Hank frowned. Jameson had supplied him with some interesting information, but until the body of the last victim was located, there was no solid evidence showing the gun in question was the one used in the shooting.

“Thanks for the info, Rod. Anything else?”

“That’s it for now. I’ll let you know if we find anything I think you should know about. It’s going to take awhile to process the scene.”

Hank thanked him again, hung up thoughtfully, and went back to the paperwork.

He looked up a few moments later when Detective King came into the precinct and ducked into Diego’s office. He was surprised King was back so soon and hoped they had located the bodies of the two victims.

Hank waited patiently until King left Diego’s office, then frowned when the cop went into the break room. Hank sat back in his chair, crossed his arms, and waited.

Two minutes later, King appeared again, a faint smile on his face as he approached Hank. He dropped into the guest chair and leaned back, stretching out his legs. King took a slug of his coffee, sat the cup carefully on the edge of Hank’s desk, and leaned back again, folding his arms.

Hank looked at King and frowned impatiently. “So, what’s going on? Did you find the bodies?”

King shook his head. “We never found any bodies, Hank.”

“No bodies? Then why’re you back here so soon?”

King uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. “Because Paul Patton and Ira Toddle are both alive and doing well.”

Chapter 47

Thursday, 5:17 p.m.

JAKE SAT SIDEWAYS, one elbow on the table, and looked over at Annie. His wife was turned in her chair, watching Virginia Thorburn hold the pistol firmly in front of her, its barrel toward them.

The woman didn’t look any more of an expert with a gun than her son, but at least Virginia held the weapon steady as she stared coldly down the sights toward Annie.

Annie looked back at her and spoke in a calm voice. “Mrs. Thorburn, you might as well give up now. The police will be here to arrest you soon, and you’re going to make things worse for yourself.”

Virginia Thorburn glanced toward the door and didn’t answer.

Jake spoke. “You did a brilliant job, Virginia. You had everything figured out perfectly, but you blew it.”

The woman glared at Jake.

“Before you kill us, tell me the reason for all this,” he said. “What’s in it for you?”

Virginia moved half a step closer, aiming the gun toward Jake, her eyes narrowing. “Adam’s a burden and a complete waste of my time. He’s twenty-one years old and still hanging around for me to take care of.” Her lips tightened and she shook her head. “I’m not about to babysit him the rest of his miserable life.”

“And so all this was your plan to get rid of him?” Annie asked. “Frame him for two murders and get him thrown in prison and out of your hair?”

“I expected the kid would get shot,” Virginia said. “That’s why I gave him the gun. I hoped he would either get killed by the police or kill himself.”

“That’s the best idea you could come up with?” Annie said. “Couldn’t you just tell him to leave?”

Virginia smiled. “It goes a little deeper than that. My dear dead husband had quite a chunk of change handed to him when his mother died. Unfortunately, except for a small amount, the idiot put it in a trust account to cover Adam’s ongoing care. My husband named me as executor if anything happened to him, but I couldn’t get at it for my own use.” She let out a guttural chuckle. “That is, unless something happened to Adam.”

“And then we threw a monkey wrench into your plans,” Jake said.

She shrugged a shoulder. “It doesn’t matter. You two are an annoyance, but once we get rid of you, the plan will continue.”

“We?” Jake asked.

Virginia laughed. “I had a little help.”

Tires crackled on gravel and Jake glanced toward the window as a car pulled into the driveway. It moved forward out of his view, the engine died, and a car door slammed.

Virginia moved toward the door, swung it open, and stood back, her eyes still on her captives.

The screen door opened and a man stepped into the room, a grim look on his face. Jake’s eyes bulged. It was Dr. Zalora.

The doctor glared at Jake, then at Annie, a deep frown on his face. He looked at Virginia, perplexed. “What happened?” he asked.

Virginia pointed an accusing finger. “They figured it out.”

Jake glared at Dr. Zalora. Why was he involved in this, and what did he hope to gain? As if in answer, the doctor touched Virginia on the arm and spoke in a soothing voice. “It’s not too late, darling. We can easily get rid of them.”

Jake and Annie exchanged a glance. It was finally making some sense. Virginia and the doctor were having an affair, and they had teamed up to dispose of Adam and gain control of his trust fund.

The doctor glared at Jake with cold eyes then turned to Virginia and held out his hand. “I’ll take the gun.” He laughed and winked at her. “You killed two. I’ll kill the next two.”

Virginia passed the gun to Zalora. The doctor wrapped his hand around the butt, placing his finger firmly on the trigger. He looked at Jake. “I prefer not to do it here, but if you try anything stupid, I’ll shoot both of you here and now.” He sighed. “It’ll make more of a mess that way, but the end result will be the same.”

“If you’ll permit me one question,” Annie said, looking at Virginia, “how could you have killed Nina White? Your neighbor, Mabel, said you were with her.”

Virginia chuckled. “I was with her all right—until she passed out.” She laughed. “That woman never could hold her booze, and she never knew I left long enough to take care of a little business.”

“But why kill Nina White and Raymond Ronson? They were two people Adam liked.”

The woman shrugged. “No particular reason. It had to be someone Adam knew, and those were the only two he ever talked about. He unknowingly led me right to them.”

“Why’d you kill two?” Jake asked. “Wasn’t one enough?”

“It should’ve been, but the police failed to track Adam to the swamp and shoot him down. I had to give them another reason to get serious about finding him.”

“But you’re the one who warned him to run,” Annie said. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t want him caught.” She raised her voice and spoke through gritted teeth. “I wanted him dead.”

“And so you killed two innocent people.”

She gave an evil chuckle. “It’s their own fault for being so friendly with a psychopath like Adam.”

“The only thing is, he’s not the psychopath here,” Jake said. “You are.”

Dr. Zalora’s eyes gleamed. “That’s not what the police think. They’re convinced he’s stark raving mad, thanks to my professional opinion.”

Virginia laughed. “And a few drugs.”

Annie leaned in and seemed about to leap forward, but Zalora waved the gun and glared darkly. “Sit down.”

Annie sat back and crossed her arms. “So Adam’s not a sociopath?”

Dr. Zalora glanced at Virginia, a wicked twinkle in his eye, then he laughed long and loud. When his face finally sobered, he said, “He’s only as crazy as the drugs made him. You’d be surprised what a mix of certain medications can do to a person.”

Jake jumped to his feet. “So, you drugged him and that made him crazy enough to kill two other people?”

Zalora smiled and sighted down the barrel toward Jake. “That was a bonus. The icing on the cake, you might say. I never expected that, and it was a pleasant surprise.” His voice took on a menacing tone. “Now sit down.”

Jake dropped back into the chair. “And the purpose of the roses in the victim’s mouths?”

Virginia shrugged. “Just a little more evidence against Adam.”

“That’s enough talk,” Dr. Zalora said. “We have to get this finished.”