There are two Shannons in the Miller family?” Holman asked.
We were in the waiting room of Lindsey Davis’s office. We’d arrived a little early and her assistant Anna told us she was running about ten minutes behind, so I had some time to fill Holman in on what I’d learned from Rhonda.
“Yup,” I said. “Pretty strange—brothers choosing the same name for their daughters, don’t you think?”
“Maybe it’s a family name? Or perhaps Charlie’s Shannon was born after his niece Shannon passed away…maybe the name is a tribute to her lost cousin?”
“Yeah, could be.” I had my doubts, but no point in speculating. “Either way, this changes things. Flick told me to remember the name Shannon Miller. Up till now I thought she was long gone. Now it seems there’s a Shannon Miller who is very much alive.”
“Yes.” Holman paused, then changed topics. “I take it you spoke to Jay earlier?”
“He came by this morning to tell me about Tackett offering information on Granddaddy. He didn’t know I already knew,” I said. “He also didn’t know about Flick.”
“Yes, I thought about telling him when it happened but decided against it. He wasn’t close with Hal, and I figured the last thing you needed at the funeral was the extra stress that seeing Jay brings you now that you two are no longer romantically involved.”
My instinct was to clap back at him, to deny that talking to Jay stressed me out, but then I remember how it felt standing in my kitchen this morning and I closed my mouth. He was right. There was a certain amount of stress that came from seeing Jay. Whether that was from unresolved feelings or the current situation, I suppose it didn’t matter.
“That was thoughtful,” I said. I checked my watch. It was now four minutes past our appointment time.
“Mother says hello, by the way,” Holman said. “She invited me to come to a dinner party she’s having this weekend, but I told her you’d already invited me to a The Great Gatsby–themed party.”
“Was she disappointed?”
“On the contrary, she seemed pleased. In fact, she said she had the perfect costume for me to wear. She’s having it couriered overnight to me.”
Sometimes when I talked to Holman, it seemed like he belonged to another generation. And sometimes, admittedly, another universe.
“She’s free now,” Anna said. “Let me show you in.”
Lindsey came out from behind her desk to shake each of our hands. She wore a slim-cut ivory pantsuit with a gorgeous champagne-colored silk blouse that perfectly complemented her dark complexion. Black patent oxfords added just the right amount of quirk and style to showcase her individuality. I took inventory of my own appearance. I had on a Forever 21 sweater that had the collar and hem of a shirt sewn in to it to make it look like I had a blouse under my sweater. Oh God, I thought, I’m wearing a dickey.
“Thanks for coming back, Will,” she said. “Sorry I couldn’t see you before.”
“It’s okay. I should have made an appointment.”
“Oh, normally it’s totally fine if you ever want to stop by,” Lindsey said, and then it was as if she suddenly thought that might have been too forward. She added, “Not that you would want to stop by, I mean, unless we have business to talk about. But, I mean, you could, if you wanted to…but whatever.”
Was Lindsey Davis, Ms. Hotshot Lawyer, getting flustered around Will Holman? This was priceless! Holman, for his part, looked like he didn’t know how to react. True to form, he just blinked at her. Twice.
“I know Jaidev Burman was here to see you this morning,” I jumped in, saving them from their awkward flirtation.
Lindsey motioned for us to sit down at the six-person table near the window. “Yes, Agent Burman was here. I’d spoken to him on the phone, but apparently he felt an in-person visit was necessary.” There was a cool edge to her voice. Note to self: Lindsey doesn’t take kindly to people invading her turf and telling her what to do. A woman after my own heart.
“As Tackett’s arresting officer, he’s been under pressure from his superiors at the DEA to get Tackett to give up sensitive information they believe he has about the Romero cartel. Is that about right?” I asked.
“Yes, and from what I could tell, the man is under a lot of pressure.”
I felt a flicker of pity for Jay. I knew him well enough to know this had to be hard for him. Jay was one of the most empathetic people I’d ever met. Even though we were no longer together, it had to be hard on him to be the thing standing in the way of me finding out the truth about Granddad. I looked down and tugged at a loose thread on my faux shirttail. “He’s a good agent.”
“Riley and Jay used to have a sexual relationship,” Holman said loudly.
“Holman!”
“What?”
I felt the telltale blotchiness of humiliation creep up my neck. I could have killed him! “I’m so sorry, Lindsey. That’s obviously highly inappropriate.”
The corner of her lip tugged up.
Holman, as unable to read a room as ever, continued: “What? I was just providing context. After all, it’s hardly fair to expect Lindsey to understand the sensitivity of the situation without knowing your history with Jay. Two people who have been intimate with each other are going to bring a certain amount of emotional baggage to the situation.”
“Will,” I said, through clenched teeth, “I don’t think we need to tell Lindsey my entire life story…”
“I wasn’t.” He looked from me to Lindsey and then back again. “I only told her the one detail of your past, your sexual relationship with—”
“Anyway,” I said, cutting him off and turning to Lindsey. “Yes, Jay and I have a past, but that’s not a factor in the situation that we wanted to talk to you about.”
“Of course,” she said, wiping her face of any lingering amusement.
I took a breath to reset. “We’re here because we went to talk to Tackett yesterday.”
“In prison,” Holman added, puffing up just a bit.
“He wants us to raise public awareness by publishing a story in the Times, reporting that he has information about the murder of one, possibly two, community members. He thinks this will persuade you to offer him a deal,” I said.
Lindsey responded with, “I see.” I didn’t know her well enough to know what she was thinking, but if the purse of her lips was any indication, she was thinking, Why does everyone think they can tell me how to do my job?
“Was he able to shed any light on what happened to Flick?” she asked.
“Not really,” I confessed. “But he said he might know something and he might be willing to share that with you.”
“I see,” she said again. “And I might be willing to hear him out.” It was clear she was perturbed with Tackett’s arrogance, which I totally understood, but I hoped it wouldn’t get in the way of her decision regarding whether or not to proceed.
“I—we—still think the two crimes are connected. Sheriff Clark said there’s documentation that proves Flick was seeking a meeting with Tackett the day before he died—so it isn’t just Tackett’s word. Their meeting didn’t happen, but it proves a connection.”
“The other thing you should be aware of,” Holman said, “is that Tackett says he has a recording of Albert’s killer confessing to the crime.”
Lindsey raised her eyebrows.
“And he says that person is a public figure,” I added. “I suppose he didn’t tell you any more than that?” she asked, a slight frown forming.
“No.”
“Listen, I know you’re in a tough spot,” I said, leaning forward. “But we really believe that Flick’s and my grandfather’s murders are connected, likely committed by the same person for the same reason.” I then explained about Charles Miller and the record of Flick’s appointment at Silver Meadows. “He was trying to track something down—probably the same something my granddad was.”
Lindsey looked down at her notepad for several seconds. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking or which way she was going to come down on this. I held my breath.
“Okay,” she said after a few seconds. “I think the next step is for me to talk to Sheriff Haight. If—and it’s a big if—I’m going to consider offering to recommend some sort of reduced sentence to Judge Giancarlo, I will need to be certain that Tackett has credible, fruitful information.”
“What about the feds?” I asked.
Something glinted in her eyes, a little twinkle of steel, perhaps. “You let me worry about them.”