Page 48 of The White Picket Fence

“Not by name, but I was honest with her. Told her that I hadn’t gotten over my first love. She figured as much and told me she deserved better than a man who didn’t love her completely. She was right. We’re still friends, Vito. That breakup didn’t break my heart.”

“Good. I’ve worried about you all this time.” Then Vito frowned. “What about Gino? Why is he still single then? Did someone break his heart, too?”

“I think he genuinely enjoys playing the field. He’s not opposed to settling down. He just hasn’t met anyone he wants to settle down with.” Tino watched as the prison gates came into view. “Do you think this guy will be cooperative? Kevin Hale’s cellmate?”

“He’s a lifer. We can’t offer him any time off his sentence, but he does have a daughter who lives in Harrisburg. The DA says we can offer him a transfer so that she can visit him more often.”

Some of the tension in Tino’s chest loosened. “You called the DA?”

“Of course I did. I woke him up after I left your house last night. I want to find Kevin Hale. He’s hurt too many people. Too many families. I want him off the streets. So does the DA.”

“Did the owner of the sushi restaurant where he worked tell you anything that might help?”

“Only that he’d taken a chance on hiring Hale as a busboy and had been pleased with his work ethic up until the time he disappeared from his shift without a word. This restaurant owner hires ex-cons, said Hale told him that one of the guys he’d known in prison had gotten out and gotten a job with him. Recommended Hale apply.”

“Did he have the guy’s name?” Tino asked, suddenly hopeful. “Could Hale be staying with the other ex-con?”

Vito hesitated, then shook his head. “Hale may have stayed with him at one point since his release, but he wasn’t there, either.”

There was something Vito wasn’t saying, and Tino was afraid he knew what that was. “What happened to that other ex-con?”

Vito sighed. “His name was Oscar Dupree. He’s dead. The owner of the sushi place said that Dupree hadn’t been in to work in a few days. We went to the address and found his body. Bullet through his head.”

Tino’s stomach twisted. “Dammit,” he whispered.

“Yeah. Dupree’s laptop was gone and a wall safe was empty, door hanging open. The victim’s girlfriend said that he’d kept a lot of cash in the safe, just in case he had to leave town quickly. He served time for running drugs for a gang, and he’s been looking over his shoulder since his release.”

“So Hale might not have killed him.”

“Maybe not, but the bullet that killed the guy was the same caliber as the one that killed Lombardi and Fadil and put Lewis in the hospital. The bullet’s with Ballistics right now. Hopefully we’ll have a definitive answer quickly.”

“Why didn’t he shoot Mrs. Johnson?” Tino asked, because he’d been wondering about that.

“He may have intended to. Someone two blocks away had a heart attack that night and called 911. Security cameras from the houses nearby picked up a man in a hoodie running from Mrs. Johnson’s house shortly after that 911 call. We figure that Hale must have heard the ambulance sirens and panicked, because he ran. Either way, beating was his MO. We held back some of the details of Lombardi’s and Fadil’s crime scenes. He beat them before shooting them. We asked the families not to share that detail, and so far, they’ve complied.” Another hesitation. “We think he was trying to get them to share Charlotte’s address. That Hale never got to Charlotte’s apartment says that they kept her secret. Protected her.”

“And died doing so.” Tino closed his eyes. “That’s going to—” He nearly saidkill her, but bit the words off. He couldn’t set those words into the universe. “She’ll feel even guiltier.”

Vito pulled into the prison’s parking lot and shut off the engine. “Therapy, bro. She’s going to need it.”

Nodding, Tino started to get out of the car when his cell buzzed. “It’s Nick Lawrence,” he said after glancing at the caller ID.

“Put him on speaker,” Vito said and Tino did.

“Nick,” Tino said. “I’m with Vito and you’re on speaker.”

“Good. I called you first, Vito, but you weren’t in the office. I left a message. I got news from the prison in Memphis where Charlotte Walsh’s stalker was killed. They’ve got a suspect. A few inmates saw the stabbing happen but didn’t talk until they were promised concessions. Long story short, they got the killer to admit that he’d been paid by one of the other inmates to kill Charlotte’s stalker. Guess who paid a visit to that inmate two weeks ago?”

Tino’s heart sank. “Kevin Hale?”

“Bingo,” Nick said grimly. “He had the man who hurt Charlotte killed. I don’t know how he got any of the information he had, but I thought you should know. Hale must have gone straight to the prison in Memphis after being released.”

“He had Charlie’s attacker killed before he even saw her in the restaurant,” Tino said, feeling sick. “That’s even more disturbing. He was focused on her even before he saw her again.”

“Looks like it,” Nick confirmed.

“Thank you,” Vito said. “We’re about to talk to Hale’s former cellmate. Now we have even more questions to ask.”

“Yes,” Tino murmured. “Thank you, Nick. I appreciate it.”

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