Casey Mayes - A Killer Column

“What statues are you talking about?”

I didn’t say a word. I just grabbed his hand and led him to the place I remembered from my last visit.

To my delight, they were still there.

I watched Zach as he rounded the corner, and an immediate grin came up on his face. “Savannah, how cool is that?”

It was a bronze statue of Andy and Opie Taylor, father and son, from The Andy Griffith Show , a North Carolina love letter to the rest of the world. They each had a fishing pole, and the two held hands as Opie looked adoringly up at his father, while Andy looked lovingly at his son. Growing up, my husband had loved the show, and whenever he saw a rerun channel surfing, he always paused on it.

“That is one of the neatest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Go on, I’ll take your picture with them with my camera phone.”

He looked a little embarrassed by the suggestion. “Savannah, have you lost your mind?”

“Think of it this way, Zach. When are you ever going to get the chance to do this again?”

He frowned for a second, and then grinned. “Why not?”

After I got a shot of him standing in front of the duo, he shook his head in disbelief, though the smile was still clear on his face. “We’re not going to be able to show that to anyone, you know that, don’t you?”

“We don’t have to. Isn’t it enough to know that it exists?”

I kissed his cheek, and he surprised me by wrapping me up in his arms. “I love you.”

“More than Andy?” I said.

“Andy, Barney, Opie, and Aunt Bea, too.”

“Wow, I feel special.”

Zach kissed me again, this time more soundly, and then he released me. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some calls to make.”

My husband walked over toward the water, and I moved nearby where I could see the lake myself. It was beautiful, a serene vision just minutes from downtown Raleigh, and I silently thanked the park’s designer for preserving something so special so close.

I don’t know how long I took it all in, but Zach came back and broke into my thoughts. “Savannah, did you hear me?”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something else,” I said. “What did you say?”

“We’ve got a meeting, and we need to get across town in ten minutes to make it in time.”

“Then we’d better get going,” I said as I started back to the parking lot.

“Don’t you even want to know who we’re seeing?” he asked.

“I figure you’ll tell me eventually.”

“I spoke with Derrick’s former business partner, Frank Lassiter. He’s in town at the police’s request, and he wants to talk to me.”

“Not us?”

“I don’t think he’ll mind if you tag along, too.”

“Well, I’ve had warmer invitations, but I’ve had worse ones over the years, too, haven’t I?”

“Probably even from me.”

“Where are we meeting?” I asked.

“We need to head over to Edenton Street. We’re going to talk to him on the grounds of the State Capitol.”

AS WE DROVE THE SHORT DISTANCE TO THE CAPITOL, I asked Zach, “How did you manage to get him to meet us?”

“He feels like the police are going to railroad him for this, and he wants someone with some influence on his side.”

“And you know someone like that?”

He grinned at me. “I’m talking about me.”

“How did he get the impression you had some pull in Raleigh?”

“Well,” Zach said as he rubbed his chin, “I may have misled him a little on that. After I identified myself as the former Charlotte chief of police, I told him I had an interest in Derrick’s homicide case, which is strictly true. He asked me a few questions, I answered them honestly, and he agreed to this meeting.”

“Can I be there, too?”

“Yes, but it’s best if you don’t say anything.”

I looked over at my husband to see if he was serious. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Normally I would never dream of asking you to do that, Savannah, and you know it, but I want your reactions to his answers.”

“Does he even know I’m your wife?”

Zach hesitated a long time before he answered. “I’m not planning on telling him, and you shouldn’t, either.”

“Let me get this straight. You want me to lie to him?”

“Of course not,” he said as I pulled up into an empty parking spot on Edenton Street. “Just don’t volunteer any information.”

“I suppose I can do that,” I said.

Before I opened my door, I reached into the backseat and grabbed a clipboard I stowed there when I wanted to work on a puzzle.

“What’s that for?” Zach asked.

“Camouflage. People think you’re official if you keep your mouth shut and carry a clipboard around.”

“Where did you learn that?”

“I read it in a mystery novel, if you must know, but it sounds like it could be true, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it’s worth a shot,” Zach said.

We got out of the car and walked over to a large marble memorial that sported a bronze woman on top. “Where is he?”

“He said he’d be by the small cannons,” Zach said.

“They’re over this way,” I said as I took a left.

“How do you know that?”

“I came here right after Derrick fired me, remember?”

“I thought you said you went to the museum.”

I pointed across the street. “That’s where I ended up.”

We found a pair of small cannons where I remembered them, and there was a heavyset older man in a three-piece suit waiting there, glancing at his watch.

My husband approached him, and I took a few steps back. Zach identified himself, and the man said in a gravelly voice, “I’m Lassiter.”

He looked at me, obviously expecting me to provide my name, but I just stood there, nodded, and then glanced down at my clipboard, as if there was something there more fascinating than a puzzle that was only partially completed.

“Before we get started, I need to know a few things,” Zach said.

“Fire away. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“When was the last time you saw Derrick Duncan alive?” Zach asked.

“In Richmond, the day before he was killed,” Lassiter said. “And I can prove it.”

I couldn’t help myself. I’d promised Zach to keep quiet, but the gear between my mouth and my brain clearly weren’t working. “How could you possibly prove that?”

“There were witnesses,” the man said. “Who are you, anyway?”

“An associate who sometimes forgets herself,” my husband replied. “She does make a good point, though.”

“I’ve got witnesses,” Lassiter said, starting to get aggravated with both of us.

“You have witnesses who saw you together the day before he was murdered, but that doesn’t prove that you didn’t see him again later,” Zach said, and I smiled slightly. He’d gotten my point, even if Lassiter hadn’t.

“He was murdered here, right? I’ve never been to Raleigh before, so it would have been tough for me to kill him.”

“That’s true,” Zach said. “But again, it’s hard to prove that you’ve never been somewhere before, too.”

“What is this? I thought you were going to help me.”

“I can’t do anything until I find out more about you and your situation.”

“I’m not the one anyone should be looking at. There are a boatload of people with more motive and opportunity than I ever had.”

“Would you care to explain?”

“Sure I would. Like I told that detective Murphy, Cary Duncan had five hundred thousand reasons to want the man dead. Derrick told me that she took out a life insurance policy on him six months ago. He said he was worth more to her dead than alive. That’s an odd thing to brag about, wouldn’t you say?”