Page 80 of The Aura Answer
He handed Nick the discarded ledgers to do his numbers and names thing.
Pris carried in nachos and ice tea. R&R doctored their tea from a flask. Dante was setting up his laptop.
“It’s akin to doing research before starting an expedition,” the Italian archeologist mused. “One starts with the earliest written documents of the history to be explored. I’ve compiled dossiers on each of the suspects and victims. We can photograph and notate anything else we discover into these folders.”
“We need our cousin Orbis, the psychometrist,” Pris complained, examining the stacks of junk accumulating. “I might read minds but not trash. Although I suppose nothing we learn by mindreading would be admissible in court either.”
Entering late, white-haired Judge Satterwhite led his frail mother to a padded rocking chair.
“This used to be a derelict old barn full of rusting carriages and farm equipment when my Kenneth first brought me here after our honeymoon.” Mrs. Satterwhite looked around eagerly.
That had to be almost seventy years ago. Jax thought some of the rusted junk outside probably dated to then, at the very least.
“Do you think you will be staying in Charleston?” Evie sat up and brought the puppy over for her to pet. “Your aura is looking much more peaceful.”
Mrs. Satterwhite glanced up at her son. The white-haired judge was a study in impassivity.
“I’m staying in town for the holidays,” she said stubbornly. “I’m closest to my Kenneth here. I’m hoping all this nonsense over the land goes away. I cannot imagine what those Shepherd boys or little Teddy Turlock wanted with land so poor it barely grows weeds.”
Toby glanced up at the question. “They didn’t. They were scouting for my father and Layman. I am trying to look at it positively and believe my father learned from condemning themobile home park and was looking for places to move people displaced by the mall.”
“Scoutingand burning down a man’s place of business are two entirely different matters,” Judge Satterwhite said sternly. “I want to throw those boys behind bars, if they’re responsible.”
“If I discover that the Shepherds, or more likely, their drug-addled buddies, were responsible for burning out Patel, I’ll provide you with enough evidence of their grow operation for the Sheriff to go in and clean house. But Teddy...” Toby grimaced. “Teddy Jr.is a wild card. We’ll have to see what he tells the sheriff.”
Jax wanted to produce the paper hidden in the back cover of Block’s notebook, but it was a confusing legal document, and no one here would understand it clearly. Nailing killers had to come first.
“Rhodes has clammed up,” Jax reminded them. “Without a confession, we have nothing. He won’t break as easily as Teddy, who doesn’t appear to know anything except about his father’s search for the missing drawing and desire for real estate. Sheriff has a search warrant for Judge Rhodes’ house. We can hope they find the rifle used to shoot Larraine. With Nick’s description of the shooter, that might add to any sentence from accidentally shooting Layman. But other than hoping ballistics match, we have nothing to nail him for killing Block or Sammy.”
And if they wanted a reward, it had to be for killingBlock—except Rhodes had probably been aiming at Larraine when he hit the former mayor, Jax concluded. Rhodes had been there the day of the mob, but without cameras, no one could prove he had slipped up to the attic.Opportunitysimply added to their circumstantial evidence. Proving Rhodes hated Larraine wouldn’t prove he shot Block. A DA would require more.
Reuben had a video fired up on his computer. “We have camera footage in the warehouse area where the sniper hid. It’snot clear, but a man meeting the description Nick gave is caught climbing into an SUV with darkened windows. We ran a partial plate and narrowed the list down to vehicles of that make. One of Layman’s corporate vehicles tops the list.”
“I heard from my mom that Layman died this morning,” Verity reported. “That leaves him out as a witness.”
Not mourning the loss of a corrupt developer, Jax whistled. “That puts Rhodes up for manslaughter, at least. That should raise his bond and keep him off the street a little longer.”
He hoped. An irate killer with an arsenal roaming the streets, looking for the mayor or anyone else, would not be conducive to a merry holiday.
“We’ve sent the sniper info to the sheriff,” Roark said. “They can maybe test da SUV for prints. Other than proving Rhodes was after Larraine, it won’t help da Block case much.”
Knowing Layman was dead made explanations much simpler and perhaps gave motivation to their search. Jax waved Block’s black binder. “Evie’s ghost said there were papers concealed in the back cover of this. I’ve already told Toby about them, and he’s agreed that I can tell our trained investigators.”
Their untrained and cynicalinvestigatorschuckled and glanced up from their self-assigned tasks.
Jax had locked up the original document in his safe but kept a copy, which he produced now. “Block—or more likely his lawyer—amended the LLC document. I won’t bore you with the legal details. By the time this was signed, neither party trusted each other much, is my guess. It covers death, malfeasance, and so forth, and reverts the assets to the original owner in such case. Now that Layman is dead, all the Block properties should revert to Toby.”
Evie didn’t appear to be listening, but Tobias Block was. Jax hoped that meant he was earning his legal fees.
“Still sounds like the properties revert to Layman since dad died first,” Toby argued.
“With both their deaths, the LLC dissolves. Layman’s heirs still hold the lien on the properties, but you inherit the real estate and associated mortgages, as well as the liability of your father’s debt to Layman’s estate, just as we originally believed.” Jax figured he needed to confirm this with Turlock, but he didn’t think now was the best time.
Layman’s death had solved a lot of problems. It was a damned good thing half the town had seen Rhodes pull the trigger.
“So my house is safe?” Gracie asked anxiously.
“I think so, unless Toby decides to call in the mortgages, which he may need to do if Layman’s heirs demand payment,” Jax warned.
