22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Elise
“ W hat do you mean you’re closing the investigation?” Grandma spoke into the receiver of the cordless phone.
I closed the textbook I’d been studying and moved closer to her recliner to better hear the other end of the conversation.
“Well then, you have a crackpot forensics team,” Grandma growled after another minute.
I motioned to her to pass me the receiver, but she shook her head. “What about the blackmail, and the note my granddaughter found with his things from the school.”
Edging closer, I heard, “Ma’am, there’s no reason to get agitated. I know when a loved one dies, we naturally want to find someone to blame.” It was that jerk of a detective.
“This isn’t about blame. This is about catching a killer.” She was nearly shouting now. “My granddaughter told you about those rocks that were piled on top of David’s body when they found him. How do you explain that?”
“Rockslides happen all the time in that area, ma’am. Your son probably tripped, fell over the side of the trail and brought a bunch of rocks tumbling down with him.”
Grandma’s mouth hung open, her red lips moving silently up and down. I wrapped my hands around the phone, and she let me pull it from her grasp.
“Detective, this is Elise Sudbury.”
“Hello Miss Sudbury.” The tone of his voice was hard. Apparently, he was hoping to finish this conversation with Grandma without having to explain anything to me.
“If I told you that I found something that was definitely worthy of blackmail in my dad’s past, would that convince you to keep the investigation open?”
There was a long sigh on the other side of the line. “Miss Sudbury, despite the wild goose chase we’ve been on, there is nothing to indicate your father’s death was anything other than an accident.”
“What about the cash withdrawals at the beginning of every month?”
“That could have been for anything. We need something more concrete to justify continuing to spend taxpayers’ dollars on this case. I’m sorry for your loss. Have a good…”
“Wait,” I interrupted before he could hang up the phone. “They were doping. My dad’s whole college team was doping. That has to be what the blackmail was about.”
“Miss Sudbury, if you’re that convinced, you’re welcome to find yourself a lawyer and pursue this through the civil courts. The Rancho Invitado Police Department is done with this case. Good luck and have a good day.”
Find a lawyer; how much would that cost?
“Wha…” My question was interrupted by the sound of a dial tone on the other end.
He’d hung up, the jerk.