And Then She Was Gone(97)
Jack debated. He wanted to believe Two Point, but he’d been burned before. Still… “Fifteen minutes.”
The buzz of the disconnected line rang in Jack’s ears. He clicked the phone off and set it down on the table, then spun it in a little circle.
His mother walked into the room. “You certainly are getting a lot of calls. Birthday wishes?”
“Kinda.”
“I’m going to watch a movie. Do you want to join me? I’ll let you pick.”
“Ah, no. Actually I’m going to take a ride. I’m going to the basketball courts.”
His mother’s eyebrows rose. “Well… I guess your father didn’t say anything about you being grounded. But just be careful. Okay?”
29
The Truth Will Set You Free
Two Point was pacing back and forth along the trees beside the basketball courts at Hamilton Park. His hands were thrust deep in his pockets. When he saw Jack get out of the Impala, he stopped.
“You lie once to me,” Jack growled, “and I’ll knock your teeth down your throat and drag you to the cops.”
“What the hell, Stratton? I said I’d tell them it was me.” Two Point took a step back.
“Well, start talking.”
“If they have pictures of me, it had to be at the ATM. There are no cameras in the park.”
“They have a picture of you. I’ve seen it. It only caught part of your face, but Jay’s jacket. Where did you get the wallet?”
“I found it.”
“Where? Describe it.”
“You know the fountain? It was close to there. The path dips between these hills. It was pitch black—”
“Where the light is out?”
“I don’t know. It was, like, dark dark. But I saw something sparkly. It was a handbag. I walked over and opened it up. It had a wallet in it.”
“It was just lying there?”
“Yeah. I figured someone dropped it. Some drunk chick or something, you know? I took the wallet out and then tossed the handbag into the woods.”
“Did you see Stacy Shaw?”
“No.”
“What about anyone else?” Jack leaned in. “Was there anyone around?”
“Nobody.”
“No one? Not even on the way out?” Jack’s voice had dropped down to a low rumble.
“Some gutter bum.”
“Describe him. How tall?”
“I don’t know. My height, I guess. It was dark, so it was hard to see. And I wasn’t trying to memorize him or nothin’. He had a green Army jacket.” Two Point nodded. “Yeah. And a ponytail.”
Alex Hernandez.
“Was he walking away or toward you?”
“Don’t know. I saw him earlier in the parking lot. Only one car there—slim pickin’s.”
“Okay, then what?” Jack asked.
Two Point put his head down. “I looked through the wallet. The lady had written a PIN on her library card, so I thought she might use the same one for everything. I decided to try the ATM.” He looked ashamed. “It didn’t work. After that, I went to hide my stash and then went home.”
“But…” Jack prompted.
“But I screwed up. When I went to my stash, I forgot the wallet was in the pocket of Jay’s jacket, and you know the rest. The cops found it and blamed Jay.”
Jack looked around the parking lot.
“You’re gonna go with me, right?” Two Point asked. “No cop’s gonna believe me. J-Dog don’t trust them either. He’s right. They’re not doing anything. They’re not even looking for the guy who really killed that lady.”
“Because you served up Jay on a silver platter,” Jack said. “Look at it from their side. They have the ATM picture, showing a guy in Jay’s jacket. The wallet’s in Jay’s jacket. He has her blood on his shoes. Then Jay confesses and says, ‘Yeah, it was me. I stole it.’ They don’t need to look for anyone else. You gave them everything.”
“But I never even saw the lady. Maybe the cops planted some evidence? You ever think of that? They planted it. How else did blood get on my shoes?”
“She cut her foot open, you idiot. You must have stepped in her blood on the hill when you found the handbag. With DNA testing all they need is a trace amount.”
“You have to tell the cops the truth,” Two Point begged.
“I don’t have to do anything.” Jack gazed at the open window of his Impala. Something Two Point had said a moment ago was nagging at him…
Then it hit him.
“Wait a second,” Jack said. “You went to your stash, but you didn’t put the wallet there. So you went to your stash with something else. What was it?”