Page 36 of I'm Watching You

‘She said Harold’s body was found behind Sanctuary, which, if I’m not mistaken, is the shelter your wife oversees.’

What kind of angle was Jordan Turner working?

‘Did O’Neil and Jordan Turner have any other contact after that meeting?’ Warwick said.

The question was necessary but nevertheless annoyed Zack.

Barlow shook his head. ‘Mrs Turner said that Ms O’Neil called her this afternoon.’

Zack swallowed another oath. ‘And they talked about?’

‘Mrs Turner was concerned that Ms O’Neil had killed Harold,’ Barlow said.

‘Did she have proof?’ Zack asked.

‘No.’

Amused, Ronnie T. raised a finger. ‘What a minute. Lindsay O’Neil was your wife, wasn’t she, Detective Kier?’

Zack’s jaw tightened. ‘She still is.’

Ronnie T. cackled. ‘I thought she divorced your sorry ass a year ago.’

Warwick set the paperweight down, stepping between the two men. ‘We’ll want to interview Mrs Turner again.’

Barlow moved the paperweight out of Warwick’s reach. ‘We’ll be happy to help in the investigation in any way.’

‘I’d be happy to ask my associates if anyone hated ole Harold enough to kill him,’ Ronnie T. offered.

‘The last thing I want is your help,’ Zack said. The dealer’s favors always had strings attached.

Ronnie T.’s smile didn’t fade but his eyes hardened. ‘Is my help too good for you now that you’re sober, Detective Kier?’

Zack got right in Ronnie T.’s face. ‘Stay out of the investigation.’

Ronnie T. laughed. ‘But I want to help.’

Warwick nudged Zack. Zack reined in his temper and backed up. ‘Neither of you leave town.’

When Barlow and Ronnie T. both agreed, the two cops walked out of the office. Zack pushed the elevator button. His temper seethed. The doors opened. They got in. Neither spoke until they were outside by the car.

Warwick glared up at the building. ‘Ronnie T. really pisses you off.’

‘I crossed paths with him during several narcoticsinvestigations. That million-dollar smile hides a ruthless heart.’ He’d tried several times to supply Zack with drugs. Once after Lindsay had moved out, he’d been tempted, but he’d refused, as always.

Zack’s cell vibrated. He checked the number. Ayden. He flipped open his phone. ‘Kier.’

‘Get over to Sanctuary.’ Ayden’s sharp voice jumped through the phone. ‘Someone delivered Harold Turner’s hand to Lindsay.’

The police had ordered Lindsay into the shelter’s family room across the hallway from her office. She’d been told to wait for the detectives. She sat on the couch, her arms folded and her stomach knotted. She tapped her foot, believing she was going to jump out of her skin.

A half dozen uniformed officers had taken over Sanctuary. One was posted outside Lindsay’s office, two on the front porch, and three in the kitchen. They spoke in hushed tones laced with nervous excitement.

With each flash of a camera bulb, she knew Sara, the forensic tech, was in her office shooting pictures, no doubt from every conceivable angle, of the hand and the boxed flowers. Lindsay lost count how many times the digital camera had flashed.

News vans now from all three local television stations were parked out front. She noticed that Kendall Shaw was talking with her cameraman. A frown furrowed the tall brunette’s brow as she jabbed her finger in the air. Kendall was angry that there was no film of Lindsay running hysterically out of the shelter toward the unmarked policecar. Too bad for Kendall, Lindsay thought bitterly. That bit of film would have made great news.

This day was churning memories that she’d thought were long buried. Running out of the shelter today reminded her of a similar July day twelve years ago when she’d found her mother. She’d bolted from the house. Screaming, she’d run a half mile to the neighbor’s house and pounded on the door until a befuddled Mr Jenkins had answered. Words had rushed from her mouth. Most had been unintelligible. And she’d nearly hyperventilated. But her neighbor had pieced together enough, figured out what had happened, and called the sheriff. She never went back in her parents’ house again.

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