Killing Her Softly (29 page)

"If Carla was murdered in Houston four months ago, I'd have read about it in the newspaper and I don't remember—"

"She had moved to Dallas two months before her death."

"Was her killer caught?" Judd asked. Griffin shook his head.

"Was her killer's MO the same as the person who killed Lulu
Vanderley
and Kendall Wells?" Judd asked.

"Yes. Carla was smothered. And her right index finger was cut off."

"Goddamn!" Quinn set his glass on the coffee table, then bounded up off the sofa. "I can't believe this." Suddenly something hit him, a memory flashing through his mind. "I was in Dallas four months ago. Briefly. I flew there one day and back to Houston the next."

"You flew in on November twentieth and back to Houston on the twenty-first," Griffin said. "You were called in as a consultant. An old law school buddy was trying a big case and he wanted to pick your brain."

"Don't tell me—Carla was murdered on November twentieth."

"You got it. She was murdered while you were there in Dallas. Do you happen to remember what you were doing between ten
p.m
. and one
a.m
. that night?"

"I was in my hotel room, asleep."

"Can you prove it?" Judd and Griffin asked practically simultaneously.

"No, damn it, I can't prove it. I was alone."

"Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to frame you," Judd said. "Unless you're Jekyll and Hyde and are murdering these women without one part of your personality knowing what the other is doing."

"Don't joke about something like this," Quinn told his lawyer.

God, did I have one of those peculiar blackout spells while I was Dallas? Think, damn it, think. Try to remember.

The first odd sleepy spell hit me in New Orleans nearly a year ago. Did the second one occur in Dallas? Yes. Oh, God, yes, it did. And both times a woman was murdered. Just like here in Memphis when Lulu and Kendall were killed. Is it
possible that I actually killed those women? No. No way in hell. I'm not a murderer. I had no reason to kill Joy or Carla or Lulu or Kendall.

"Four women with whom you've had affairs are dead" Griffin said. "Ail four murdered in the same way—smothered. And each woman had her right Index finger cut off. I'd say we have a serial killer on our hands."

"A serial killer who is somehow connected to Quinn," Judd added.

Anger combined with guilt built up within Quinn. Rage screamed inside him. He stomped across the room, adrenaline surging through his body. He wanted to lash out, hit something, rip something apart with his bare hands.

"Take some deep breaths and calm down," Griffin advised. "You're about to blow a gasket and that's not going to help you."

"Someone has killed four of my lovers and made sure I was in a position to be blamed for each one. How the hell can you expect me to calm down? Four women are dead because of me."

"Griffin's right. You need to control that temper of yours or it's going to wind up hurting you," Judd said, and his lawyer's cool and collected demeanor enraged Quinn all the more. "If some psycho has targeted women you've had affairs with, that's not your fault. If you're his real target, then why didn't he just come after you?"

Halting in
midpacing
, Quinn glared at Judd. "What?"

"Whoever killed these women apparently doesn't want you dead at least not yet. He wants you to suffer," Griffin told Quinn. "He wants you to realize what he's done and feel guilty and remorseful, just as you're doing now."

Judd said, "It's possible that his plan all along was to frame you for these murders. He's gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure you didn't have an alibi for when any of these murders took place."

What if he also went to a lot of trouble to make sure I blacked out, that I couldn't account for a couple of hours of
my time when each murder occurred? Maybe my peculiar sleepy spells were orchestrated by someone else. But how? By whom?
The only people close enough to him, who could have slipped him a
mickey
, were Marcy, Aaron and
Jace
, three people he trusted implicitly. Besides they hadn't been in New Orleans or in Dallas with him. Or could one of them have followed him? No, God no!

"I'll have to inform Annabelle
Vanderley
," Griffin said. "You realize that, don't you?"

"What?" Quinn had been only halfway listening.
Tell Annabelle, is that what Griffin had said?
"Yeah,
I
know. We'll have to tell Annabelle and the police."

"They might not buy my theory," Griffin said. "The police might see this as evidence that you're the serial killer. But it's better for you if we tell them before they unearth the facts about Joy Ellis and Carla
Millican
themselves."

"And you think that's likely to happen?" Quinn asked.

Griffin nodded. "Jim Norton is a damn good detective. My guess is that he'll keep digging until he finds out everything he can about you and anyone he suspects might have killed Lulu
Vanderley
."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Quinn took those deep breaths Griffin had suggested, then said, "I need to talk to Judd alone. Do you mind?"

Griffin shook his head. "Client/attorney privileged information?"

"Right."

Griffin left the lounge area without any further comment. As soon as he closed the bedroom door behind him, Quinn sat down across from Judd Walker and looked him square in the eyes.

"Almost a year ago, when I was in New Orleans, I had an odd sleepy spell. I didn't think much about it at the time. I thought I'd been drinking too much, something I seldom do, and maybe exhausting myself with a certain lady. Joy Ellis. I remember getting really sleepy all of a sudden, tired and lethargic. I fell asleep in my hotel room and woke up a couple of hours later with a headache."

When Judd opened his mouth to speak, possibly to ask a question, Quinn made a wait-I'm-not-finished hand gesture. Judd nodded.

"I'd pretty much forgotten about it when it happened again months later. In Dallas. The same night Griffin just told us that Carla was murdered."

"Let me guess," Judd said. "You had the same kind of sleepy spells on the night Lulu was killed and again when Kendall was murdered."

"Yes. I had to pull off the side of the road for a nap on my way from Nashville the night Lulu died. And then on my way to Kendall's this past Monday evening, the same thing happened. I left the highway, pulled into a parking lot and went to sleep."

"Why haven't you seen a doctor about these sleepy spells?"

"Because until recently, I'd had only two. And they'd been months apart. After the two I've had here in Memphis, I started thinking maybe there was something physically wrong with me and I'd planned to see a doctor when I went back to Houston."

"You're well aware of how the police might interpret this information."

"If they believed me, they'd think I was crazy and that when I thought I was sleeping, I wasn't, but instead was out there killing those women. They'll think I smothered four of my lovers."

"Is it possible that you did kill them?" Judd asked.

"No! No, I couldn't have. I had no reason to kill them."

Chapter 20

Jim Norton glanced down at the folders on his desk containing info on the two murder cases the department was working on at present. Being the lead detective on both cases, since it was assumed they were definitely connected and more than likely committed by the same person, the responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. While Chad was off trying to score brownie points with Annabelle
Vanderley
, Jim had been left to do the work. When Chad had told him this morning that he was taking off to Mississippi for Lulu's funeral, he'd wanted to ask him why. But he knew why. The guy actually thought he still had a chance with Ms.
Vanderley
. Talk about being overly confident. But Jim had decided there was little use in trying to talk sense to his partner. It was only a matter of time before the lady herself burst his bubble. He probably thought that when Cortez was arrested for Lulu's and Kendall's murders, Annabelle would need a shoulder to cry on. Chad was counting on those DNA results proving Cortez had fathered Lulu's baby.

Jim looked over the DNA results, which had just come in less than an hour ago, once again, just to make sure he hadn't misread the notation from the lab. Son of a bitch! It took all kinds, didn't it? In his line of work, he'd run across every type of scumbag walking the face of the earth and supposed he was somewhat jaded. Although little surprised him, some things still made him sick to his stomach. Like these test results.

He'd wait until Chad got back from
Austinville
to share the information with him. He was going to be pissed enough as it was. Maybe he should just tell Chad the results would be in first thing tomorrow, after all, it was past six already, and it was highly unlikely they could round up all the major players before morning.

"You planning on spending the night here, Norton?" Lieutenant Ed Palmer, an old pro like himself, slipped into his jacket as he walked past Jim's cubicle.

Jim shook his head. "Nah, I'm heading out in a few minutes. I'm going over to my ex-wife's to see my kid. He called me and invited me for supper."

"Watch out," Ed said. "When an ex-wife starts cooking for you, she's either wanting to ask for more alimony and child support or she's looking to reconcile."

"Knowing Mary Lee the way I do, I'd say it's definitely the former. And I doubt she's done any cooking. She probably ordered pizza or went by KFC."

Ed guffawed. "If you ever get to hankering for some home cooking, come home with me. Betty Jean feeds me too well." Ed patted his round belly.

Jim sat there for several minutes after Ed left, his mind absorbed in thoughts of what he'd expected his life would be like and what it actually was. He was one of those old-fashioned guys who'd thought he'd have a stay-at-home wife, the kind his mother had been. Divorce hadn't been a word in his vocabulary. If things had been different. . . if Mary Lee had been different. . . if he had been different.

Damn it, don't look back. No use torturing yourself.

He picked up the phone and dialed Chad's cell number. He let it ring repeatedly. No answer. He'd try Chad later, on his drive over to Mary Lee's.

"Hey, Norton," Sandra Holmes, one of two female detectives on the force paused at his cubicle. "How's it going?"

Sandra had a pair of eye-catching knockers. Being a guy, it was the first thing he noticed about her. But her only claim to fame wasn't just her big boobs. Sandra had graduated first in her class at John D. Holt and after eight years on the force, she'd proven what a good cop she was.

"It's going," Jim replied. He'd thought about asking Sandra out, but wasn't sure she'd be interested. Since her divorce became final three months ago, every single guy on the force and a couple of married ones had asked her out. She'd shot all of them down. Even Chad.

She held out a sheet of paper. "I filled in the VICAP form with the information on the
Vanderley
and Wells murders, per your request, and here's what I got. I think you'll find this very interesting."

The department had a special computer program that generated a request form with all pertinent information about a crime that linked to the FBI's Violent Crime Apprehension Program. At the time of Lulu's death, they hadn't figured it was connected to any other murders, believing that someone who knew Lulu personally had committed the crime. But after Kendall
Wells's
murder, the scenario changed. Although Chad and the department as a whole believed Quinn Cortez was the guilty party, Jim's gut instincts told him something different.

What if both women had been murdered by a serial killer, someone who had killed before and would kill again? He'd put in calls to the Bureau of Investigation in several surrounding states these past couple of days, hoping to connect his two murders with other murders. No luck. Not in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas and his home state of Tennessee. Chad was supposed to check the VICAP today, but since he was in
Austinville
playing love-sick fool, Jim had asked Sandra if she'd do it for him. Now that he'd taken a look at the DNA results on Lulu
Vanderley's
fetus, he felt all the more certain that they were dealing with a serial killer, not a crime of passion.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." He took the e-mail message from her hand. After he'd read it, he let out a long, low whistle.

"Three murders with the exact same MO as ours showed up," Sandra said.

He noted the names of the police departments and the investigators involved in each case. "One in Louisiana nearly a year ago and two in Texas. One four months ago and the other. . . nearly two years ago."

"Quinn Cortez is from Houston, Texas, isn't he? One of those murders took place in Dallas and the other in Baytown, which is practically a suburb of Houston."

"Hmm . . ." Jim read the names of the three victims: Joy Ellis in New Orleans; Carla
Millican
in Dallas; and Kelley Fleming in Baytown, Texas.

"Want me to get in touch with each department tonight and see what I can find out?" Sandra asked.

"Don't you have any plans for this evening?" he asked.

"Not tonight. I'm just going home, taking a hot bath and curling up with a good book. I don't mind staying and placing those calls. I can give them my cell number."

"You can give them mine," Jim told her.

"You don't want to be disturbed while you're having dinner with Kevin, do you?"

When he looked at her questioningly, she smiled. Sandra had a downright pretty smile, although she wasn't a pretty woman. But she was attractive in a rough, earthy way.

"I heard you telling Ed" she explained. "About having dinner with your kid and ex-wife. So, let me make those calls, give them my cell number and then later tonight, on your way home, drop by my apartment and I'll give you whatever info I get."

Was Sandra inviting him for more than sharing information or was he reading her all wrong? "I can do that," he heard himself saying.

Her smile broadened. "I live on Union Avenue in midtown. It's a quaint old apartment complex called the Georgian Woods." She picked up a pad and pen from his desk and jotted down something on the pad then tore off the top sheet and handed it to him. "My address and phone number. Come by anytime tonight. It doesn't matter how late."

Jim suddenly felt warm, all the way from his dry mouth to his twitching dick. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later then."

He waited a few minutes after she left before he stood up, needing time for his erection to deflate. God he was bad off if just the thought of getting laid could give him a chunky.

Once he could get up without embarrassing himself, he stood removed his jacket from the back of his chair, put it on and headed out of the office. First things first. And his son always came first with Jim. When Kevin had called and invited him to supper at seven, he'd asked if Kevin had checked with his mother before issuing the invitation. "It was her idea, Dad." Whenever Mary Lee was nice to him—and inviting him to dinner was being nice—he got suspicious. Since their divorce, Mary Lee went out of her way to make his life miserable every chance she got, so she had to have an ulterior motive for inviting him to supper and allowing him extra time with Kevin.

Watch your back, Norton. Mary Lee's liable to stick a knife in it when you least expect it.

Annabelle walked Chad to the door, then went out onto the veranda with him. The sky was clear, stars bright and twinkling, the half moon creamy yellow against the inky black backdrop. When the sun went down, temperatures dropped rapidly and she imagined it wasn't much more than sixty degrees right now and would probably drop into the low fifties by dawn. The black silk suit she'd worn today, though long-sleeved did little to protect her from the chilly evening breeze. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your coming down for the funeral and staying on until after everyone left," Annabelle said. Although he wasn't the man she'd wanted at her side, not the guardian she'd longed to see her through this unhappy day, Chad had been a godsend to all of them, even Uncle Louis, who had been genuinely pleased to meet one of the detectives working to solve Lulu's murder.

"I'm just glad I could be of help in some small way." Chad took her hand in his. "Annabelle, I hope you know how special you are to me."

She resisted her first instinct—to jerk her hand away— and instead offered him a forced smile. "I don't quite know how to respond to that. We met only a week ago and under very trying circumstances. It would be unwise for us to—"

"Say no more." He squeezed her hand gently. "I simply wanted you to know how I felt. I only hope that you would like for us to become better acquainted."

"Yes, certainly."

Tugging on her hand he pulled her to him. And then unexpectedly, he kissed her on the lips. Quickly, but thoroughly. Startled by his actions, Annabelle was speechless. It was wrong of her to lead Chad on, to let him think there could be more between them than friendship. But how could she explain? She could hardly say, "I like you, Chad but I think I've done the unforgivable and fallen in love with Quinn Cortez. And yes, I've known him for only a week and yes, I know he's a notorious womanizer and a possible suspect in Lulu's murder. And yes, a thousand times yes, you would be so much better for me than he would. But the heart doesn't act on reason, only on emotion."

The sudden ringing of Chad's cell phone startled her. She gasped aloud.

He shoved back his jacket on the left side and retrieved his phone from the belt clip. "Sorry about this. I've had it turned off most of the afternoon and just turned it back on a few minutes ago." He hit the
on
button and put the phone to his ear. "Sergeant George here."

Annabelle rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an effort to warm herself. The cool springtime breeze had picked up considerably in the last few minutes.

"Yeah, that's good. Tomorrow morning. Sure, I'll inform Ms.
Vanderley
," Chad said to the caller. "And yes, I'm coming back to Memphis tonight. See you in the morning." Chad returned his phone to the belt clip.

"What was that all about?"

"That was Jim. He said the DNA report on Lulu's fetus would be available in the morning."

"This soon?"

"I asked for a rush job."

"You think the child was Quinn Cortez's, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. And tomorrow morning we'll find out for sure." He looked at her longingly. "I'll call you as soon as I can in the morning and tell you the results."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He acted as if he wanted to kiss her again, so she took several steps back, toward the closed front door.
"Drive carefully. And again, thank you for. . . for today."

"Take care of yourself, Annabelle. And if you need me, I'm just a phone call away."

She waited on the veranda and watched him until he got in his car, then she turned and went back into the house. Warmth greeted her inside the mansion, as did Aunt
Perdita
.

"A rather interesting young man,"
Perdita
said. "He's quite taken with you, my dear."

"I like Chad. He's a nice person."

"A suitable suitor."
Perdita
grinned as she laced her arm through Annabelle's. "I have coffee waiting in the back parlor."

"Is it just the two of us?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes. Isn't that nice? Wythe went out the back door an hour ago, got in his car and drove off. At least that's what Hiram told me. Once he'd put on a show of tortured mourning for Louis and the rest of our family and friends, he hightailed it out of here."