Hour Game

"No. He had that reputation. Some people thought he was over it, but old dogs rarely change their spots."

"Which might be an awfully good motive for killing her husband," said Michelle.

"Possibly," said Bailey.

"How about Remmy?" asked King

"What, that she slept around?" King nodded. "No, never," said Bailey emphatically.

"Mason seems to really think a lot of Remmy," King said.

"I have no doubt he does, but he's not in her league and never will be, if that's what you're implying."

King stared at Bailey for a few seconds, then decided to change the subject. He looked over at Williams. "Has Sylvia finished the post on Junior?"

"Yep," answered Williams, who'd recovered enough from his misery to devour a chocolate doughnut and two cups of coffee. "He died from ligature strangulation, although he'd been beaten over the head with a shovel and a piece of wood prior to that. Damn lot of blood."

"We know," said King dryly.

"Right," said the chief. "Anyway, Sylvia thinks she might have some trace on the guy this time. And the tech team pulled up some fibers that didn't match anything Junior had on. And we also got a partial tire track nearby. Might be the car he got away in."

"Better check those fibers against my clothes," said King. "I… I had some contact with Junior when the shooting started."

"Speaking of shooting, you got the bullets from the tires?" asked Michelle.

"They were forty-four calibers," said Williams. "Nothing special. Hope we get a gun to match it against at some point."

"The guy had a laser aimer, that's pretty specialized," said King.

"Junior's belt buckle was also missing," noted Williams.

"Another trophy," said Michelle.

"Looks like Junior fought hard," said Bailey. "Lots of defensive wounds on his hands and forearm. And a wall of studs was taken out, probably during the struggle."

"The guy's clearly started to make some mistakes," said Williams. "You two happening along when you did really put a wrench into the works for him."

"I don't think we accomplished all that much," said Michelle, "except let him get away."

King studied the copy of the letter again. "This is the first time he's referred to a victim by name," he said.

"I noted that," said Bailey.

"Now, why would a killer do that?" wondered Williams.

"He's playing with us. He wants to jerk us around."

"For what purpose?" asked Michelle.

"Because this is all part of something a lot bigger that we're not seeing right now," replied King.

"And what might that be?" asked Bailey in a skeptical tone.

"When I figure it out, you'll be the second to know," said King, glancing significantly at Williams. "How did Lulu take it, Todd?" asked King in a softer tone.

Williams leaned back and shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't cry at all, but then, the kids were around. That mother of hers, though, damn lady went hysterical, screaming about how much she loved Junior, what in the world were they going to do without him. Lulu finally had to take her out of the room. Piece of work she is."

King and Michelle looked at each other and just shook their heads.

"Now we come to an interesting point," said Williams. "You told us that Remmy threatened Junior. That she wanted some things back and she didn't want Junior showing them to anyone."

King nodded. "At least that's what Lulu told us that Junior said. But it wasn't Remmy Battle who beat Junior up before strangling him to death."

"But Lulu said Remmy told Junior that she knew people."

King shook his head. "I'm not sure why Remmy would want to kill him, at least not now. According to Lulu, she was going to give Junior some time to think it over. If he's dead, he can't very well tell her where the stuff is-not that he could anyway, since I don't believe he took it in the first place."

"But if he's dead," said Bailey, "then he can't show the stuff, whatever it is, to someone else."

King remained unconvinced. "But Remmy couldn't be sure of that. He might have made arrangements in case something happened to him."

"You've got a point there," said Williams. "But it's still something we'll have to check into. Not that I'm looking forward to going down that road with Remmy."

"Well," said King, "we've got people to see and places to go."

"Where and who?" asked Bailey sharply.

"Steve Canney's father and Janice Pembroke's parents."

"We already talked to them. And to everyone connected to Diane Hinson too."

"But you don't mind another set of eyes," said Michelle.

"Go ahead," said Williams. "You have full authority."

"Just report back to me if you find anything interesting," said Bailey.

"I'll count the minutes," muttered King.

CHAPTER 44

KING AND MICHELLE DROVE TO their office to do some work before heading out to see Pembroke's and Canney's parents. The silver Volvo station wagon and BMW Eight Series were parked in front of their office.

"Eddie and Dorothea," said Michelle as she got out of the Whale. As if on cue the doors opened on each of the vehicles and the pair got out.

"Driving separate cars," commented Michelle in a low voice.