Page 45 of 1st Shock
Matt would be like Billy Ray, protecting me and Meg against any threat. He isn't just a good guy, he's one of the best. He knows I need to act, to feel like I'm accomplishing something.
I walk to the board and start talking. A little while later, Meg slips in and pulls out a chair as well. The look on her face tells me not to ask questions about her visit to the morgue, so I keep going with the murder board and facts.
I'm bringing them up to speed on Mickey's stepsiblings, when JJ calls.
I hold my breath as I answer, and it rushes out of me when he tells me why he's calling.
His voice is tired, strained. "We found Devante."
19
Meg
As much as I despise admitting weakness, the visit to the morgue drained me. Sucked every drop of my energy. Young women are dying and all we can do is sit around a table and talk. Talk, talk, talk.
The only thing JJ can tell us is our main suspect has a rock solid alibi. Devante, the kid who disappeared on us right after the latest murder, is apparently not our killer.
He's a college student partying in Atlanta with his fraternity brothers.
Great. Excellent. Our one solid lead collapsed under the colossal weight of this damned case. Yes, I'm irritable. Shoot me.
If the strain, that carefully crafted cadence, in JJ's words is any indication, I'm not the only crabby one. The low murmur in his voice is downright scary. I've seen him in court. He's the affable, charming guy who happily leads witnesses into corners they don't know exist. They're too busy being wooed.
Right now? Those traits are in a tight race with exhaustion.
"According to the M.E," JJ says via the speaker on Charlie's cell phone, "our vic died around midnight. Devante was in Atlanta by then. He blew you off and hopped on a six-thirty flight out of Dulles. Upon questioning, he stated he and three other guys had dinner and went to a club after checking into their hotel."
"Have you verified that?"
There's a pause and I silently wince while Matt slowly shakes his head. I recognize the silence. It's an overworked JJ battling his emotions and the unintended insult I've thrown.
"Meg," he says, his voice sharp enough to slice me in two, "are you serious right now? Of course I did. There's security video at the club. Devante and his buddies strolled right in. They left at one-fifty so unless he's Superman, there's no way he could’ve slipped out of the club to be in D.C. at midnight. It's a dead end."
I lean across the table and take the phone out of Charlie’s hand to ensure he hears me. "JJ, I'm sorry. That came out all kinds of wrong."
"Bet your ass it did. We're all working hard."
"I know. I let my pissiness take over and that's not fair to you. It'll never happen again. I really am sorry."
Charlie waggles her fingers in agimmegesture, so I hand the phone back. She'll diffuse the situation. It's a gift she has and considering she knows JJ way better than I do, I'm perfectly happy to let her intervene and do her magic.
She holds it closer to her mouth. "Mr. Attorney, give Meg a break and forgive her or she'll be freaking out all night over you being mad at her. We have more important things to do."
My sister meets my eye across the table and winks. In spite of myself, I can't help but smile. Charlie gets off on moments like this. They give her power, a need to conquer I will never understand or particularly crave.
"Hell, yes, I'll forgive her," JJ says. "I'm not that much of an asshole."
"Excellent." Charlie flips open a folder on the table. "Since Devante is a bust, let's move on. I've been researching Mickey's family life."
JJ groans. "Helluva mess there."
"Indeed. We should talk to his stepsisters. The stepbrother sounds like a peach also."
Curious, I grab one of the folders and skim the first page. Devante's notes on Mickey. The stepsiblings challenged him in every way. Or maybe it was the reverse and Mickey did so to the point Billy Ray took to carrying a knife.
How twisted were these people that one felt the need to be armed?
I hold the page up. "The stepbrother?"
