Sharon smiled wide. “I don’t mind. If you can find out who killed him, I’ll do whatever I can.” Her smile disappeared. “It’s a real shame.”

“Thanks, Sharon. I’m sure you realize how important this is.”

“Absolutely.”

Annie took a deep breath. “Michael Norton was last seen by his wife on Monday morning,” she said. “Can you remember when you saw him last?”

Sharon thought a moment, her green eyes far away. Finally, “I think it was Sunday afternoon. He was mowing the front lawn. I was on my way to work.”

“Did you talk to him?”

She shook her head. “Just waved. He waved back and that was it.”

“And you haven’t seen him since then?” Annie asked.

“No. That was the last time, as far as I can remember. I know I didn’t see him after work that day.”

Annie opened the satchel, removed a file folder, and laid it on the table top. She slipped out a photo and turned it around for Sharon to see. It was a red Ford pickup, the same as the truck Rocky Shaft drove.

“Have you ever seen a vehicle like this in their driveway?”

Sharon looked at the picture and shook her head dubiously. “I can’t be sure. It doesn’t look familiar.”

Annie removed another photo. It was of Rocky Shaft. She held it up. “Have you ever seen this man at their house?”

Sharon leaned in and squinted. “I don’t think so.” She looked at Annie and giggled. “I don’t usually pay a lot of attention, but sometimes they have guests over for a barbecue in the back yard.” She looked at the photo again. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen him, though.”

Annie put the photo back in the folder and slipped out a shot of Werner Shaft. “What about him?”

Sharon’s eyes brightened. “I recognize him. He’s been there before.”

“Can you remember the last time you saw him?”

“Not sure. Maybe a couple of weeks ago. He was in the back yard having a beer with Mr. Norton and one other man.”

“Was Mrs. Norton there?”

“No. Just the three guys.” She paused and pointed at the photo. “Who’s he? Is he important?”

“He’s Werner Shaft. The man who was murdered Monday evening. Did you hear about that?”

Sharon caught her breath. “Oh. I heard about that. Did they find out who did it yet?”

“Not yet,” Annie said. “The police are still investigating and so are we.”

“So that’s what this is all about,” Sharon said.

Annie nodded, and then asked, “The other man in the back yard that day—do you know who he was?”

Sharon pursed her lips, shook her head, and spoke slowly. “No. That might be the only time I saw him there.” She tilted her head slightly. “I hope you don’t think I’m a nosy neighbor. I’m really not, but sometimes it’s easy to notice little things like that.”

“Of course not,” Annie said, tucking the photos back into the folder. She flipped it closed, dropped it into the satchel, removed a business card, and handed it to Sharon. “You can call me if you think of anything else that might be important.”

Sharon took the card, glanced at it, and smiled. “I’ll be happy to.”

“I’d better let you finish your lunch and get back to work before Mr. MacKay gets after you,” Annie said, as she stood. “I know what he can be like sometimes.”

“He’s okay,” Sharon said. “I know how to handle him.” She giggled. “His bite’s not half as bad as his bark.”

They said goodbye and Annie left the room, waved at Mr. MacKay on the way out, and went to her car.

The revelation Werner Shaft and Michael Norton socialized on occasion was interesting. Though Tammy Norton claimed otherwise, Annie wondered if the woman was more aware of that relationship than she let on.

Chapter 39

Thursday, 12:54 p.m.

WHEN HANK AND KING returned to the precinct, they were notified of the arrest of Stanley Asher. According to the report, Asher attacked Rocky Shaft in the parking lot behind Shaft’s place of employment. Hank grinned when he saw Jake’s name on the report.

A background check on Asher turned up nothing unusual—no criminal record, no prior arrests, and no pending warrants.

Hank let Asher stew in the holding cell while he went over his notes from the Harland Eastwood interview. It hadn’t broken the case open, but they had gleaned some information about the heist.

He was convinced Eastwood told the truth when he said his boss had no idea who robbed them of their ill-gotten gains. Once this case was over and done with, the names of any surviving robbers would be made public, and Hank suspected there would eventually be repercussions. The drug lords couldn’t afford to let that go—it was bad for business.

Hank pushed back his notes, stood, and turned around. King sat at his desk, his chair tipped back, one foot resting on the faux oak top. King browsed some paperwork, and Hank was surprised to see him putting in some rare desk time.

“Let’s talk to this Asher character,” Hank said, as he approached his partner.

King’s chair dropped forward with a clunk and his feet hit the floor. He tossed the papers onto his desk, yawned, and stood. “He’s in interview room one. I had him brought up a few minutes ago.”

King led the way across the floor and down a short hallway to the interview room. An officer stood outside the door to make sure Asher stayed put. He nodded at the detectives and stood aside as they approached.

Stanley Asher sat at the metal table gazing at his fidgeting hands. He glanced up briefly, a sullen look on his face when Hank pushed open the door and entered.

King stood and folded his arms, leaning against the wall, while Hank took a seat across the table from Asher, sat back, and observed the suspect.

Asher avoided Hank’s gaze for a few moments longer as the cop sat in silence. Then the man’s curious eyes turned upward, caught Hank’s stare, and his hands became still.

“Why’d you attack Rocky Shaft?” Hank asked.

Asher dropped his hands to his lap, rocked back and forth in his chair, and remained quiet.

“Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Hank said. “That’s a serious charge.” He leaned forward. “With the intent to cause bodily harm.” Hank looked at King and shrugged. “Who knows? The crown might want to pursue an attempted murder charge.”

Asher’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t try to kill him. I only wanted to teach him a lesson.”

“He’s got a cracked rib,” Hank said. “That’s serious, and you could’ve killed him.”

Asher gritted his teeth. “He murdered my cousin. Michael and I were like brothers when we were young. My parents took him in when his mother and father died. We practically grew up together.”

King bounced off the wall. “That’s a sad story.” He leaned in. “Now, how do you know Shaft killed your cousin?”

Asher looked up at King. “I saw it on the news.”

“There’s no proof it was Shaft,” Hank said. “You’re looking at serious jail time for assaulting someone who might be innocent.”

“Do you know Rocky Shaft?” King asked.

The suspect shook his head. “Never met him before.”

“How did you find him?”

“It wasn’t hard. His name and picture was on the news and I tracked him down.”

“Tell me about Michael Norton,” Hank said.

“What do you want to know? He’s dead now. We’ve always been close, and even after we went our own ways, we still hung around sometimes.”

“If Shaft didn’t kill him, do you have any idea who else might’ve wanted him dead?”

Asher shook his head. “No.”

King bent over the table. “You and Rocky Shaft were involved in a robbery a few months ago,” he said. “Tell us about that.”

Asher looked confused. “What’re you talking about?”

“Norton was a criminal,” King said, as he straightened his back. “Are you telling me you didn’t know about that?”

Asher hesitated. “I knew he went to prison a few years ago, and he might’ve been involved in some shady deals after he got out, but I wasn’t part of it.”