LITMIR.BIZ

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I remember because Mrs. Kirkland was outside giving the man directions.”

      A pain stabbed John’s gut. The ulcer kicking up again. “Are you sure it was Mrs. Kirkland?”

      “I think so. It’s a long driveway. And the gate was closed. But there was a blond woman out there who looked like her. At least the way I remember Andrea Kirkland looking.”

      Not the most reliable witness testimony he’d heard. Not by a long shot. “You haven’t seen Mrs. Kirkland in a while?”

      “I’m afraid not. Even though I live next door, I haven’t seen her very much. She keeps to herself.”

      “You live next door?” John tried to hide his surprise. The Wingate estate, a majestic old home Wingate Kirkland had restored and named after himself, was situated in a very exclusive rural development boasting one of the best views in Dane County. Although Ruthie’s hair was tastefully cut and her wardrobe expensive, if staid, he wouldn’t have pegged her for a member of the Kirkland’s social set.

      She dipped her head as if slightly embarrassed. “I still live with my parents. I’m Ruth Banks. My father is Gerald Banks.”

      “The judge?”

      Ruthie smiled and nodded.

      He knew Judge Banks well. The judge was notoriously tough on criminals. “Your father is a good man.”

      “Most prosecutors think so.”

      He smiled. The young woman was sharp. And the daughter of a judge would make a good witness. But from the sound of it, she didn’t see much. Not enough to prove anything, at any rate. “Do you remember what the van looked like?”

      “It was blue. Kind of light blue like a robin’s egg.”

      “Did it have a company logo on the side?”

      She pursed her lips in thought. “Yeah. I think it was yellow. Or gold. To tell you the truth, I didn’t really pay attention.”

      A blue van with yellow or gold logo. At least it was something for the police to follow up. Provided Andrea Kirkland wasn’t inventing the whole thing. A possibility he couldn’t ignore. Not until a body turned up. “Can you think of any reason Andrea Kirkland would tell us her husband was murdered if it isn’t true?”

      Ruthie shook her head.

      John glanced at Chief Putnam. “Can you, Chief?”

      “You mean, why would she make it up?”

      “If she did.”

      He shrugged his square shoulders. “Attention. Isn’t that usually the thing? Maybe she’s bored with her big house and charity events.”

      Was that the type of person Andrea Kirkland was? Even though John had only just met her, he couldn’t buy it. “And if she is telling the truth? If her husband is dead?”

      “Then I doubt we’ll have to look any further than the obvious.”

      John had a pretty good idea of where he was leading, but he bit anyway. “What is the obvious?”

      “That he was killed for his money. He sure has a lot of it. And rumor has it, Andrea Kirkland is the sole beneficiary of his will.”

      The ache returned to John’s gut in force. Andrea was either making up the whole story, or she was the number-one suspect in a murder. Hell of a choice.

      The bleat of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. Excusing himself, he slipped out of the police chief’s office, grabbed the phone off his belt and hit the talk button. “Yeah.”

      “Ace? It’s Mylinski.”

      John grimaced at the nickname. Ever since an article praising his high conviction rate had run in the State Journal, Mylinski had latched onto the name. “Hey, Al.” County Detective Al Mylinski was heading up the search of the Kirkland house. And despite his penchant for assigning stupid nicknames to nearly everyone he worked with, there was no one John trusted more. If there was anything to find, Al would sure as hell find it. “What do you have?”

      “The LumaLite put on a really pretty light show.”

      John dragged in a deep breath. The LumaLite could show every trace of blood left at a crime scene, even when the blood wasn’t visible to the naked eye. “Where?”

      “Under the rug on the study floor.”

      “How much is there?”

      “If someone cut himself, he needs more than a Band-Aid. There wasn’t a drop on the rug, though. Someone replaced the rug and tried to clean the floor. If it wasn’t for the LumaLite, we wouldn’t have found anything.”

      “You didn’t happen to notice a body lying around to make this easier on all of us, did you?”

      “Sorry. But judging from the size of this pool of blood, there’s a body out there somewhere. We’ll start with the woods after we’re finished with the house.”

      John blew out a gust of breath he didn’t realize he was holding. At least one question was answered. Andrea didn’t invent the story. But she sure as hell seemed to be neck-deep in it. He shouldn’t be surprised. Like Putnam had said, start with the obvious. And the obvious in any murder was always the spouse.

      He massaged the back of his neck and tried not to picture the graceful lines of Andrea Kirkland’s face, her slender body, the desperation in her eyes. There was a reason cynicism ran rampant in all areas of law enforcement. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred it was warranted. And this case looked to be no different. Even if he wanted it to be.

      “Gotta go. I’ll keep my eyes open for that body, Ace.”

      “You do that, Al. You do that.” John hit the button to cut off the call and clipped the phone back on his belt. If anyone had to keep his eyes open from here on out, it was him.

      ANDREA PULLED OPEN the hotel room door and looked into the brown eyes of John Cohen. Relief eased through her, pushing aside the fear that had kept her wide awake all night.

      He’d called her on his cell phone first thing this morning and told her he’d be right over. And even though she’d met the man only yesterday, she’d felt relieved to hear his voice. And to hear he had news about Wingate’s murder, and she hoped the attack on her as well.

      She swung the door wide. “Come in.”

      He ambled through the door on long legs, but his stride was anything but relaxed. His gaze darted around the room as if he expected to see a dead body secreted behind the Magic Fingers hotel bed or propped on the luggage rack in the closet.

      Her mouth went dry. Whatever he’d discovered was worse than she’d feared. “Did you find Win? Is he dead?”

      “No, we haven’t found him. At least not yet. And as far as his condition, you’d probably know that better than anyone.”

      “Me?”

      “Yes, you. You said you saw your husband’s murder, didn’t you?”

      “I was hoping I was wrong. That it was all a bad dream or something.” Her own words rang in her ears. She had been hoping exactly that. That her memories were a mistake. That Win was merely away on an unexpected business trip. That she could leave Wingate Estate and not look back.

      But deep down she knew she’d been fooling herself. “Did you find something in the house?”

      A muscle twitched along his jaw. “Yes. We did.”

      The shiver spread over her skin and settled in her bones. “What did you find?”

      Instead of answering, he strode across the room, his long legs eating the distance in three strides. “You said you remembered your husband lying on a Persian rug after he was shot. What room was the rug in?”

      She searched her memory. She could see the rug clearly.

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