Miranda James - Murder Past Due

“Good afternoon, Mr. Harris.” Kanesha Berry’s voice was cool and professional. “I’d like to talk to you right away. Can you come down to the sheriff’s department please?”

Dang. I really wanted to delve into the boxes, especially the oddly unnumbered one. But I didn’t think putting the deputy off would be a good move. I might as well get it over with.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I ended the call, stuck my phone in my pocket, and got Diesel down from atop the boxes.

“Come on, boy. Off to jail we go.”

SEVENTEEN

I parked a few spaces down from the front door of the Athena County Sheriff’s Department. If I had ever been inside the building, I didn’t remember it. The building dated from before the Second World War, but there was a new jail behind it, built about five years ago.

“This will be a new experience for both of us,” I told Diesel as we approached the door. Diesel’s nose twitched in anticipation. He was always curious about strange places.

Inside, the chilled air and fluorescent lighting reminded me of a hospital. Diesel strained against his leash several paces ahead of me. He had spotted the reception desk and a uniformed man sitting behind it. He wanted to go say hello.

“Good afternoon,” I said as I approached. “I’m Charles Harris. I’m here to see Deputy Berry. She’s expecting me.”

The officer behind the desk was too busy staring at Diesel to acknowledge me at first. I cleared my throat a couple of times, and he finally looked up at me.

“Sorry, sir, what did you say?” Before I could respond, he continued. “What kind of cat is that?”

“He’s a Maine coon. They get to be pretty big.” I smiled at his reaction to my cat. I repeated my name and the purpose for my visit.

“Sure,” the deputy said. “She’s got someone with her right now. Why don’t y’all have a seat over there, and soon as she’s done, I’ll take you back to her.”

“Okay,” I said, disconcerted. I led Diesel to the chairs the deputy indicated and sat down. Diesel climbed onto the chair next to me and looked around.

If Kanesha wanted to see me right away, why was I being made to wait? Was this some little power trip on her part? Or had someone turned up to talk to her before I arrived?

I kept checking my watch as I waited. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Fifteen.

Finally, twenty-one minutes after I sat down, I looked up to see Julia Wardlaw coming out of door behind the reception area.

The deputy let her through the security gate, and she came straight to me. I stood to greet her.

“Hello, Charlie.” Dark circles under her eyes told me she’d had little sleep since last night. She reached down to stroke Diesel’s head.

“Are you okay? You look exhausted.” Not the most gallant thing to say, but it was the truth.

“I am,” Julia said. “I was up most of the night at the hospital with Ezra. They moved him to a room yesterday, and he’s not doing very well at the moment.”

“I’m so sorry.” Such inadequate words.

“Thank you.” Julia gave me a weak smile. “I’m going home for a bit now to try to get some sleep.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Did Kanesha call you in? She did me.”

Julia nodded. “She had more questions. And I told her about going to the hotel to see Godfrey yesterday. She wasn’t happy, but it’s done.”

“Did you tell her about seeing Jordan Thompson there?”

“I did.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I shouldn’t hold you up. You need some rest.”

Julia gave me a quick peck on the cheek and another tired smile. “I’ll talk to you later. I want to come by to see Justin.”

“Of course,” I said. “Anytime.”

As she turned to leave, the deputy on duty called me. I approached the desk, Diesel in tow.

“Come on back. I’ll show you the way.” The deputy let us through the security gate before escorting us part of the way down a corridor. “Deputy Berry’s in the last room on the left, sir.”

I thanked him, and Diesel and I moved on toward the room he indicated.

I paused at the open door and knocked. Kanesha Berry looked up from a computer and frowned when she spotted Diesel with me. She stood. “Come in, Mr. Harris. Please have a seat.” She indicated a chair in front of her desk.

The office, about ten by ten, held two desks, bookshelves, a few chairs, and stacks of paper. Kanesha’s desk appeared orderly, in contrast to the haphazard piles on her office mate’s desk.

I pulled another chair next to mine for Diesel, and the cat and I sat. On the way over from the library I speculated why Kanesha had waited so long to question me when she’d had several opportunities already. This morning, of course, she had been effectively routed by her mother, because I doubted she had come to my house simply to tell me to avoid the news media.

“What can I do for you, Deputy?” I squirmed a bit in the hard chair, probably chosen for its discomfort factor. Beside me Diesel sat up and watched Kanesha, his head almost level with my own.

Kanesha seemed not to be able to take her eyes off the cat for a moment. Then she shook her head and focused on me.

“When we questioned you at the hotel, why didn’t you tell us Justin Wardlaw was with you?”

I had to choose my words with care, because I didn’t want to give her the impression I suspected Justin of killing Godfrey. “Justin had a pretty rough time of it yesterday. I don’t know how much he might have told you about the events of the day, but I was concerned. I thought he needed a little time to get himself together before talking to anyone.”

“That was very thoughtful of you.” Kanesha’s jaws clenched for a moment. “You were obstructing an investigation. You do realize that?”

She was definitely pissed.

“Yes, I suppose so,” I said. “But I did what I did for the boy’s sake. If you have to charge me with something, go right ahead.”

“Believe me, I’m very tempted.” She paused. “I’m not happy about it, but I’ve got to live with it. You, Justin, and Mrs. Wardlaw had time enough to collude on your stories by the time Bates and I got to your house last night. I’m not happy about that either, but if I find out one of you lied to me about anything— any thing —I will come down hard on you.”

“Understood.” She was angry already, so I might as well ask for an answer to something that had puzzled me since last night. “Why didn’t we do this last night?”

“Because I chose not to.”

In other words , I thought, you goofed and won’t admit it . The murder rate in Athena County was very low, and Kanesha probably had little real experience investigating homicides. The last murder here—that I knew about—occurred seven or eight years ago when an outraged husband killed the man who’d been sleeping with his wife. Since he did it in plain sight of several people, there wasn’t much to investigate.

Kanesha picked up a pen from the desk and put a notepad in front of her. She scribbled something. “Take me through your day yesterday, starting with Godfrey Priest’s arrival in your office.”

Suppressing a sigh, I complied with her request. Diesel curled up and went to sleep, and I talked for what seemed like half an hour.

Kanesha interrupted me only twice before I reached the point when I decided to go to the hotel to check on Godfrey and Justin.

“Why were you so concerned about a man you barely knew anymore? A man you said you didn’t really like. And, according to your statement, one you hadn’t seen in nearly thirty years. I’m not sure I understand.”

I thought for a moment. “I suppose I was really more concerned about Justin and the fact that he was still gone. He was under a considerable emotional strain yesterday, even before he found Godfrey dead. Plus, Godfrey probably never missed any opportunity for people to pay lots of attention to him. It just seemed odd somehow.”