Page 58 of Deception

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After Madison drove away, Clayton tracked down Chief Nelson at the parking lot a good thousand feet away from the picnic table. One of his officers held a black screen about the height of a pickup or van, and in the center of the screen was a laser beam.

“You think this is where the shooter was?” he asked.

“Yes. We inserted a rod where the bullet hit the picnic table and eyeballed where it might have originated. Then we inserted a laser in the rod, and it confirmed our estimate.” Pete removed his hat and wiped his shaved head with a handkerchief. “Have you talked to Hugh?”

“No, but from what Madison said, he thinks Judge Anderson shot himself.”

“That’s what I got from him too.” Pete cocked his head. “What’s your take on it?”

“I just don’t see Judge Anderson doing something like that.”

Pete blew out a hard breath. “He’s been pretty depressed about his daughter lately.”

Clayton didn’t know what to say. “I knew she died recently.”

“Four months ago. Overdosed, and while the Memphis medical examiner ruled it accidental, I don’t think it was.”

“What do you mean?”

“It would have been hard to accidentally get the amountof Oxycontin found in her system.” Resignation settled in the chief’s face as he adjusted the gun on his belt. “Judge Anderson is a good man—mentored a good many boys down at the Boys and Girls Clubs, including me. If it hadn’t been for the judge’s letters of recommendation, I probably wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship to Southern Miss.”

The judge had helped Clayton get into the same university.

“He was so proud when I became police chief ... our relationship changed from mentor-mentee to friends. We met for coffee at least once a month.”

Clayton and the judge hadn’t stayed close, not like Pete had. Yesterday at the coffee shop had been the first time he’d seen the judge in a couple of months. “He talked to you about his daughter’s death?”

Pete nodded. “I thought he was coming out of his depression. He was so excited about Madison’s visit. I never saw suicide coming.”

“We don’t know that for sure, yet. The judge made a few enemies over the years.” And from the looks on the faces of the two visitors Clayton saw him with yesterday, there were at least two women who didn’t particularly care for him.

Clayton checked his watch. He should be hearing something from Madison soon, and she would want to know how Dani and Bri were. “If you hear anything, let me know.”

He jogged across to the hospital entrance and climbed the stairs to the second floor. After being buzzed in, he checked on Judge Anderson first, and his nurse indicated there’d been no change. That was a good sign ... wasn’t it?

When he reached Dani’s room, he knocked softly and was bid to come in. “Where’s Bri?” he asked when he noticed that only Dani occupied the room.

She sighed. “I’m afraid after my heart rate spiked, they asked her to leave. She said she’d be in the waiting room. Wasn’t she there?”

He hadn’t seen her there and tried to remember if he’d seen Dani’s car when he jogged across the parking lot. “Did she still have your keys?”

“Yes.” Her eyes widened. “Oh no. She’s taken off again. It’s all my fault.”

“No, I should’ve taken the keys.” He turned to leave.

“She thinks she led them to me, that my shooting is her fault, and they’ll come back.”

“Running away won’t help. I need to talk to her and find out just who she thinks is looking for her.”

“Her pimp.”

“If she’d stuck around, we could have at least gotten a drawing of him.”

A code blue sounded through the unit, seizing Clayton’s heart. Outside the room, footsteps pounded down the hall. What if it was Judge Anderson? “I need to check and see what’s going on.”

When he reached the hallway, the doors to the judge’s room had been thrown open and a crash cart rolled beside the bed. He inched closer. The monitor had flatlined, and a nurse pumped his chest. Clayton balled his hands as he prayed for the line to jump back to life.

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