Page 61 of Night Falls on Predicament Avenue
“What?” Norah was feeling snappy. Very snappy.
“How can we fix anythin’ if we do nothin’?”
“Fine.” Norah waved him off. “We’ll go. Meet my sister’s murderer face-to-face.”
About an hour later, they were parking outside LeRoy Anderson’s green ranch-style house. It was as unimpressive as Norah remembered LeRoy being. The bushes out front were untrimmed. Of course, not everyone was blessed with people like Otto and Ralph, who helped maintain the greenery, but still. The lawn was unmown and already had dandelions spiking up through the crabgrass and going to seed in puffs.
Norah gripped the seat belt. “I can’t do this.”
Sebastian turned to her. She wasn’t able to hide the trembling in her hands no matter how tightly she gripped the seat belt. “You don’t need to come inside, Norah. He knows I’m comin’ an’ he knows why, but I never told him I was bringin’ you.”
The front door opened before Norah could respond. The world rewound itself to thirteen years prior as she stared out the window at the man. He hadn’t changed much, and yet there was a weariness in his face. Evidence that he’d once been good-looking had since been marred by time and maybe too much alcohol. Life had been hard on all of them the last thirteen years. Even so, Norah felt little sympathy for LeRoy.
As his eyes met hers, his expression shifted from wary to shocked. He ran a hand over his brown goatee in a nervous gesture while his other hand lifted in a halfhearted wave to Sebastian, who’d exited the vehicle.
Why did LeRoy agree to meet with Sebastian? Was he so naive as to think Sebastian would only want to ask him about his ancestor’s connection to Isabelle Addington? Had he been enjoying his game of cat and mouse, and now, thirteen years later, he saw an opportunity to play it all over again? To flaunt his freedom while Naomi lay in the grave?
Norah unbuckled the seat belt, flinging the door open andjumping out of the SUV. She charged past a surprised Sebastian, infused with gumption.
“Norah, I—”
“Why are you doing this?” Norah stopped just shy of slapping LeRoy across his smug face. Only he didn’t really look smug. Sheepish was more like it, though Norah wanted to believe otherwise.
“Doing what?” LeRoy held up his hands. He cast a nervous look toward Sebastian, who had approached as well. “What am I doing? You called me!”
“Norah.” Sebastian’s hand rested on her shoulder.
She shrugged it off, glaring at LeRoy. “Do you think it’s funny? Taunting me like this? Her wallet! Her library card!”
“What are you talking about?” LeRoy looked genuinely perplexed. Enough so that Norah took a step back and allowed Sebastian to ease in front of her to create some space.
“I thought you wanted to talk to me about some sort of ancestry or something?” LeRoy’s shock was wearing off and turning into offense. “Cornering me with Naomi Richman’s sister? Not cool, man.” LeRoy’s accusatory glower settled on Sebastian.
“I’m sorry, mate. Let’s all take a moment an’—”
“Why’d you kill her?” Norah spat out the question that had been eating her alive for the last thirteen years. “Was it the baby? You didn’t want to be a father?”
“Okay!” LeRoy reared back, his face twisted into an affronted scowl. “That’s it. I don’t need to take this. For thirteen years I’ve had to carry the label of your sister’s murderer when I didn’t doanythingto Naomi. That was my kid too, you know!” He swore and spun to retreat into his house. The door slammed in their faces. Sebastian and Norah stood shoulder to shoulder staring at its chipped white paint.
“That went well.” Sebastian sounded none too happy.
Norah worked her mouth back and forth, afraid to cry. Afraid to feel. She hadn’t intended to fly off the handle likethat. Hadn’t intended to even get out of the car. “I’m sorry,” she gulped.
Sebastian spun on his heel, obviously irritated by her lack of self-control. “You know, he might’ve helped us. Guilty or not, there are things he prob’ly could tell us that would send us in a proper direction. Now you’ve gone an’ ticked the man off. Lot o’ good that’ll do us now.”
Norah hurried after Sebastian, eager to defend her actions. “He killed my sister!”
“You don’t know that!” Sebastian shot over his shoulder.
“Ido! Who else would’ve done it?”
Sebastian stopped abruptly, and Norah almost ran into him. He twisted to look at her. “You don’t know he did it, Norah. There’s not enough evidence. You read the case files. Just ’cause he doesn’t have an alibi an’ she was pregnant with his baby doesn’t mean he went an’ killed Naomi. Besides, you wrecked my chance at gettin’ in thick with him. This is what I do, Norah. When I find out what happened to people, I have to get close to fellas I may not like. May not be doin’ what I like, but I do it anyway.”
His accent had grown thicker with his frustration.
Norah had nothing to say. She’d ruined Sebastian’s attempts to not only help her but also continue with his livelihood, which was his historical crime-solving podcast.
“I have a life too, you know. If you care at all, let me have it.”
