Джон Коннолли - The Dirty South

‘I don’t know what kind of magazines you’re reading, girl,’ said Rauls, ‘but I think you ought to stop.’

Colson slapped his arm.

‘Tilon Ward may have been one of the last people to see Donna Lee Kernigan alive,’ said Parker.

‘Seriously?’ said Rauls.

‘She was sleeping with someone, but keeping it secret,’ said Colson. ‘It could have been Tilon.’

‘If that’s true,’ said Rauls, ‘and Hollis is alive, then he killed his son’s girlfriend.’

‘Or Tilon fed her to him,’ said Parker.

‘I’m still not of the opinion that Tilon has such capacities,’ said Rauls.

‘A few minutes ago, you had him pegged for the murder of his father,’ said Parker.

‘That was different,’ said Rauls.

‘Different how?’

‘Hollis was asking for it.’

Which answered that question. They batted ideas back and forth. Rauls poured more coffee, and told them about the discovery of Estella Jackson’s body and the investigation that followed. He didn’t have much more to add to what was in the files, although the tale of Pappy Cade’s intervention on Hollis Ward’s behalf bothered Parker. Then again, it probably shouldn’t have: Ward had been doing Pappy’s dirty work for a long time, and might have called in a favor with the alibi in return for keeping quiet about his activities on behalf of the Cade family. But lying for a man accused of the brutal murder of a woman was a service beyond the usual, and there was also Nealus Cade’s account of the falling out between his father and Hollis Ward after Ward’s release from prison. Why would Pappy Cade have been willing to stand up for a man that his son had threatened to jail?

‘I’m still troubled by the removal from the Jackson file of your notes on Hollis Ward,’ said Parker. ‘There must have been more to it than the Cades’ reluctance to be associated with an old murder, however peripherally.’

Rauls thought for a time.

‘I can’t recall everything that was in it,’ he said, ‘and I lost a lot of my old papers in a house fire about a year ago. It was lucky we didn’t all go up in flames.’

He resumed thinking. Parker and Colson waited.

‘I do recall that while Pappy had offered to corroborate Hollis’s alibi, he said he could provide other witnesses too, which was why I was prepared to cross Hollis’s name off my list faster than I might otherwise have done.’

‘Do you remember who those witnesses were?’

‘Delphia was one. It might even have been Jurel as well, although I’m struggling to recall, but certainly Delphia.’

‘Did you interview them?’

‘Only Delphia, and that was an informal conversation. I didn’t keep notes.’

‘Why?’

‘It wasn’t worth the ink. She confirmed what her father said.’

‘Which was?’

‘That Hollis Ward had been staying at the Cades’ guesthouse at the time the medical examiner determined Estella Jackson was killed.’

‘Did she say why he was there?’

‘She claimed that Hollis sometimes stayed over at the property, if I remember right. He and Pappy both liked drinking into the night, even after Pappy officially cut Hollis loose.’

‘That makes for a lot of potential alibis,’ said Parker.

‘And it’s possible,’ said Rauls, ‘that none of them was completely true.’

‘Leaving Hollis Ward as the killer of Estella Jackson.’

‘It’s not beyond the bounds of likelihood. Aaron Jackson was a known associate of Ward’s. He helped Hollis when there was work to be done among the coloreds, so Hollis knew the family and knew those roads. Hollis also liked young girls, as that child pornography connection showed, although Estella was closer to a woman when she died. But thinking it and proving it are different animals. It’s just a feeling, that’s all, and unless the justice system has transformed itself in my absence, the courts don’t convict on the basis of whatever might trouble my sleep.’

‘I have one last question,’ said Parker. ‘Could the Cades have killed Hollis Ward?’

‘A few minutes ago,’ said Rauls, ‘you had Hollis pegged for the murder of Donna Lee Kernigan.’

‘I’m happy to assess alternatives,’ said Parker.

‘Why do you think the Cades might have been involved in Hollis Ward’s death,’ asked Colson, ‘assuming he is dead, which is a stretch, seeing as how he’s leaving his fingerprints around?’

‘Aside from the fact that they’re involved with everything in this county?’ said Parker.

‘Aside from that.’

‘I understand why Mr Rauls here was prepared to accept the alibis the Cades offered for Ward, if only to a degree, but that doesn’t mean Pappy and the rest of them weren’t lying. What if Hollis knew enough about the Cades’ activities in Burdon County to blackmail Pappy into speaking up on his behalf? Once Pappy had acceded, he was in danger, because that’s how blackmail works. All things considered, it would have been easier for the Cades if Hollis were to have disappeared permanently in the aftermath. It would silence him, and help prevent the alibi from coming back to haunt Pappy.’

‘It still leaves us with Hollis Ward’s fingerprint on Donna Lee Kernigan’s corpse,’ said Colson, ‘and her getting into Tilon’s truck just before she vanished.’

Rauls poured himself another cup of coffee. Parker didn’t know where the man was putting it all.

‘What you have here,’ said Rauls, ‘is what’s called a mystery.’

75

Dr Ruth Temple went through the Kernigan autopsy results with Griffin over the phone shortly after 4.30 p.m. She didn’t have a lot to add to what he already knew, apart from confirming that the branches had been placed in Donna Lee’s body after death. While force had been applied in order to lodge them in place, resulting in considerable internal damage, they were not the kind of injuries associated with a frenzied attack, but suggested instead a degree of deliberation.

Griffin asked if she could pull up the autopsy results from the murder of Estella Jackson.

‘I’m already familiar with their contents,’ she said, ‘and I know what you’re going to ask me.’

‘They hiring psychics up there at the crime lab now?’

‘I don’t think the executive director would approve – although if I were actually a psychic, I’d be able to say for sure. No, I believe you’re going to ask me if the injuries to Jackson were similar to Kernigan’s, in which case I’d say they weren’t. Those branches were jammed repeatedly into Estella Jackson’s mouth and vagina, which was done while she was still alive – and that’s leaving aside the multiple stab wounds. I can go into more detail if you like, but it won’t make you feel any more positive about humanity, or help you much either way.’

‘I’ll pass, then.’

‘Wise move. Suffice to say that most of Estella Jackson’s teeth were knocked out, her spine was partially severed below the skull, and her uterus was pierced several times. That kind of damage bespeaks fury, which isn’t to say the same individual couldn’t be responsible for both killings, but that would involve psychological profiling, which is beyond my bailiwick.’ She paused. ‘It’s a shame we weren’t able to look at Patricia Hartley’s body.’

‘Yeah, a damn shame, and a double damn shame that she was cremated, so we can’t even seek an exhumation.’

‘Speaking of which,’ said Temple, ‘it might be politic for me to contact the Burdon County Sheriff’s Office after I’m done talking with you.’

‘I understand. I appreciate your tact.’

‘It’s my pleasure. I’ll send on hard copies of the report by morning.’

Griffin hung up. It wouldn’t be long before he heard from Jurel Cade about Hollis Ward, and when he did he’d be forced to share with Cade the likelihood that Hollis’s son, Tilon, was the last known person to have seen Donna Lee Kernigan alive. That would give Cade an excuse to start tearing up the place looking for both Hollis and Tilon. Once, Hollis Ward had been tight with the Cades, but then Hollis went missing and Tilon drifted into criminality. Now nothing would give Jurel Cade more pleasure than to see Tilon Ward incarcerated, and maybe his old man, too.