Red Man Down(60)

‘Yes?’

‘Did Angela ever mention anything to you about doing research, looking up things about Ed’s family, anything like that?’

‘Oh … yes, I meant to tell you about that. She found his father and grandfather – she tell you that?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, a couple of months ago she saw an item in the paper that got her all excited. She brought me the clipping to show me. Something about a burglary in which several guns were stolen, and the homeowner told a reporter, “I guess I should have noticed those stones lined up in my driveway. But I’m making all the gowns for my daughter’s wedding; it’s a big job and I’ve been so fixated on it that I sort of blurred out everything else.”’

Stones. My God.

‘Angela said she bet that was Joey’s work. She remembered while she was still married she was out with Ed one day when he said he needed to stop at Chico’s house for a minute – something he needed to ask him. She stayed in the car while he went in and talked to Chico, and Joey was there outside the house, in the backyard with one of his friends. Not knowing she was sitting there at the curb, a few feet away, he was boasting about how much money he’d just made selling handguns. The other man asked him, “How much did you pay for them?” and Joey kind of hummed a certain way and they both laughed. But the friend said, “Joey, be careful, man, you get caught stealing guns you’ll go away a long time.” And the way Angela remembered it, Joey told his friend he was never going to get caught on a home invasion because he had this trick he did with river stones, the kind everybody’s got in the yard. He said he lined up four or five on the front sidewalk of houses he thought looked empty, and if nobody moved them out of the way after a couple of days he knew for sure the occupant was away from home.

‘I told her, “Angela, you better leave the investigating to the cops. Nobody’s found the money yet, so there could be a killer out there.”’ Marjorie turned on Sarah the tough, measuring look she normally used for gently used blouses. ‘You think maybe she found something?’

‘Maybe. This is just me, now, don’t quote me. Wouldn’t she tell you if she did?’

‘Probably. Unless she thought it was too dangerous for me to know.’

For the hell of it, and because she had seen Marjorie’s name on Delaney’s list of suspects, she took her car information. Marjorie’s Chevrolet was eight years old and she’d owned it for six. She gave Sarah all her information willingly, saying she was glad to see them checking everything.

‘Don’t give up,’ Marjorie said.

‘Never fear,’ Sarah said. ‘We’re just getting started,’

Sarah’s mood brightened considerably when she learned that prescription medicine had worked its promised magic – if two long, frustrating days could be described as magical. Tracy Scott had stopped coughing and been allowed to return to work. He came in carrying a note on his doctor’s prescription pad, like a grade-schooler’s note from his mother.

In his usual spot behind the file cabinet, she found him tapping away on the laptop, which was now properly signed out to him. He looked up briefly and said, ‘Be patient. It’s a jungle in here.’

Sarah said, ‘If you succeed in finding it you’ll have a whole department calling you a miracle worker. The rest of us, the harder we work on this case, the deeper we dig the hole.’

Tracy said, ‘I can commiserate or be brilliant – which do you want?’

‘Never mind,’ she said coldly. ‘If you want me, you can come and find me.’

But Ray found her first. He was striding off the elevator with a smile that lit the whole second floor. ‘I got the skinny on the gun, kid,’ he said. ‘Let’s go find all the guys.’

Jason and Oscar were off the floor, but the others clustered around him, hot for good news, or at least a break in the routine.

‘Banjo did his job, back then, when the suicide investigation was going on. Harry just neglected to add it to the report. What ailed that guy, anyway?’

‘Short-timer sickness,’ Leo said. ‘What about the gun?’

‘Banjo sent the number to the manufacturer, got back the report. The 22A Sport Series Smith & Wesson was sold to a dealer in Cincinnati. It was purchased there, during a summer vacation trip, by Tucson citizen Lincoln C. Barnhardt. He went to see his dear old mother and bought the pistol while he was there, because, he says, it’s a well-known fact that these bigger cities farther east have better buys. Yessir. The best weapons at the lowest prices. How’s that for generalizing freely?’