Mayes, Casey - A Deadly Row

I knew better than to try to talk my husband out of anything. What was worse, I could see the logic of what he was saying. Was that why Davis had brought Zach in? Arresting the mayor, or even thinking that he could be guilty of multiple murders, could end his career if he was wrong. Hiring my husband was a good way to diffuse the blame if he was mistaken. Davis would bear watching. He might just be sneakier than I’d ever given him credit for.

Zach made his call, and I listened in on his end of the conversation. He’d been curt and formal with Grady, and the mayor had agreed to come by the police station in half an hour.

When our sandwiches arrived, I paid for them, though neither one of us felt much like eating. Zach was right; Grady belonged at the top of his suspect list, but I didn’t have to like it.

As I nibbled at my sandwich, my husband said, “You need to make yourself scarce when Grady gets here.”

“Why? I thought I was your assistant.”

“Savannah, things might get a little dicey, and it would be better if you weren’t here.”

“Man talk, is that what you’re saying?”

Zach looked uncomfortable admitting it, but he finally said, “That’s part of it, certainly. Grady might open up more to me if you’re not in the room.”

“I can watch his expressions while you interview him,” I said. “There’s a chance I might pick up on something that you wouldn’t see.” Another thought occurred to me. “What if I think of something to ask him that you miss? Can we afford to take that chance? Stop trying to protect me, Zach.”

“It’s not that. If anything, my rationale puts you in more danger, not less. Forget what I said; you can stay.”

I wasn’t about to give up that easily, even if it meant a win in my column. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s not a great idea.”

“Why don’t you let me hear it, and I’ll be the judge of that. Come on, give.”

My husband reluctantly explained, “If you’re not here during the interrogation, it might help keep you on good terms with Grady. We may need that. I plan to explore some pretty explosive lines of questioning, and there’s an excellent chance I’m going to thoroughly tick him off. If you can stay on his good side, there’s a chance we won’t lose total access to the man, but it puts you in a precarious situation. If Grady really is guilty, you could be in danger.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me,” I said.

“Don’t you think Cindy Glass thought the exact same thing?”

“I don’t care,” I said. “But you’re right, I’m leaving the second he gets here.”

“Savannah, I’m still not sure this is a good idea. We need to talk about it more before I’m willing to let you take such an active role in the investigation.”

Things still hadn’t been decided ten minutes later when Grady arrived alone.

The mayor tried to be playful as he said, “Before you chew me out, my bodyguard is downstairs catching up with his pals. I figured I’m safe enough in here with you two.”

There must have been something in our expressions, because Grady added, “You two look like you’ve just lost your best friend. What’s going on?”

“We need to talk,” Zach said. That was my cue to leave, if I decided to go. My husband had ultimately left it up to me, and now was the time to figure out which option held the most promise for us. If I stayed, I might pick up on something that my husband missed, which wasn’t all that likely, I was the first to admit. But if I left, I’d still have an in with the mayor, a chance that would die if I stayed.

I decided to try to have it both ways. “If you two will excuse me, I’ve got a puzzle to create.”

“I’ve got to admit, I’m hooked on them myself. How often do you make them?” Grady asked me.

“Every day.” As I walked out of the room, I looked back at my husband. It was pretty clear that he wasn’t happy with the decision I’d made to take chances with my safety, but it was ultimately my choice.

That didn’t mean that I actually had to go back to the hotel and work on a puzzle, though. I kept the door purposely ajar so I could listen to their conversation without them knowing I was there. It wasn’t ideal, but it was certainly a lot better than just hiding in a hole until the storm blew over.

Once he was sure I was gone, Zach said, “We need to have a serious conversation, Grady. That means no lies, no misdirection, no holding back on me. Is that understood?”

Grady’s easy tone vanished. “What’s with the attitude, Zach? Was it a mistake bringing you back to Charlotte?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned. The city’s hired me to do a job, and I aim to do it.”

“You know I’ll cooperate all I can, but I never did like being bossed around. That’s why I’m the mayor. In a way, you could say that I am the city.”

“Funny, I thought the citizens were.”

Grady must have realized how pompous he was starting to sound. The edge was gone from his voice the next time he spoke. I would have given anything to study his face as he made that transition, but I couldn’t see more than a sliver of floor and shadow through the opening. “Is there any reason to have an attitude with me? We’re friends; at least I thought we were.”

Zach slapped his hand on the table, something that startled me from where I was lurking. I couldn’t imagine the impact the sound must have had on Grady. “I’m trying to get to the truth, and if you’re innocent, you should be trying to help me, not stonewalling like this was some kind of press conference.”

“Sorry. What do you want to talk about?”

There was a pause, and then I heard my husband say, “Let’s talk about Cindy Glass.”

“Let’s not,” Grady said.

“I’m not fooling around here.”

“Move on, Zach.”

After another pause, Zach said, “Okay, fine. We’ll come back to her later. I understand you had a pretty public argument with Hank Tristan the night he was murdered. Would you like to tell me about it?”

“Been spying on me, have you?” the mayor asked.

“It’s in the police report. Everybody knows about it, but I thought you might like to tell me your side of it.”

“Do you honestly think that I could have killed him? You do, don’t you?”

“Grady, I want to believe you, but there’s too much cop in me to turn my back on the fact that a guy you had a public brawl with was murdered not long after, and then a girl you were dating was next. How do you think that looks on you?”

“I’m being threatened, too, remember?” Grady said. His voice was high and shrill, and it sounded to me like he was close to snapping.

“If you didn’t do it, you’re my best resource. Somebody is hovering around the edges of your life and doing some pretty terrible things. You want me to find them, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. You shouldn’t even have to ask.”

“Then help me eliminate you as a suspect so I can go find the real killer.”

The request hung in the air between them, and for a second, I didn’t think Grady was going to answer. After a few more seconds, though, he said, “I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

“What were you and Hank fighting about the night of the ball?”

“He made a crack about my date, if you have to know. He thought it was amusing that I was there with someone’s secretary, and he asked me what it was like slumming with Cindy.”

“So you lost your temper with him?”

I could hear an edge of anger in Grady’s voice as he said, “He was acting like an idiot. I didn’t really know the girl. It was a fix up, a last-minute blind date for the ball when my original date had to cancel. I didn’t know her, but I wasn’t about to stand there and let some drunken fool take shots at her.”