Page 95 of Left Behind

“Well, there was. She was Eggers’s sister, and she got away. Or at least she tried. Someone trailed her all the way through two counties, then into the woods during a storm up on Pope Mountain, and shot her in the back.”

“That’s a terrible thing to hear…brother and sister dying like that on the same day.”

“Oh, she didn’t die,” Gardner said. “She survived. Tough little thing. Oh…I see you are favoring your left knee. Did you hurt it?”

The skin was crawling on the back of Lonny’s neck. The girl was alive? “Yeah, fell and cut it on a rock while I was changing a flat.”

Gardner leaned forward. “Do you know a woman named Lilah Perry?”

Lonny had a good poker face, but his gut just tied itself into a knot.

“Yes, I know Lilah. What’s she got to do with anything?”

“She can place you within ten minutes of Jubilee on the same night Carey Eggers was shot, that’s what. You called her for help. Said you cut your knee and she felt sorry for you and helped you. But when she found out your DNA was all over a murdered man, she didn’t feel sorry for you anymore.”

Lonny hadn’t prepared for these two revelations, and he was backpedaling, trying to come up with reasonable excuses for all of it.

“So, it’s common knowledge that you issued an arrest warrant for me, and she read it in the papers or something. So maybe she just wants to get back at me for when we broke up.”

“Nope. We did not publish your name. Her boss told her.”

“Her boss? What are you playing at here?” Lonny asked.

“Oh, we’re not playing. Lilah Perry is a records clerk for the Jubilee PD. Her boss is the police chief. He mentioned it in passing, and she put two and two together.”

Lonny blinked. The police? Lilah works for the police?

“So, Mr. Pryor, do you have anything you want to add to your statement before I charge you with the murder of Billy Eggers and the attempted murder of his sister, Carey?”

Lonny froze. His eyes widened as he sat there, absorbing the reality that his witness was still alive and that Lilah worked for the enemy. Then he leaned over and whispered something into his lawyer’s ear.

At that point, Ellis George spoke up. “Mr. Pryor might have more information to share, but it would involve charging him with lesser offenses.”

“We can’t ignore murder,” Gardner said.

“Manslaughter on Billy Eggers,” George said.

“And ignore the bullet in Carey Eggers’s back? I think not.” Gardner said.

Lonny whispered in his lawyer’s ear again.

“That’s the deal,” Ellis George said.

“In return for what?” Gardner asked.

“Testifying against Carl and Junior Henley for running drugs in and out of the country,” George said.

Gardner’s eyes narrowed. “Mr. Pryor, would you care to revise the elaborate story you just gave us now?”

“Not until I have your word regarding the charges,” Lonny said. “Otherwise, I’ll take my chances in court. You can wave your security footage in front of the jury, and I’ll repeat in court what I just said to you.”

Gardner eyed his partner. “I can’t make that call. I’m pausing this interrogation to consult with my superiors. The time is 12:02 p.m.”

Then he and his partner got up and left the room.

Lonny glanced at his lawyer. “I’m just gonna rest my eyes a bit. I’m a little short on sleep.” Then he scooted his chair back just enough to lay his head down on the table and wished himself to hell.

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