Miranda James - Murder Past Due

“I didn’t say he had.” I returned Julia’s fierce look. “But he needs to answer my question. It’s important.”

Julia leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. I thought she was going to speak again, but after an intake of breath, she remained silent.

I repeated my question to Justin.

Diesel rubbed his head against Justin’s chin, and the boy finally looked at me. “I dunno, sometime this afternoon, I guess.”

“Do you have your cell phone now?”

Julia watched me intently.

“No, sir.” Justin pushed his dark bangs back from his face. “I lost it.”

“Why is this so important?” Julia leaned her elbows on the table, her hands clasped together. “People lose cell phones all the time.”

“Because they found Justin’s cell phone with Godfrey’s body.” I watched them both carefully to gauge their reactions.

Julia blinked rapidly, and Justin remained mute.

“Justin, was Godfrey alive when you left him this afternoon?” I made my tone neutral, unthreatening.

“Yes, sir,” the boy said.

“But you went back to his room and found him dead. How long was it between the time you left him and came back?”

Justin thought for a moment. “About an hour, I guess.” He glanced at his mother, clearly concerned about something. She avoided his gaze.

“Why did you go back?”

“I wanted to talk to him some more.” Justin focused on me again. “He didn’t answer when I knocked, so I used the key and went in.” His voice caught. “I thought maybe he’d gone somewhere, and I was just going to write him a note. But . . .” His voice trailed off, and I thought he might start to cry.

“When he found Godfrey’s body,” Julia said, her expression bleak, “he got out his phone to call someone. But he panicked.”

“And he dropped the phone and didn’t retrieve it.” I could picture it very easily.

“Yes, sir,” Justin said. He had his voice under control. “I was really scared. I got out of the hotel, but I didn’t know what to do. So I went across the street and sat there until you came.”

“What are we going to do, Charlie?” Julia sounded angry. “Kanesha will probably think Justin killed Godfrey. But he didn’t. The idea is totally ridiculous. I’m not going to let anyone treat my son like a vicious killer.”

“No, I didn’t kill anybody.” Justin hugged Diesel to him. He eyed his mother warily, it seemed to me.

“I believe you,” I said, putting as much conviction into my voice as I could. “I mean, what motive would you have?”

Justin shifted in his chair, and Diesel protested. He rubbed the cat’s head, but then he lifted Diesel and set him on the floor. Diesel chirped before stalking off to the utility room.

“Sorry,” Justin looked straight at me. “We did have an argument, and I guess I kind of yelled at him.” He paused and turned to his mother.

Julia sighed. “Godfrey wanted Justin to go back to California with him, stay a few months. But he didn’t want to go. Godfrey . . . well, you know what he was like when he didn’t get his way. As if I’d let him take Justin to California anyway.”

“I remember only too well.” I remembered Godfrey’s rages when he was thwarted. “He could be extremely unpleasant.”

“He was,” Justin said, his eyes sad. “He kinda calmed down after I yelled back. But I could tell he was still mad. So I left.”

“And when Justin went back, Godfrey was dead.” The horror in Julia’s voice brought the nasty scene back to mind.

I squirmed in my chair. It would be a long time before I could get that vision out of my head.

I sipped at my tea, hoping to settle my stomach a bit. “You’ll have to tell all this to Deputy Berry.”

Justin looked mutinous, and Julia was none too happy, either.

“I know you don’t want to,” I said. “I’d like to keep Justin out of this too, but I don’t think we can.”

“If you don’t say anything, they’re not going to know Justin was there.” Julia looked ready to throw the teapot at me. She intended to protect Justin at all costs, it seemed. She wasn’t being rational.

“Show some sense.” I had just about had it with both of them. I had tried to buy Justin a little time to recover, but there was no way I was going to lie any further about his presence at the hotel. “They have his cell phone, and they’ll probably find his fingerprints all over the place. How are you going to explain that away?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Julia said after a moment’s silence. “Honey, we have to be truthful. They need to find out who really did this, and if we lie to them, it only makes things more difficult.”

“Is it okay if I go up to my room now?” Justin stood up. “I’m really tired.”

“Of course, honey,” Julia said. “Get some rest. But you haven’t had any dinner. Are you hungry?”

“I’ve got something to eat in my room,” Justin said. “Can I just go, Mama?”

“Yes, you can.” Julia stood and held out her arms. Justin approached her for a hug, but he didn’t let it last long. He pulled free from his mother and walked swiftly out of the kitchen. Moments later we heard him clumping up the stairs.

Julia and I sat at the table and watched each other for a moment. She was still unhappy with me, I could tell, but I wasn’t particularly happy with her, either. Protecting her son was one thing, but trying to pretend he was never in the hotel was completely absurd.

“How about you?” I said. “Have you had anything to eat? I haven’t.” As an olive branch, it might do.

“No, I was still at the hospital when Justin called. I got over to the hotel as quickly as I could to get him away from there.” Julia relaxed enough to lean back in her chair.

“Is Ezra still in the hospital?” I had forgotten about him until now.

“Yes.” Julia glanced away from me.

“Was he that seriously hurt?” I frowned. Something didn’t add up here. “Surely Godfrey didn’t injure him that badly.”

“He didn’t,” Julia said, her tone flat. “But being in a fight didn’t help anything.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s dying.” Julia burst into tears.

TEN

“I’m so sorry,” I said, knowing how inadequate that was. “I had no idea.”

I got up and found a box of tissues for Julia. She pulled a couple from the box and dabbed at her eyes as I sat down again.

“No one knows except Ezra and me and his doctors.” Julia’s voice was husky from the tears.

“You haven’t told Justin yet?”

“No,” Julia said. “But I have to, I know. I was putting it off until after he met Godfrey, but now . . .” Her voice trailed away.

“Is it cancer?” I asked. I had noticed, when Ezra was in my house assaulting Justin, that he looked thinner and older than I remembered.

Julia nodded. “Pancreatic cancer.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “My wife had it too.”

“I know,” Julia said softly.

“Where has he been going for treatment?”

“Memphis,” she said. “They wanted to send him to Houston, to that big cancer hospital, but Ezra doesn’t want to go.”

That big cancer hospital in Houston, M.D. Anderson, had done its best for Jackie, but the cancer had won.

“The survival rate is so small,” I said.

“Yes, it is.” Julia rubbed her temples as if her head ached.

“There’s not much you can do, then,” I said.

“No, there isn’t.” Julia smiled so sadly that I wished I could do something to comfort her. “And miracles seem to be in short supply at the moment.”

Before I could respond, I heard the doorbell.

Startled, Julia glanced at me.

“Probably Kanesha,” I said, rising.