Hour Game (32 page)

K
ING EVENTUALLY GOT IN TOUCH WITH
H
ARRY AND TOLD
him what had happened.

“I’ll head straight to the Battles’,” he said. “Why don’t you and Michelle meet me there?”

It was dinnertime when they all collected at the mansion.

Remmy met the three at the door. “Mason is out right now,” she explained.

“You’ve heard?” asked King.

“Yes. I hardly think she’ll pull herself out of this one.”

King looked at the older woman with surprise. “Remmy, I know the two of you aren’t the best of friends, but she’s still married to your son.”

“Which is the only reason I have any concern at all.”

“Where’s Eddie?”

“In town talking with the lawyers. Dorothea hasn’t been formally charged yet?”

“They don’t even have a firm cause of death yet,” Michelle put in. “Until that happens, they can’t charge her.”

“You don’t think she killed the man, do you?” Harry asked Remmy.

She placed her gaze squarely on him. “No, but I didn’t think she was buying stolen drugs either.”

“There’s quite a bit of difference between that and murdering someone,” rejoined Harry.

She motioned them in. “Why don’t we continue this
fascinating
discussion over dinner?”

Savannah joined them in the dining room. She was dressed in a long skirt, white blouse, dark blue sweater, stockings and low-heeled pumps. Her hair was nicely styled, and she had a modest amount of makeup on.

It took King a moment to realize what he was seeing. Then it struck him: daughter was dressed just like mother. He looked over at Michelle. From her startled expression it was clear she was thinking the very same thing.

Harry sat next to Savannah and struck up a conversation with her while King and Michelle focused on Remmy.

“Dorothea got virtually nothing by Bobby’s death,” said King. “So there was no motive there.”

“Motives needn’t be simply financial,” replied Remmy as she buttered her roll.

Like your motive for killing your husband?
thought King.

“You have something in mind?” asked Michelle.

“No, I’m just stating what I thought was an obvious fact.”

“You had no idea Dorothea was taking one of Bobby’s cars and renting a place at the Aphrodisiac? Or that she had a drug problem?”

Remmy shook her head. “But then, I’m not my daughter-in-law’s keeper, am I?”

“I knew she had a drug problem.” All eyes turned to Savannah.

“Did she mention it to you?” asked King.

“No, but I saw her once, I guess she was coming back from that place. It was early in the morning, and I’d gotten up to go for a walk. She was coming up from the direction of the car barn. She was a mess. I was surprised she could even drive home.”

“You didn’t just assume she was drunk?” asked Michelle.

“After four years of college I know the difference between drunk and high.”

“I’m so glad our money bought you such an invaluable education,” snapped Remmy.

“Did you confront her about it, Savannah?” asked King.

“No, it was none of my business.”

“But didn’t you tell anyone, like Eddie?”

“Again, it was none of my business. Dorothea and I aren’t close, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

After dinner Remmy excused herself, saying she had some letters to write, and Savannah was left to say formal good-byes. However, King had to use the bathroom and asked Harry and Michelle to hold up for a minute. As they waited for him to come back, Harry led Savannah over to a corner and started speaking to her in a confidential tone. When King returned, they said their good nights and left.

Harry said, “I didn’t mean to ignore you, Michelle, but I’m worried about Savannah and wanted to speak with her privately.”

“Did you notice she’s dressing like her mother now?” King said.

“That was one indication something was amiss,” said Harry diplomatically. “Remmy is a very intimidating woman, and I guess not even an independent soul like Savannah is immune from her force of will.”

“And Remmy writes lots of letters, keeps a journal and presumably gets a lot of letters from friends,” commented King.

Harry looked at him quizzically. “I suppose she does. As do I. Is that important?”

“While I was using the bathroom, I happened to pass by the study. Remmy was in there writing out some letters like she said she was going to.”

“So?” asked Michelle.

“The one thing that’s been bothering me is that we still don’t know what was taken from her and Bobby’s closets. What if it were letters, or a diary, something like that?”

Harry said, “That would make sense. Women like Remmy often desire a secure place for their confidential letters.”

“Letters that could be incriminating somehow,” said King. “Not necessarily in a criminal sense, but in a personal one. At least it’s something to keep in mind.”

They left the house. Michelle had driven over separately. She said good-bye to Harry and King and drove off. Harry climbed into his convertible and waved as he pulled out.

King was getting into his car when he saw the note on his front seat.

It was short and to the point. “I want to talk. I’ll meet you at your place at ten tonight.” It was signed “Sally.”

King looked around but saw no one. He checked his watch. It was nine o’clock. He debated whether to call Michelle and tell her to meet him at his houseboat. Then he thought better of it. That might scare Sally away. He drove off. In one hour part of this mystery might be cleared up, or at least be less muddled. Right now he’d take that.

A
N HOUR LATER
K
ING MET
S
ALLY AT THE END OF HIS DRIVEWAY
, led her past all the construction on his new home and down the steps to his houseboat.

The young woman was obviously very nervous. To put her at ease, King said, “It’s the right thing to do, Sally. It really is. And once you get it off your chest, you’ll feel better.”

They sat at his small kitchen table as the lake water slowly lapped at the boat’s hull. He’d fixed her a cup of hot tea and was now staring at the woman expectantly.

“Junior,” he finally said. “You came to tell me about Junior?”

Sally let out a huge breath and plunged in. “I was with him when the burglary happened.”

King was startled. “You helped him break in?”

“No! Not at the Battle house. At Junior’s house, the new one he’s building.”

“So he didn’t commit the burglary?”

“He couldn’t have. We were there from eight at night until almost four in the morning. And it’s a good hour’s drive from the Battles’.”

“Why were you with Junior at his new house?”

Sally took a drink of the tea and sat back, her face flushed, her cheeks stamped with fresh tears. “Oh, God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”

“Sally? Why were you with him?” King asked pointedly.

“We’d gotten to know each other when he worked at the Battles’. We… we were both lonely, I guess.”

“You were having an affair with Junior?”

“It’s not like that, not at all!” she answered hotly.

“Then tell me what it
was
like,” said King calmly.

“We were just friends. At first. I mean, well.” She put down the teacup and leaned forward. “He’d told me he was going to be working at the house all night. His wife had the night off and was with the kids. I went there, seduced him, and we had sex. There. That’s it. I told you.”

“
You
seduced
him
?”

She looked offended. “I’m not always dressed in jeans and covered with horseshit, Sean. I clean up pretty damn well. He was surprised when I showed up there, of course. But I made it clear to him what I was after.”

“But I thought Junior really loved Lulu.”

“He did, but he’s a man after all and I was wearing next to nothing and my offer was pretty tough to refuse. I just wanted sex, no questions and no commitments. And from what he told me, Lulu hadn’t been paying him much attention for quite a while. Worked long hours at that club.”

“So you found Junior ready, willing and able?”

“Let’s put it this way: he wouldn’t have been physically capable of committing that burglary. Hell,
I
could barely walk when it was over.”

King put up a hand. “Okay, okay, I don’t need any more details.”

Sally rubbed her eyes. “The thing is, I really liked him. I know he was big and tough-looking, but he was really a sweet guy underneath.”

“Why didn’t you come forward when Junior was arrested for the burglary?”

“He wouldn’t let me! He said he’d rather go to jail than let Lulu find out.”

“Okay, I guess I can see that. What else?”

“That’s it. I snuck away from the Battle funeral to say my good-byes over Junior’s grave. I didn’t think anyone had seen me.” She looked down at the table. “Will all this have to come out?”

“Maybe not, now that Junior’s dead and Remmy is convinced of his innocence. And I guess there’s no reason to ruin Lulu’s memory of her husband.”

“He did love her, Sean; I was just a onetime fling, that’s all.” She added in a very small voice, “I guess that’s all I ever am.”

After Sally had left, King thought about calling Michelle but decided to let it wait until morning. It had been a long day. He went to bed.

Outside the houseboat the man had watched Sally leave. He had used the listening device he’d planted to hear the entire conversation between the two. He looked up at the houseboat as the last light was extinguished there. He’d wait until Sean King was fully asleep, and then he was going to pay him one final visit.

M
ICHELLE HAD DRIVEN HOME, DONE SOME KICKBOXING ON
the heavy bag hanging in her basement, put away some laundry and actually cleaned her kitchen. After that she showered and was thinking about going to bed but had grown very restless. Her mind kept returning to the murders. Was there something they were overlooking? King had suggested that Mrs. Canney hadn’t died in a car accident, that she had been murdered. If so, by whom?

Her head buzzing, she decided to go for a drive; that always helped her think more clearly. Her route took her past her and King’s office. She parked and went inside, figuring she’d go over her voluminous notes on the investigation she kept in her desk to see if anything clicked.

As she passed through the small office foyer, she saw some telephone messages on the part-time receptionist’s desk. There was one for King from a Billy Edwards. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. The area code was from the Los Angeles area. It was still early enough there, she decided. One thing that annoyed her about working with King was that he kept things incredibly close to the vest, even at the expense of his partner. This might be a chance for her to get the jump on him. She called Edwards. On the third ring the phone was picked up.

“Billy Edwards?”

“That’s right. Who’s this?”

“Michelle Maxwell. I’m partners with Sean King in Wrightsburg, Virginia. I believe he called you?”

“That’s right. I was just getting back to him.”

“He’s out right now and asked me to return the call.”

“Fine with me. So what do you want to know about the time I worked at the Battles’?”

Now the name clicked. Billy Edwards was the mechanic for Bobby Battle’s classic car collection. He’d been let go the day after Bobby and Remmy’s argument, the one Sally Wainwright had overheard.

“That’s right,” Michelle said quickly. “We understand you were let go very abruptly.”

Edwards laughed. “Try thrown out on my ass with no warning.”

“By Bobby Battle?”

“The one and only. I heard on the news that he died. Is that right?”

“Yes. Did he give any reason for letting you go?”

“Nope. But he didn’t have to. It didn’t have anything to do with my work, I know that. Now, I admit I was pissed with how it was handled, but the man treated me good. Paid me a nice severance and wrote a damn fine reference that helped me get another job pretty quick out in Ohio working for another rich guy with a car collection bigger than Battle’s.”

“Good for you. Now, we understand that the night before you were let go he and Mrs. Battle had an argument in the car barn.”

“Remmy Battle, now, there’s a real piece of work. Let me tell you, those two were equally matched, like Godzilla butting heads with King Kong.”

“Agreed. But did you know anything about an argument?”

“No. How’d you find out about it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that, it’s confidential.”

“Uh-huh. I bet you it was Sally Wainwright, wasn’t it?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she liked going down there and hanging out by herself.
Of course she’d go down there with me sometimes too,” he added with a chuckle. “Oh, yeah, we had some good times together, me and Sally.”

“So you two were… seeing each other.”

“No. It was just messing around. She was wild, let me tell you. If Battle had known what we’d done inside some of his vehicles…”

“Really?”

“Hell, yes. But I wasn’t the only one.”

“Who else?”

“Is Mason still working there?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there you go.”

Michelle couldn’t hide her astonishment. “Mason was sleeping with Sally?”

“At least that’s what she said.” He added, “I never personally saw them doing it. But she’s a pretty girl. I probably shouldn’t be saying this to a woman, but you all live in the same house together, you know, things happen. You see her running around in something skimpy or coming out of the bathroom in a little towel, hey, we’re only human. I’m not apologizing for it.”

“I get the picture. Anyone else?”

“Probably, but I don’t have names for you.”

“Sally said that Bobby had just pulled in driving the Rolls-Royce when he and Remmy got into their argument.”

“The Rolls? It was a beauty. Only something like five in the whole world. Did he end up getting rid of it?”

“Apparently, he did so the very next day.”

“I thought he would.”

Michelle stiffened. “Why do you say that?”

“The morning I got canned I went to get my tools and stuff from the car barn. I always had a thing for that Rolls. That was one sweet machine. Anyway, this was the last time I was going to see it. Not like I’d be buying one of my own.” Edwards laughed.

Michelle, however, was as taut as a strung bow. “So what did you do?”

“I wanted to take one last look at it. Pulled the cover off and sat in it, pretending it was mine.”

“Right, right,” said Michelle impatiently. “But why did you think Battle was going to get rid of the car?”

“Because when I was covering it back up, I noticed that the left front fender was dented and one of the headlights had been cracked. It had to have happened the night before because I’d just checked the car that afternoon and it was fine. It wasn’t all that much damage really, but a car like that you’re talking thousands of dollars in repairs. And you can’t get parts for a vehicle like that anymore. It was a real shame. I guess Battle hit something and was pissed off. The guy hated anything to be out of sync. He used to come down to the barn and ream me if he found oil on the floor or a license plate hung crooked. It probably made him sick to see the damage on that Rolls. If he couldn’t fix it just right, he’d get rid of it. Just the way the man was.”

“Did you ever tell anyone the Rolls-Royce had been damaged?”

“No. It was his car; he could do what he wanted with it.”

“Do you remember the exact date it was damaged?”

“Well, it must’ve happened the night before I got fired. Like I said, I’d checked it that afternoon and there was no damage.”

“I understand that. But what date was that?”

Edwards was silent for a bit. “It was over three years ago, I know that. In the fall or thereabouts. I did some work for a company down in North Carolina until the job in Ohio came through. Maybe September. No, I think it was October or maybe November. At least I think,” he said with less confidence.

“You can’t be any more specific?”

“Look, I have a hard time remembering where I was last week, much less three years ago. I’ve moved around quite a bit since then.”

“Could you look up your payment stubs from when you worked at the Battles’? Or from the jobs in North Carolina or Ohio? That would narrow it down.”

“Lady, I live in a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood. I don’t have room to keep stuff like that. I barely have space for clothes.”

“Well, if you remember, will you please call me back?”

“Sure, if it’s important.”

“It’s very important.”

Michelle put down the phone and sat at her desk. Over three years ago in the fall. Yet if it
had
been the fall, it would be about three and a half years ago, since it was springtime right now. She sat bolt upright.
Wait a minute,
she said to herself.
Sally Wainwright would probably remember the exact date.
She checked her watch. It was too late to call her. They could do it in the morning. Right now, though, she wanted to get ahold of King and tell him what she’d learned.

She called his cell phone but there was no answer. She left a message. He didn’t have a hard-line number at his houseboat. He was probably asleep. She stared at her phone, mulling over what to do. Part of her said to call it a night and go home, yet as she looked down at her phone, she started to get a very strange feeling. Sean was a light sleeper. Why hadn’t he answered? His caller ID would have shown it was her. Unless he couldn’t answer the phone! She grabbed her keys and raced to her truck.