life.”
So there you go
, Julia thought,
honesty at its most caustic
. “What about the housekeeper? The girl named Maria Bota? How does Iris treat her?”
“Like crap. Lucien was always having to protect that poor child from Iris’s cruelty.”