Her Best Defense. Jackie/Lori Merritt/Myles

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СКАЧАТЬ get the receipts for that trip from him. Glory, do you have even the tiniest recollection of saying good night to Mateo?”

      “No.”

      “Did he always come and go through the front door?”

      “What?”

      “From the angle of the bullet into his back, the shot had to have been fired from the front door, or very close to it.” Lisa was reaching with that comment, as the only thing she knew for certain was that Mateo had been shot in the back. But from the chalk marks outside and their distance from the house, it appeared that he’d been shot while leaving the house through the front door. She felt that she’d gained a little ground when Glory didn’t totally discount the theory, although there was some denial in her reply.

      “Someone could have been hiding in the shrubbery at the front of the house, waiting for him to leave.”

      Lisa pressed her slender advantage. “True, but maybe the killer was waiting for Chandler to walk through that door. Did you ever consider that possibility?”

      Glory’s face paled. “Chandler wasn’t home.”

      “Yes, but did the killer know that?”

      “Why are you trying so hard to confuse me?” Glory got up, went behind the bar and found a small pill bottle. She took a tablet from the bottle, put it in her mouth and swallowed it without water.

      Lisa watched the whole thing in amazement. “What did you just take?”

      “Something for my nerves. You’ve got me all worked up.”

      “Glory, didn’t the police ask you these same questions?”

      “I don’t know.”

      “Glory, were you ever aware of any sort of relationship between one of your housemaids and Mateo?”

      “No, but since I’m not in the habit of following the help around to keep tabs on their activities, I suppose there could have been something going on.”

      “Hmm,” Lisa murmured. Romance gone sour was the motive for countless homicides. She quickly wrote down notes on that theory for later consideration.

      Lisa put her notebook and pen back into her briefcase. “I have one more question, then I’ll go and let you get on with your tennis party. Did you ever notice anything of value to be missing after one of Mateo’s visits?”

      “Something of value such as the plasma TV in the screening room?”

      Her sarcasm was almost more than Lisa could take, but she replied evenly, “No, something of value such as one of those gold ashtrays, or perhaps a piece of jewelry.”

      “I hardly maintain a running inventory of small items scattered throughout the house, Lisa, nor do I leave my jewelry lying about. Why do you ask?”

      “Just a theory I was working on. Oh, one more thing. Do you and Chandler carry electronic gate openers in your vehicles? Perhaps Maria, as well?”

      “Everyone who comes and goes from this place has one.”

      “Did Mateo?”

      “I don’t keep a list, Lisa. He might’ve, but I really don’t know for sure.”

      Lisa was suddenly weary of this song and dance. Maybe Chandler and Maria would be more cooperative, she thought as she put her things back into her briefcase. “I’ll call a taxi on my cell from outdoors,” she said. “I want a better look around the grounds.”

      “Have fun playing detective,” Glory said sweetly. “As for me, I’m off to the tennis club.”

      In spite of all the high-minded promises Lisa had heaped upon her own head during the trip out there, she couldn’t stop herself from whispering, “How on earth am I going to defend this fruitcake?”

      The day got away from Lisa. After the fiasco with Glory, Lisa took care of some errands that had been stacking up all week, finishing up around five with grocery shopping. Finally at home again, she unloaded her goods into the refrigerator and cupboards, then went upstairs to her desk and checked her voice mail for messages. There were none of any importance. Next, she dialed into her telephone at the firm and listened to half a dozen messages, mostly business-related. They could wait until Monday.

      One was from Grant Gowan.

      “Lisa, you’re a hard woman to catch up to. I know you’re busy with the Witherington case, but I sure would like to see you again. You do take time to eat once in a while, don’t you? Give me a call and we’ll have a nice relaxing dinner somewhere quiet. Please call. You have my number.”

      Lisa sat staring out the window over her desk and thought about Grant. She should call him. She didn’t have to go out with him, but he deserved the courtesy of a phone call.

      She picked up the phone again, but instead of dialing Grant’s number she dialed Pamela’s. “Pam, it’s me.”

      “Glad you called, since we missed each other at the office this morning. But you don’t sound exactly perky. What’s going on?”

      “I can’t deny that I’m pretty far down in the dumps, but there’s no major catastrophe causing it…unless you want to call Glory Witherington a catastrophe.” Lisa and Pamela often talked to each other about their respective cases. Neither talked out of turn to anyone else about what had been said in their gab sessions, so Lisa felt completely confident that anything she told her friend about the Witheringtons would go no farther.

      “What’s she doing?”

      “Acting as though being arrested for murder is barely worthy of notice. I’ve dealt with all sorts of clients, but not one of them before this acted as though the whole thing was just going to vanish on its own. I can’t get a straight answer out of her to save my soul.”

      “Maybe you should get Ludlow’s permission to turn the case over to someone else.”

      “And admit defeat so soon? You know I can’t do that. Neither could you.”

      “True, but if you’re beating your head against a stone wall…”

      “I saw her take a pill—she made no attempt to hide it—and when I asked her what it was, she said it was something a doctor prescribed for her nerves. I can’t get the name of any drug she takes out of her. I’m beginning to think she’s a prescription pill addict, although she does have moments of lucidity. But she says she popped sleeping pills the night Mateo was shot and apparently takes other drugs during the day.”

      “Well, the police searched her house, didn’t they? They would have a list of her medications and drugs?”

      Lisa fell silent a moment, then said slowly, “Yes, of course. I should have thought of that myself.”

      “Lisa, didn’t they move awfully fast on this case? I mean, Glory was arrested within days of Mateo’s murder.”

      “The prosecution is positive she did it, even though the premise behind their certainty has more holes in it than an old sweater. СКАЧАТЬ