Killing the Secret (12 page)

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“Dr. Williams, this is Sheriff Lexie Wolfe from Oklahoma. She has an interesting theory about Heather’s death,” Sarah said as they approached his desk.

He rose and extended his hand. He wore a long linen shirt, brown trousers, and loafers.
A classy guy
.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me.” Lexie shook his outstretched hand.

“You’re welcome. However, I don’t understand why Heather’s death is still being investigated.”

“It’s because three other women she knew well died during the same time period, all apparent murders. If we don’t find the killer soon, four more may die.”

“That’s disturbing news.” He covered his mouth then stroked his beard.

“I need some assistance to prove my theory. Will you help me Dr. Williams?”

“Perhaps.” His fingers made circular motions around his mouth. “Heather was a beautiful woman. She was caring and funny when she wasn’t overwrought with pain caused by the imbecile she married.”

Lexie concurred, “I met the jerk. He seemed to be on a mission to get that fifty thousand insurance payoff.”

“Yes,” Williams focused on Sarah. “I couldn’t bare to help him. But now, if other women may die, there’s someone out there worse than him.”

“So, did Heather commit suicide?” Lexie probed.

“Very unlikely,” he confessed. “I saw her the night before. She was agitated about getting her life insurance policy changed so that ‘DA Lave and his whore princess,’ as she called them, wouldn’t get the money. She’d have changed the policy before she died so he wouldn’t end up with the money through some loophole.”

“Anything else that made you think it wasn’t a suicide?” Lexie was surprised that Sarah hadn’t said a word or asked a question since the interview started.

“Yes, she promised to go inpatient. She was ready to work on getting well,” his tongue stumbled over the words.”

“Did she know how you felt about her?”

“You are an intuitive woman, Sheriff Wolfe. Yes, I told her that night. I referred her to a new psychiatrist because I fell in love with her. She squeezed my hand before she left this office. When she died, it took all of my heart and part of my soul.”

Sarah finally spoke up, “Why didn’t you tell me what you really thought?”

“I wanted to make sure her ex-husband didn’t get the money. I saw it as the last thing I could do for her. That’s why I substantiated the suicide theory, which it appeared to be, to most. I never truly believed it to be so. Once I got the message, it solidified my belief.”

“Message?” Lexie and Sarah asked in unison.

“Yes, it came in that morning when I was with a client. I saved it so I could hear her voice.”

Dr. Williams pushed a button on his answering machine. A cheerful voice conveyed her message:

“Paul, it’s Heather. Just wanted you to know I’m doing fine and getting packed. An old friend from high school is dropping by to see me this morning. I’m so excited! I’ll talk to you soon.”

Sarah stood up to pace. “Based on this tape, I have no doubt Heather was murdered.”

“Nor do I,” Lexie agreed.

“Detective Chandler, will I be charged for withholding evidence?” Williams fingered his beard.

“It just took you awhile to speak up, so you didn’t really withhold it.” Sarah continued, “I need to take that tape but I’ll do my best to get it back to you.”

Lexie stood. “Thank you. I know it’s a struggle for you to let go of what you knew Heather wanted, but you’re helping to find her murderer.”

“Lave is the lesser of two evils,” Chandler added.

“I know,” responded the doctor.

After their good-byes, they hurried to the car, both aware of Lexie’s short time line to catch her flight.

Sarah monitored the rush-hour traffic as she spoke, “Williams was a fine example of someone screwing up a detective’s work. I felt sorry for him, but I should’ve charged him, or at least kicked him, for not telling the truth.”

Lexie laughed and said, “I would’ve volunteered to hold him.”

Sarah’s aggravation lifted. “That’s what I call teamwork. Forget about those work relationship seminars the brass force me to attend. A good ass kickin’ would make for a great bonding activity.”

“They’d sure have my vote,” Lexie agreed.

Sarah pulled up to the terminal. “I’ll keep in touch regarding the investigation here and you do the same.”

“Will do.”

“If you ever want to work in Dallas, call me.”

“Thanks, but I’ve got plenty to finish in Diffee before I consider moving on.”

The women exchanged modified waves. Lexie quickened her pace. Now she was at the most difficult part of her trip—getting her bearings at the Dallas Airport. After following three different pointing fingers, she reached the right gate. A voice over the loud speaker confirmed her flight: “TULSA flight 273: On Time.”

It’ll be so good to get back home, she thought, as she maneuvered into her seat.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bud held the fine leather suitcase with care. He was purposely running late for flight 273 to Tulsa.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologized to the half dozen people in front of him in line. “My meeting ran over and I fear I’m going to miss my flight. May I go in front of you?”

Each of the six nodded or motioned for the distinguished looking person to move to the front. His appreciative smile negotiated him through his dilemma.

The woman at the counter quickly checked his identification and put his bag on the conveyer. “You better run,” she advised.

Bud made long strides toward the escalator until he was out of sight of the check-in desk. He exited at the first door and hailed a cab to take him to the other Dallas airport.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lexie visually scanned the inside of the plane. There wasn’t a single empty seat. A college basketball team occupied many of the spaces. There was a group of tanned ladies who had connected from Hawaii to Dallas to Tulsa. A couple of babies were crying toward the back of the plane. A toddler escaped from his daddy and ventured a few rows, giving everyone in his path a friendly grin. Lexie usually sat in the escape row, but basketball players already inhabited those seats. Her only choice was to sit near the rear of the plane.

Two young women in front of her talked about their father’s heart attack and their hope he’d live until they were able to see him one more time in Tulsa.

Her seatmates introduced themselves, “We’re Larry and Connie Matthews.”

“I’m Lexie Wolfe.”

“On vacation, Lexie?” Connie asked.

“No, just had some work in Dallas. Have you two been on vacation?”

“If you consider spending four days with thirty-two of Connie’s relatives a vacation, then I guess we did have one.” Connie reached up and playfully pinched his cheek.

“Twenty-four of them are on this flight,” Connie added.

“I don’t think I’ll pick a fight with you two. I don’t think I can handle twenty-six to one.”

“Let me warn you that flying scares my wife to death. If she starts screaming like a fool, just ignore her. Connie took a sedative before she came on board, so maybe she’ll fall asleep.”

“It’s actually safer than driving,” Lexie responded.

Chapter Thirty

Irritation brought beads of sweat to Leo’s forehead as he pulled the luggage off the conveyer belt. He needed to load it on his cart and drive it to flight 273. The airport was unusually busy during his shift. He didn’t dare risk looking in any of the luggage to see what treasures he could sneak into his trash bag. Usually, he managed to get his hands on at least a hundred dollars worth of jewelry, tech stuff, cameras, or even cash during his shift but today his bag was flat.

It wasn’t so much the money as his pride. During his two months of employment at the airport, he’d managed to take something home with him from every shift. Flight 273 was the last flight of his day, so time was running out to keep his record intact.

“Get a move on, Leo!” his boss hollered. “That Tulsa flight is leaving in ten minutes. I’m going to write you up if that stuff misses the plane.”

Leo’s small frame tensed and a flash of anger turned his face crimson. He quickly threw the rest of the bags on his cart.

“Grab that last one there,” the boss ordered as he walked toward the break room.

Leo’s eyes quickly scanned the area. The fine leather suitcase disappeared into his trash bag. He dumped the contents of the nearby trashcan over it. Then he left his treasure to hurriedly take the other luggage to the plane.

Back at the baggage area, Leo punched the time clock and grabbed his trash bag along with two other full bags of trash. His old car was parked, as usual, near the dumpster. He heaved the two heavy bags in the dumpster, then quickly pushed his treasure bag into the trunk.

“I’m the master,” Leo told himself. “The best of the best.” He spent his time behind the wheel trying to imagine what was inside the leather bag. A pile of money was a nice thought, or perhaps it was full of jewelry: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, or pearls. It looked like his worse day might turn out to be his best day ever.

Leo made a sharp right off the highway onto the mile long dirt road that led to his house. His excitement built as he pulled the bag from the trunk.

He pushed the dirty dishes to the side of his kitchen table and ceremoniously put the bag in the middle. Using a screwdriver, he disengaged the lock then reached for the zipper pull. His eyes widened. A long piercing scream escaped from his throat. He hurried to close the lid but it was too late. The explosion sent him, his house, and the fine leather bag skyward.

Chapter Thirty-One

“Good-bye,” Lexie said to her seatmates. “Nice meeting you.”

“Same to you,” Larry replied.

“I’m just glad we didn’t crash.” The tenseness in Connie’s face subsided.

“This is getting old.” Larry’s face crunched in disgust. “A plane hasn’t crashed with you on it yet. Don’t be such a damn drama queen.”

Connie looked at Lexie. “I’ll try to be braver next time.”

Lexie nodded with a comforting smile.

Finally, the front passengers moved forward. Eventually, Lexie was sleeping soundly in her own bed.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lexie arrived at her office promptly at seven a.m. eager to discuss her findings with Tye. She sat at her old desk and looked through her phone messages. One each day was from Wilbur wanting her to meet to negotiate a deal. Apparently, jail time had softened his position. There were several calls from family members of Abbey asking when an arrest would be made.

Just as she’d hoped, Tye arrived before Delia. “Little sister, are you adventured out?” Tye gave her braid a tug.

“Sure am,” Lexie replied.

“So what did you learn?” Tye sat down on the edge of her desk.

“They didn’t find anything to help with Tina’s case. Johnson did sway from his belief that Ronald murdered Terri, but he’s keeping him locked up. No way was Heather’s death a suicide. Detective Chandler is reopening her case and will have the body exhumed.”

“Why are you so sure about Heather?”

“Because there was a cheerful message on her psychiatrist’s answering machine saying she was excited because an old friend from high school was coming to see her.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“Pull out your list,” Lexie directed. “By the way, Ronald said the man he passed in the hall was around six feet. I’m assuming that he passed the murderer. The sheriff in Kansas said they found a gray synthetic hair on Tina’s body.

“Since she said ‘high school friend’ that means we can rule out Beth, Tina, Mariah, and Heather’s husbands,” Tye reasoned.

Lexie continued, “That leaves Jamie, Beth, Mariah, Gary, Loretta, and her husband Sam, who knew Abbey’s suspicions and went to high school with Heather. I can’t imagine she’d refer to Sean as a ‘high school friend’, but we’ll leave him on the list anyway.”

“Beth is too short, so she’s off the A list,” Tye added.

“It may just be a coincidence, but I saw two gray toupees and one wig in the Toleson closet. Her husband’s hair looked natural, but I’m not positive. Rich people can afford to buy hairpieces that look real.”

“Of course, any husband may be helping his wife do the killing if he thinks it’s important enough,” Tye said.

“I know, but I need a short list to concentrate on at this point. There are too many possibilities if we look at everyone who went to high school then.”

Lexie grabbed the phone on the first ring, “Sheriff’s office.”

“This is Chandler.”

“Sarah, hello. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

Her voice was all business. “Have you seen the news today, Lexie?”

“No, I was in a hurry to get to work.”

“Well, listen to the news then phone me back,” Chandler ordered.

“What’s going on?” Tye questioned as his sister moved from her seat to the radio located on the corner shelf.

“Sarah told me to listen to the news. Didn’t say why.”

Lexie found the broadcast then sat back in her chair and waited. It didn’t take long before an official sounding voice gave the report.

“A rural area outside of Dallas was rocked by a bomb yesterday evening. A baggage man from the Dallas airport was killed in the explosion. No other deaths were reported. The baggage man was under suspicion a month ago when a fellow employee accused him of stealing from a suitcase. He was never charged due to a lack of evidence.”

The reporter went on to say he was going to play a previously taped interview with Detective Sarah Chandler.

“Do you think this was a terrorist act, Detective?”

“No.”

“What’s your theory?”

“I’m working on the assumption that Leo Dunham stole the bag hoping there was something expensive inside. I imagine it was quite a shock when he found a bomb.”

The reporter was direct. “So you suspect the bomb was meant to blow up a plane?”

“Yes,” Sarah replied confidently.

“What flight was it supposed to end up on?”

“Flight 273 to Tulsa was the last flight Dunham put baggage on. Looks like that was the intended target.”