The Major's Wife. Anthony Whyte

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ of ups and downs, and I wouldn’t kill him. He was the perfect man for me,” she said, staring at the detective.

      “You remember how many men were there at the bar that night with this guy?”

      “Yes, there were about three or four in their group, I think. I can’t remember exactly, but I’ll say about three or four of them.”

      “Three men plus the guy that assaulted you, or was it four friends plus the jerk who grabbed your ass?”

      “It was four friends plus the jerk who grabbed my ass.”

      “But that would make it five guys, right, Diana?” McAlister said.

      “Yes, four or five, I can’t remember exactly.”

      “Do you remember the name of the bar?”

      “Yes, it’s an oyster… Ah Blue Oyster’s,” she said.

      “What about the names of any of the guys from the bar?”

      “No, I don’t know any of their names.”

      “But you’ll be able to identify them from a line-up?”

      “It was about four weeks or so ago. But yes, I think I would be able to identify them.”

      Unknown to Diana, there were other investigators still huddling to watch the television monitor. The questioning continued for another hour, during which time, the police found nothing new. Sharkey again left the room and went outside to smoke a cigarette. He was pondering about the interview while smoking when McAlister walked out and joined him.

      “What’s the matter? She gave us something new?” Sharkey asked.

      “No, I gave her a break. She’s been though enough. I left her speaking with the service reps, ” McAlister said. Then he quickly added. “I have a hunch that if we find those men he fought with at the bar, we might possibly be able to find a killer?”

      “King was well-loved amongst his military buddies. So you could be right about the incident at the bar. Maybe it was someone from outside his circle that we should be looking for,” Sharkey said, glancing at his partner.

      It was afternoon when the military representatives and the police met to discuss the progress of the investigation. Diana was left in the interview room while the discussion took place in the detectives’ office.

      “What do you think so far?” Sharkey asked.

      “I think we should follow up with the incident at the bar. Maybe get witnesses fish around somebody may know who these clowns are,” Captain Blackbird said.

      “And you, partner?”

      “Yes, I feel there’s something there. Diana is a beautiful woman, and guys at bars sometimes don’t care if a woman is married or even with her husband. Too much alcohol and they’re grabbing ass. Now you have a deadly mix that could lead to someone’s feeling getting hurt.”

      “It’s a start. I guess we can wrap this up now then,” Sharkey said.

      There was a knock on the door, a uniformed officer peeked in and said, “Her father’s here, ranting, raving, and wants her released now. He brought his attorney with him.”

      “Okay, we’re not holding her so she can go whenever she’s ready,” Sharkey said.

      The detectives walked to the interview room where Diana was waiting. She watched both detectives as they continued speaking under hushed tones. Then Sharkey said, “Thank you for your corporation, Dr. King. And again, my condolences… We’ll get the perpetrator and bring you some justice. You’re free to go, Diana,” Sharkey smiled. “If we have any further questions, we’ll be in touch.”

      McAlister opened the door and saw the older man not too far away. The angered older man was arguing vehemently with a military officer.

      “I can’t believe you, cocksuckers!” He said, approaching the detectives.

      “Is that your father?” Sharkey asked Diana.

      “Yes, that’s him,” she said, watching the old man coming toward them.

      “You’d think the police would have the decency and be out there searching for a real, dang murderer. Instead, they got my daughter locked away talking about some goddamn interrogation!”

      “Papa, Papa, it’s alright. They were just doing their jobs,” Diana said, hugging the man. “Someone shot and killed Vaughn, and I don’t—”

      “Yeah, I heard it’s all over the news. But Diana, Diana dear, are you alright?” the old man asked with concern.

      Diana smiled and said, “I’m holding up…”

      “We’ll stand by you. After all, you’re still our daughter despite whatever happened, including mixing with their kind,” the old man said, looking at the investigators.

      The attorney tried to preserve the father’s objectivity. With a smile of embarrassment, he said, “Aw, you understand he’s just concerned about his daughter.”

      “I don’t think he’s ever liked the marriage. And he probably never liked Diana’s choice of a husband either,” Sharkey deadpanned. “Truly, your everyday-trailer-park-redneck.”

      “The only thing is he has a lot of money, lives in a big home, and loves his daughter,” the attorney said, throwing both hands up.

      “I don’t care where he lives—he’s still a damn redneck,” Sharkey snarled.

      The officers watched as Diana returned her father’s embrace before he angrily stomped away. The older man led his grieving daughter out the door with his attorney following, leaving the officers staring after them. The older man didn’t realize that his demeanor toward his daughter was married to a Black man who made him rocket up a suspect’s shortlist. Diana King was a person-of-interest based on the fact that she was the last person to see her husband alive. There was no reason for them to keep her any longer, and she was released.

      “Sorry about your loss,” McAlister said, holding the door.

      “Shut your flytrap,” the old man said, walking out with his daughter.

      The officers waved goodbye to their only witness. Then Sharkey echoed what all investigators were thinking.

      “Does anyone of you think that his hatred for his son-in-law could be enough for him to commit murder?” Sharkey asked when they were out of earshot.

      “He has a lot of venom in him. It’s certainly worth a follow-up,” Captain Blackbird said.

      “I reserved the right to answer that one in a couple of days. I gotta think about it,” McAlister said.

      “Jim Bob, stop being the doorman, and let’s go do some detective work,” Sharkey said.

      “Like what?”

      “How about we rattle some cages and hear what tunes the birds are singing,” СКАЧАТЬ