Since Christopher had never made it past the tree in my front yard, the police stayed out of my house. Dad and Julia made coffee for them, though, and played host while I slept in my room. At about six, Dad woke me up and said Roger was out of surgery. He had lost a lot of blood, but the vet thought he would live. I almost cried.
Roger had saved my life. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. I ordered the largest rawhide bone I could find on the internet and had it overnighted to the house so he’d have a treat when he came home.
After that, I slept until about nine. By that time, the emergency had passed, so detectives from the Highway Patrol had begun focusing on laying blame. They started by interviewing me. Travis had warned me not to talk without having a lawyer present, but I had nothing to hide.
The detectives spent about two hours with me. They asked a lot of questions, but I had few answers to give them. Those officers left at about noon. After that, Dad drove me to The Barking Spider so I could pick up my car. Then, I went to the animal hospital to see my dog. He didn’t wake up, but he was doing okay. That was all that mattered. Long term, this would take a toll on his health. I didn’t know how much longer he had with me, but he was mine for as long as he drew breath.
My vet had patients to see, so I didn’t stay at the animal hospital long. Instead, I went by the grocery and picked up food. I didn’t know what Dad wanted to make for dinner, so I grabbed beans, ground beef, tomatoes, and everything else he’d need to make chili and cornbread. When I got to the house, there were two marked police vehicles in my driveway. One was from St. Augustine, but the other was from St. Louis County. I groaned and then parked on the grass so I wouldn’t block anybody in.
This didn’t promise to be fun.
Inside, I found my dad, Julia, and Travis in my living room staring at two people I didn’t know. There were empty coffee cups on the end tables, so they had been there for a while. I stopped in the front door and then looked to Travis.
“Hey, boss,” I said. “Sorry I wasn’t in. I was checking on my dog.”
Two strangers, a man and a woman, stood. The woman was in her late forties and had short brunette hair, and she wore a fashionable navy blazer over a white shirt. The man was younger than her but not by a lot. He wore a black suit and black tie as if he were going to a funeral.
The woman held out her hand.
“Lieutenant Beth Rampbell,” she said. “The gentleman with me is Detective Ezra Garza. We’re with the St. Louis County police.”
“Beth and Ezra work homicide,” said Julia. “They’re here to talk about James Holmes.”
I furrowed my brow and looked at them. “Christopher Hughes’s lawyer?”
“Yeah,” said Beth. “Someone murdered him.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re interested in my daughter,” said Dad.
Ezra looked at him. “Mr. Holmes had words with your daughter on at least one occasion. In addition, he filed a harassment complaint against her with our department after a meeting in his office in Clayton.”
“I’m sure he had words with many people,” said Dad, standing and crossing the room. He put himself between me and the detectives. “The man was a lawyer. That’s what they do. They file complaints.”
I put my hand on my dad’s arm.
“It’s okay, Dad,” I said. “They’re just doing their jobs. Why don’t you and Julia go around back?”
Dad looked at me and raised his eyebrows. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Travis is here. If they get out of hand, he’ll shoot them. Then you, Julia, and I can bury the bodies together as a family while he leads the other cops away. It’ll be a bonding experience for all of us.”
The detectives from St. Louis didn’t look amused, but Dad smiled a little. He and Julia held hands as they walked through the kitchen to the back door. I focused on the two officers.
“Okay. I did not kill Mr. Holmes, and I do not know who did. Until you showed up, I didn’t know he was dead. I had no reason to want him dead, and I did not blame him for the actions of his client.”
“Let’s back up,” said Beth. “You were involved in a shooting in St. Louis. Tell us about it.”
I looked at Travis for advice. He nodded, so I sat on the couch and repeated to them the story I had told the city detectives two nights ago. When they pressed me for details, I told them they could talk to the actual detective assigned to that case. They didn’t like that answer, but it shut them up.
“Has Mr. Holmes ever come to your house?” asked Ezra.
I shook my head. “Not that I know of.”
“That’s an interesting answer,” said Beth, sitting down and then resting her elbows on her knees. “It’s kind of weaselly.”
“In what way?” asked Travis, sitting beside me. The lieutenant looked at him.
“It’s the answer a politician would give. If we find evidence that Mr. Hughes came to the house, you haven’t committed perjury, but you have misled us. It’s weaselly. Will we find evidence that he’s been here?”
“Not with your head up your ass,” I said.
“Joe,” said Travis, touching my elbow, his voice low. I straightened and shut up. “It’s the perfect answer. She means she hasn’t asked him here or invited him here. If you find evidence that Mr. Holmes has been to this house, it would surprise us both.”
“Are you her lawyer now, Sheriff Kosen?” asked Ezra.
“I’m her commanding officer,” said Travis. “You wouldn’t have driven all the way out here to ask questions you could have asked over the phone. You came out here because you thought you’d make an arrest. What have you got?”
Ezra looked to his boss. Beth reached into her purse for a notepad.
“At five this morning, a jogger reported seeing an attractive blonde woman drag a body from the bed of an old red Dodge Ram pickup truck and dump it on the shore of Creve Coeur Lake. The truck had a license plate that began with PL2,” said Beth, looking up from her notepad at me. “You have an old Dodge Ram pickup truck with a license plate that begins with PL2.”
“I do,” I said, nodding. “And thank you for calling me attractive. I appreciate that.”
Ezra locked his eyes on mine. “You have the only old Dodge Ram pickup truck in the state with a license plate that starts with PL2.”
I looked at Travis. His smile was bemused, but he looked away before I could say anything. I looked at the two detectives.
“What’s this jogger’s name?”
“Your attorney will get that information as part of the discovery process,” said Ezra. “We found him credible.”
“Judgment isn’t your strong suit, is it?” I asked.
Ezra sat straighter. “We followed the evidence, Ms. Court. A witness saw your truck at the site of a body dump, and you have a history with the victim. How do you explain that?”
“I don’t think I have to,” I said.
“We’d prefer if you did,” said Beth.
I looked to Travis. “You want to take this?”
He blinked a few times and then cleared his throat. “Detective Court was here with me at five this morning. She wasn’t in Creve Coeur.”
“See, that’s a problem,” said Ezra, smiling. “If you’re her lover, too, your word won’t carry the weight you think it does.”
I shouldn’t have laughed, but I did anyway. Travis sighed and shook his head.
“Something amusing?” asked Beth.
“Yeah,” I said.
They waited for me to clarify, but I wasn’t in the mood to help them. Beth crossed her arms and looked from me to Travis and then back again.
“Enlighten us,” said Beth. “What were you two doing at five this morning that kept you so busy?”
“Well,” I said, thinking for a second. “I was in bed. It had been a long night. I don’t know what Travis was doing, but if he says he was here, I trust him.”
Beth narrowed her eyes. Travis spoke before she could say anything.
“Christopher Hughes came to Detective Court’s home last night. He shot the detective’s dog before discharging his weapon at her. Detective Court defended herself and killed him. There are at least a dozen witnesses from my department who can verify Detective Court’s location. If my officers don’t convince you, there were several detectives from the Highway Patrol here, too. At five this morning, the truck your credible witness described as being near Creve Coeur Lake was in the parking lot of a bar called The Barking Spider.”
Neither Beth nor Ezra said anything for a moment. Then Ezra looked to Travis.
“You could have told us about the attack on the phone, Sheriff Kosen. It would have saved us a trip.”
“You could have told me why you needed to see my detective. Instead, you tried to ambush her. You wasted everyone’s time.”
Ezra started to retort something, but Beth put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
“We’ve got three dead men connected to you,” she said. “Warren Nichols, Christopher Hughes, and now James Holmes. If you didn’t kill them, I’m guessing you have a good idea who did.”
I leaned back and shook my head. “I killed Christopher, but I don’t know the other guys. But on the plus side, there’s a good chance you’ll have more evidence soon. Something tells me your shooter isn’t done yet.”