And Then She Was Gone(71)
“That explains things,” Betty said. “Leland came to my office with his panties in a twist after talking with you. He wanted to know what I told you that Stacy and I talked about.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing—because you didn’t hear that from me. After that, he made a beeline for the only other person who could have told you anything about that night.”
Jack knew who that was, but he tried to appear cavalier. “Who?”
“The only other person in the building that night was a janitor named Jeremy.” She looked at Jack carefully, as if to identify whether the name rang a bell. “I’m not sure what Jeremy said to him, but after that, Leland fired him.”
“He fired him?” Jack’s head jerked back. A heaviness settled in his stomach. “For just talking to me?”
Betty smiled. “So you did talk to him. And yeah.” She dropped her cigarette and ground it into bits with her heel. “Look, Leland is a complete scumbag and sleaze, but he’d have to slither even lower to be a murderer. So what if he got worked up about a report? That’s no motive for murder. Hell, I hate my job, and I hate Leland, but he’s still breathing.”
“But Leland admitted going for a run in the park. It was around the same time Stacy went missing.”
“Leland admitted that?”
“Yeah. And someone saw him close to where Stacy was killed, too. All I’m asking is for you to look at the report. Check if something is in there. If Leland did have a motive, you’ll find it in that report.”
Betty turned away and stared at the park.
“Stacy was your friend,” Jack said.
Betty’s eyes narrowed. “And she’s dead. Stacy talked to me about that report that night too. You think that report may be the reason she was killed, and now you want me to poke my nose into it?” She took out her cigarette pack but glanced at her watch and put the pack back in her pocket. “I need to think about it. It was nice to see you again, Jack Stratton. But let’s try not to make this a habit.” She turned and walked back to the entrance to the building.
Jack got back in the Impala and headed east. He wanted to question Alex Hernandez more—to find out if he’d seen anything else that night. As he stopped at a red light, he glanced up at the sun, wondering whether Dracula would be in a better mood during the day.
“Hey, Jack!”
Jack turned his head to see Kelly rushing out the front door of a clothing store. She looked like a whirligig in a hurricane as she waved to him from the sidewalk.
Jack pulled over at the corner and hopped out. Kelly rushed over and gave him a quick kiss, while Courtney and two other girls exited the store and walked up behind her.
“Hello.” Jack pulled her in close. “What are you up to?”
“We were shopping.” Kelly turned to her friends. “This is Leesa and Stephanie.”
“You’re technically still shopping.” Courtney tipped her head toward Bottega Maria, the woman’s clothing store on the corner. “All your bags are still on the counter, and you haven’t paid. You’d better hurry back before the clerk decides you’ve abandoned her.”
“Oh, crud!” Kelly groaned.
Jack looked back at his double-parked Impala. “I’ll wait here. Go get your stuff.”
“I’ll be, like, a minute.”
“Take your time.”
Stephanie and Leesa accompanied Kelly back into the store, but Courtney called after them, “I’ll keep Jack company.”
Kelly waved over her shoulder and disappeared inside.
“You girls having fun shopping?”
“Yes.” Courtney’s foot bounced as she stared at Jack. She looked like she was debating something. “I don’t want to dump this on you but…”
Jack leaned against the Impala and waited for her to continue.
“Don’t say I said anything.”
“You haven’t said anything.”
Courtney rolled her eyes. “Just promise you won’t say something if I tell you something.”
Jack crossed his arms and gave her no answer.
“Warner has been bothering Kelly. Texting her and calling her a bunch of times.”
“He has?”
“She’s upset. I think… I think he’s been following her too.”
Jack straightened up. “What’s Warner drive?”
“His father’s silver BMW Z4.”
“Where does he live?”
“You’re not going to talk to him, are you?”
Jack’s jaw clenched. “Kelly’s upset. I want her un-upset. So I’m going to have a little chat with Warner. Do you think he’s dangerous?”