Chapter Forty-six
Honey saw the caller’s name on her phone, and her jaw tightened with trepidation. Detective Lansdale only phoned her with updates. Did this mean he’d found out who killed Katrina?
“Hi. It’s Honey.”
“Hi Honey, Detective Lansdale here. I wonder if you might be able to come into my office this afternoon, say around one p.m.?”
“Have you found the other killer?”
“Let’s talk about that when you get here. I just wanted to let you know there’s been a development in the case.”
“I’ll be there. Thanks for letting me know.”
Honey wandered the apartment, her nerves not allowing her to sit still. Thinking she needed to talk with someone, she called Linda and waited to hear her voice. After two rings Linda answered. “Hi, Linda. It’s Honey. Have you seen any action around Nudies over Katrina’s case?”
“Yeah. I was just about to call you. They just arrested Jess Shore. I’m over at Hamilton’s to tell him the news. He’s devastated.”
“Jess!? Oh, no.” A dump truck settled on her heart, making it hard to breathe. “I have to call Melanie. Thanks, Linda.”
Melanie answered immediately, her tone cool. “Hey, what’s up? Hope you got home okay last night. I was shocked when they said you’d left without me.”
“I actually didn’t. Leave you. Well, not on purpose.” Honey heard herself babbling and took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll explain later. Did Jess call you?”
“No. Should he? I mean, he just left for work an hour ago.”
Honey’s mind whirled, soaring from one thought to another before realizing that by her silence, she’d upset her friend.
“What’s up, Honey? And don’t lie. Is something wrong with Jess?” Honey heard a notification sound coming from Mel’s phone. “I’ll call you back. I just got a message that Jess wants me to call him right away.”
Honey closed the call and circled the room waiting for Mel to phone her back. In a few moments, her phone rang, and tears were obvious in her friend’s shocked voice. “Jess has been arrested.”
“Do you know why?”
“All he would say is that it’s in connection with your sister’s murder.”
“Oh, Christ, Mel. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s a mistake, right? I know he couldn’t have killed anyone. He’s a gentle person, Honey. I can’t believe he’d ever do anything to hurt a soul.”
“There’s got to be an explanation. I’ll ask Luke if he can find anything out.”
“Luke? What can he do?”
“Oh, right. You didn’t know. He’s an FBI agent. He’s been working undercover for months. It came out last night. Look, there’s a lot more you don’t know. Can you pick me up here at the apartment, you remember the one Luke’s friend offered me?”
“I thought you were done with that.”
“It’s a long story, Mel. Turns out it’s actually Luke’s real home. I’ll fill you in later. Come as soon as you can.”
“On my way.”
By the time Honey had her shower and got the coffee ready, Mel rang the intercom and Honey buzzed her in. At the door, Honey pulled her friend in for a hug and the stiffness she felt disappeared when Mel’s resolve broke. “I barely made it here. I’ve been crying so hard, I thought I’d be pulling a Honey a few times.”
Teasing about her penchant for fender benders was a good sign. Honey didn’t let Mel’s words bother her. Instead, she smiled and led her friend inside. “Come in and sit. I have coffee ready, and there’s still muffins I left behind from when I stayed here before. I warmed them up.” She pointed to a seat. “We need to talk.”
Mel let herself be led to the counter. She sat on a stool, then began wiping her eyes and blowing her nose with the ragged tissue.
Honey placed a Kleenex box she’d been using herself beside Mel and poured the coffee. Taking the muffins from the microwave, she put butter and honey down, then slapped a knife and two plates in front of them before sitting next to Mel.
Taking her friend’s clenched hand, she started. “First, I’ll tell you about last night.” In as few words as possible, she described her fear and shock at the events that had transpired, ending with her utter amazement at finding the man’s life she’d saved had been Luke’s.
“Holy shit, girl. How did you survive? I mean… knowing you were with killers. Then having to trust that Sage character. Lordy, I’d have died.”
“No. You wouldn’t have. In fact, you’d have handled it probably better than I did. But in the end, Sage brought me here and then left. I got a text from him this morning saying he’s on a bus which will be crossing the border in the next few hours. He’s a hero. I pray he gets home safely.”
“Me too. Now no more beating around the bush. Tell me about Jess. What’s it all about?” She took a small bite from the muffin but threw it back on the dish.
“You know as much as I do. I filled you in on the last thing Detective Lansdale told me. The killer in prison had confessed but wouldn’t give the name of his accomplice.” Honey’s mind whirled. “But the advances in science have been incredible over the last twenty years.”
“Yeah, now that they can do in-depth DNA testing, they’ve probably uncovered new evidence. Which led them to Jess.” Mel’s eyes watered again.
Honey pulled her close. “Look, let’s not get upset until we know the facts. And the fact is that I have a meeting with Detective Lansdale in an hour. Will you drive me to police headquarters?”
“Yes. Of course, and I’ll try to get more news about Jess while I’m there.”
“Good idea. Do you have any makeup in that suitcase?” She pointed at Mel’s large handbag.
“Sure.” Mel pulled out a bulging case and handed it over.
“Good. Eat up, and I’ll go get ready.” Honey took a huge bite out of her muffin and grabbed her coffee to take with her. By the time she’d returned, Luke had reappeared and was in a deep discussion with Mel.
As soon as he saw her, he strode over to scoop her close, his arms holding her safe. “Mel told me you have an appointment. I’ll go with you to see Detective Lansdale. We’ll find out what’s going on. Just give me a minute to make a couple phone calls.” He headed into the other room, and Honey could hear his no-nonsense voice giving orders.
As soon as he returned, he eyed the plate of muffins. “I’m starving.” He poured a small bit of coffee into a mug, then took a bite out of one of the healthy sweets before drinking. “It’s been so hectic; I never got a chance to stop.”
Honey had the sense that he might be playing for time and reminded him, “The appointment with Detective Lansdale is for one o’clock in his office. I don’t want to be late.”
Luke checked his watch, ate the last of the muffin, and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
When they arrived, Mel went to the desk to make inquiries, but Luke stuck close to Honey. Following her, he answered her unspoken question. “It’s okay. I know Lansdale. We spoke earlier.”
“Was that the call you made?”
“One of them.”
When they were shown into the office, Hamilton Jones sat with the detective. Both stood up as Honey and Luke were invited to sit. The detective made a special point of reaching to shake Honey’s hand and then did the same with Luke.
“Okay, let’s get to it. There’s been new information coming to light over your sister’s case, Miss Bolder. I knew you’d want to be advised. We believe we found the other man involved with Katrina’s death that night. We’ve brought Jess Shore in for questioning after finding his DNA at the scene. He’s refusing to talk but Mr. Jones has enlightened us as to why and pretty-much solved the case.”
Honey looked at Hamilton and saw the deep sadness in his globby eyes. Without thinking, she reached out her hand in sympathy, and he took it in both of his.
Lansdale ignored them and continued to speak.
“As it turns out, Jess had an identical twin brother Julian. Back then, Julian was a wild one, an addict always in trouble. He ran with the likes of Harv, and others in the same bunch. We tracked down his last-known whereabouts to find out he’d died of an overdose in Houston ten years ago.”
“Does that mean Jess is free?”
“Yes. Mr. Jones is willing to testify that Julian came to him, confessing his involvement in your sister’s case. In those days, Hamilton ran a group session for addicts, people who were ready to turn their lives around. Jess and Luke here were a couple of his members.”
Hamilton spoke then. “I tole the detective that though Julian had been there, he hadn’t done any killing… on the contrary, he’d tried to stop it and was injured… knocked unconscious. When he woke, he ran to me. And I tole him to give hisself up. But he didn’t think they’d believe him because of his reputation. Instead, he ran away.”
“And the evidence supports his story. We’ve always known there were two criminals but only one killer.” Lansdale smiled at Hamilton. “Thank you for coming forward, Mr. Jones. It’s a huge relief when we can close a cold case.” The detective turned to Honey. “I hope this brings you the peace you’ve been searching for.”
She smiled. “It does. It really does. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll let my mom know about Katrina. She’ll be glad to think someone at least tried to stop the monster even if they didn’t succeed.”
While she had her conversation with the detective, she saw Luke help Hamilton to his feet, shake his hand, and show his gratitude. When they stared into each other’s eyes, something passed between them, something that made her feel as if there was more to the story than Hamilton had shared. Knowing she’d be pushing Luke for answers as soon as possible, she said nothing at the moment.
When they arrived back at the counter where they’d left Melanie, they saw Jess standing next to her, his face alight with relief. When he saw Hamilton, gratitude shone on his features and again that made Honey aware that there was something no one was saying.
But the lighthearted moment couldn’t be ruined with doubts and so she put them aside. Deciding they should celebrate; they made their way to a busy pub within walking distance and nabbed a table.
Ordering drinks and food, they broke into conversation, Luke sharing his news about the upcoming invitation to appear at the Opry stage. Jess, with a twinkle in his eyes, teased Luke. “How’re you gonna be able to juggle being an FBI agent and work at Nudies at the same time?”
“I’m not. You’re gonna take my place.”
“Excuse me?” Jess’s eyes rounded with shock.
“Man, it’s time. Enough hanging back and being a martyr. You can sing better than I ever could, and you play a mean guitar. We both had the best teacher, right? Why you stopped your music career is your business but it’s time to take your place where you’ve always belonged.”
Hamilton reached for Jess’s hand and when they were joined he spoke his command. “You gotta do it, Jess. It’s time, son.”
Son!?