Witness... And Wife?. Kate Stevenson
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Название: Witness... And Wife?
Автор: Kate Stevenson
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Зарубежные детективы
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“You don’t need to worry, Uncle Harry. Luke’s looking after me.”
“Not too arduous an undertaking, I trust.”
Figuring the comment was rhetorical, Luke met the judge’s unctuous smile with impassive silence.
Cassie tightened her lips in obvious irritation, but evidently decided her best course of action was to ignore the silent innuendo. “Luke’s a little overcautious. Judge Wainright’s death had nothing to do with me, and as far as I can tell I wasn’t even a witness. But—” she shot Luke a sly glance, “—you know how cops are.”
“As far as you can tell?” Kimball’s brows knit in confusion.
“I don’t remember anything that happened. Blank. Zippo.”
“No?” Kimball gazed thoughtfully at Cassie and rubbed the side of his neck. “Even so, it’s usually better to err on the side of caution.”
Cassie stiffened. “Not you too, Uncle Harry.”
“I just wonder if it might not be best for you to— What’s the term?” He glanced toward Luke for help, then supplied the answer himself. “‘Lay low.’ Until the police have cleared up this matter.”
The murderous look Cassie threw Luke told him she suspected him of collusion, but he was too surprised at the judge’s unexpected support to do more than shrug.
“I have work to do,” Cassie insisted.
“I’m not suggesting you abdicate your responsibilities, merely that you table them until the police have done their job. Until it’s safe for you to be out and about.”
“And how long will that be? A week, months? What if they never solve the case?” Cassie was indignant. “No. I have a deadline, and I’m going to meet it whether you help me or not.”
Luke’s heart warmed to see someone besides himself provoking Cassie to rebellion. For a split second he nearly felt sorry for Harry Kimball.
“Now don’t get yourself worked up. I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.” It was apparent from his placating tone that Kimball had dealt with Cassie’s stubbornness in the past. “I just haven’t had a lot of dealings with drug cases. It’s why I referred you to Thomas in the first place.” He paused, then added hopefully, “Surely by now you’ve collected enough material…”
“I thought so until Friday, when Judge Wainright called,” she admitted. “But now my instincts tell me he had something more—something important. I have to find out what.”
“Knowing Thomas, he was probably making sure he wouldn’t be misquoted.” When his attempt at levity fell flat, the smile faded from Kimball’s face. Frowning, he stared at Cassie for several moments before picking up a pen from the desk blotter. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal.”
Cassie waited, her expression wary, as Kimball rolled the pen between his palms.
“Go through the papers.” He nodded toward the file in her lap. “I’ll see what I can find out. We’ll give it—say, three days. Then, if nothing new shows up, you write the articles with what you already have. Deal?” His hands halted their restless movement while he waited for Cassie to respond.
Luke didn’t have time to wait. Each second that ticked away was one less question he could ask, one less answer to analyze. In a few minutes Kimball was due back in court, and Luke still hadn’t gotten in word one. It was time to take matters into his own hands. “Sounds like a good idea to me, Cassie,” he said with only a hint of impatience. “Why don’t you think about it while Judge Kimball and I talk?”
Then, before she could voice an objection, he began his questions.
Leaving the chilled building half an hour later felt like stepping into a sauna. Hot, dry and sweat-popping. By the time they’d crossed to the parking lot, Luke was longing for nothing more than a cold shower and a frosty mug of beer.
Cassie hadn’t spoken a word since they’d left Kimball’s office, not even after Luke called the station again. He’d expected her to be as frustrated as he over the delay in tracing yesterday’s call, but she’d brushed aside his explanations with an irritated wave of her hand.
He glanced sideways. Bright spots of color stained her cheekbones. She was angry all right, but not over having to wait for a subpoena of the cellular company’s records.
“I’ll drive,” he offered when they reached her car.
Grabbing a folded paper from beneath her windshield, she unlocked the passenger door, then silently handed over the key.
“What is it?” Luke indicated the paper in her hand.
“Advertising,” she answered curtly and ducked into the car.
Whistling tunelessly, he circled to unlock the driver’s side. If he’d had as much sense as God gave mud, he realized, he’d have kept his mouth closed when they left Kimball’s office. Only, the judge’s condescending responses to Luke’s questions had left him feeling like a cat whose fur had been rubbed against the grain.
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