6

This is the second time in two days that you’ve questioned me,” Harvey Tillach, beefy-faced but not unattractive, grumbled.

“I appreciate your continued cooperation, especially over the weekend,” Rick simply replied.

“Didn’t know you worked Saturdays.”

“Sometimes.” The genial sheriff nodded, then leaned forward slightly. “The acoustics are incredible. Can’t hear the guns. Can’t hear the downpour outside, either.”

“Still coming down in buckets?” Harvey’s light eyebrows raised.

“A day for accidents.” Rick sighed, hoping none of them would be fatal.

As Harvey snorted agreement, the manager of this exclusive gun club ducked his head in the office. “You two need anything—a drink, hot or cold?”

“I’m fine, thanks, Nicky.” Harvey smiled.

“Me, too.”

“All right, then. Holler if you need me.” He shut the door.

Central Virginia Gun Club was snugged right up to the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Boasting clays, skeet, a fabulous indoor range, and organized pheasant hunts, as well, the waiting list was years long. The owner pushed women’s names up the list, since if the Second Amendment was to be saved it would only be with the help of women. A few of the men moaned, but most of them realized how imperiled their constitutional rights had become.

Two former Olympians were on the staff, one wildlife conservationist, and a variety of groundsmen and gamekeepers. Classes were quite popular; the place hummed.

“You’ve been a member of CVG a long time?” Rick asked.

“Twenty-three years. Last year we all traveled out to Reno for a clay competition and, you know, the air is different. Had to swing that gun up a little faster,” he recalled. “Do you mind getting to the point?”

“Sure. You ever shoot handguns?”

“Rarely. I’m a clays guy. Don’t think I’ll be out today, but I can still work on my hand–eye down at the range.”

“How long have you competed?”

“Since med school. I was at New York University. Not much outdoor sports. I stumbled on an indoor firing range, so you can say I started out with a handgun. Got completely hooked. Also started playing squash then. It’s easier playing squash in Manhattan than tennis. Better workout, too.”

“That’s what I hear. And you met Will Wylde when you moved here?”

“We both started at Martha Jefferson at the same time.” He named one of the area’s hospitals.

“Did he enjoy shooting?”

“No, although he did admire my Purdy.” Purdy was an exquisite brand of shotgun. “I’ll bequeath it to my daughter. Thirteen and she’s club champion for clays. Men or women. No wasted motion.” He meant her technique.

“It’s something you can do together.”

Harvey laughed. “Well, she beats the pants off her old man, but we have a lot of fun together. She’ll even go duck hunting with me. I’m very, very blessed.”

“You and your first wife had no children?”

“No.” His voice shifted, became more clipped.

“Ever see her?”

“No. She moved to Savannah.”

“Remarried?”

“One of the richest men in Georgia. That woman can smell a bank account a mile off.”

“Remind me: you own shotguns but no rifle?”

“I own a few rifles. Jody and I are going to Idaho this winter, going to pack in the mountains and hunt elk. A first for both of us, so, yes, I own rifles.”

“Can you repair your own equipment?”

This surprised Harvey. “I could. I used to have my own repair workshop, but as my practice increased I just didn’t have the time.”

“What’d you do with all your tools?”

“Sold them to Mike McElvoy. He’s good, too.”

“I didn’t know Mike was an enthusiast, if that’s the right term.”

“He’s not. He likes the money and the quiet, I suppose. At least, that’s what I liked, but I’m glad I sold my equipment. I wanted to spend more time with Babs and Jody.”

Babs was his second wife.

“Could you get a silencer if you wanted one?”

A pause followed this question. “I believe I could.”

“Illegal.”

“So’s dope, and you can buy that on the streets, at the barber’s, in restaurants. Supply and demand.”

“Don’t I know it.” Rick slouched back for a moment in the chair. “Will Wylde was killed by a rifle with a silencer.”

“Makes sense. Don’t expect me to utter the formulaic phrases concerning his death. I’m not that big a hypocrite.”

“Yes.” Rick had gotten a blast from Harvey during their first questioning session, the evening of the murder. “Remind me again of the circumstances of your rupture.”

“I already told you.” Irritation flashed across Harvey’s face.

“Tell me again,” Rick coolly commanded.

“Like I said”—Harvey’s tone registered his continued irritation—“we started out at Martha Jefferson together. A whole group of us just beginning our careers were there, and we had a pretty lively social group. Of course, we worked like dogs, too, but when we weren’t working we partied hard. Will and I were close then; so were our wives. It helped that we weren’t in competition. He was OB/GYN and I was in oncology. Back then most of us hadn’t started our families, so we had more time to stay up late.”

“Anyone other than you interested in guns?”

“Not that I know of. Golf was the big sport. You don’t need to be entirely sober to play golf, but you’d better damned well be sober if you have a firearm in your hands.”

“Where do you think it all went wrong?”

“Will was attracted to Linda,” he named his first wife, “and she returned the compliment. If you’ve ever seen photographs of Linda, you know she is a knockout. Always will be. Her vanity will ensure that. I was accustomed to men wanting her. I just wasn’t accustomed to her wanting them back.” He paused a moment and then gallantly referred to his current wife. “Mind you, Babs is no slouch.” He folded his hands together. “You want to know the secret of happiness? Marry the right woman.”

“I did.” Rick smiled.

The two men relaxed for a moment.

“Lucky us.” Harvey smiled back.

“How did you find out about them?”

“She told me.”

Rick hadn’t expected that. “She did?”

Harvey threw up his hands. “Oh, I’d caught her in some lame excuses about staying out late. She fessed up. I’ll give her points for honesty.”

“Did you confront Will?”

“Damned straight I did. He lied through his teeth. Affected shock, then hurt, then anger. Quite the performance.”

“How long did your marriage last after that?”

“About two minutes.”

“Given the size of the medical community in this county, the various fund-raisers for disease cures, you must have run into Will and Benita a lot.”

“I did. I was polite. I am a Virginian, after all.”

“A special breed,” Rick sardonically added, since he, too, was one.

“No point in making everyone around you uncomfortable. Babs likes Benita. Well, who doesn’t? Obviously, they weren’t close.”

“How’d you meet Babs?”

“Blind date, would you believe it? At the end of the date—she lived in D.C. then, and I’d drive up to go to the Kennedy Center with her—well, anyway, she looked at me and said, ‘You’re not the first man to be betrayed by his wife and best friend. If you stay bitter, they win.’ I drove all the way back to Charlottesville furious. I mean bullshit mad. I got up the next morning and I was going to call her and tell her just what I thought about that statement. When I heard her voice on the line, I knew she was right. I asked her out. Any woman sensitive to me that way, telling me the truth, I wanted to know her.”

“And Will?”

“He knew better than to cast one sidelong glance at her. I swear I would have killed him, and I know I’m under suspicion now.”

“Harvey, did it ever occur to you that Linda lied to you?”

“Why?” His eyes grew larger, since it never had once crossed his mind.

“Some women like to hurt men, like power over us. Maybe she was one of them. She wanted to hurt you.”

As this sunk in, Harvey breathed deeply, then said, “She richly succeeded, but I’m grateful. I found the right woman, and she gave me a daughter who is truly the joy of my life.”

“You never could forgive Will, assuming Linda told you the truth?”

“No. Betrayal is betrayal. Maybe someone else could forgive, but I couldn’t.” He folded his hands together. “In time the wound healed. Scar faded. It’s still there, but I don’t much notice it.”

“You had motive and the skill to kill him.”

“Why do you say that?”

“One clean shot straight through the heart.”

“An easy death.” Harvey struggled with conflicting emotions. “So be it.”

“Did you kill Will?”

“No. Wouldn’t it have made sense for me to kill him a long time ago?”

“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”