letter.
Trey nodded.
“Mack, if you’re reading this and you are questioning my death in any way, there’s something you need to tell Trey Jakes. The tassel in the envelope does not belong to anyone from the wreck. The night of our graduation, before we ever left town, we gave our caps and gowns to our parents. I was told the tassel was in the pocket of my pants. I have no idea how it got there, but it was bloody, as was everything else I’d been wearing, so they thought nothing of it. I don’t remember the wreck or what we’d been doing before it happened, but after Dick died, I began having dreams, and one of them had to do with that tassel. I kept seeing a boy’s body on the ground, holding a tassel soaked in blood, so maybe it was already bloody when I put it in my pocket. Maybe they can get DNA off it. Maybe it will help figure this mess out. I don’t know what happened, but I think the four of us were a part of something bad. I can’t bring myself to believe we caused it, but we were so drunk when we had the wreck there’s no telling what might have happened beforehand. I want to think we witnessed it. I want to think we were on the way back to Mystic to get help when the wreck happened. I want to think that, but I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve had a feeling in my gut ever since Dick’s murder that either Betsy or I could be next. You know how much I love you. You know how proud I am of all you’ve accomplished. Live your life. Don’t waste it. Go make peace with Melissa. I know you still care.
Dad.”
* * *
The silence in the vault was telling. The banker, Gregory Standish, was pale and shaking as he stared down at the rusty-looking tassel in disbelief.
“So that’s not dirt on there,” he muttered.
Trey pulled an evidence bag out of the inner pocket of his jacket, and bagged and tagged it in front of them, then pocketed the letter.
“I need to get this to the state lab,” he said, patting the pocket where he’d put the letter. “I’ll make sure you get this back.”
Mack shook his head. “I don’t want it. I know he loved me. That message was for you.”
Trey glanced at his watch.
“The serviceman is coming to the garage to look at the lift in about a half hour. I need to be there to let them in. Do you have the keys to the garage on you, Mack?”
Mack nodded. “I’ll follow you there.”
Trey pointed to the banker and his secretary.
“Everything you heard in here is confidential because it’s directly connected to an ongoing murder investigation, so I don’t expect to hear any gossip around town, understand?”
Standish and his secretary both nodded.
Satisfied he’d done all that was needed, Trey headed out, leaving the others behind in the vault.
Mack was shaken as he glanced over at the lawyer.
“Mr. Emerson, I don’t suppose you need me anymore. The box has been opened and the contents recorded, right?”
“Right. An inventory of the contents will be included in the papers when his estate goes into probate.”
Mack nodded, then shook hands with the banker. “Thank you for your assistance and consideration.”
Gregory Standish turned on the charm. “You’re entirely welcome, Mr. Jackson, and on behalf of all of us here at the bank, please accept our condolences on the loss of your father.”
Mack left then, his mind already on the next facet of the investigation. If that lift was truly faulty, then there was no way to back up what his father had written, but if the lift was fine, the letter was added proof that his father had been murdered. He wasn’t sure how he felt because either way, his father was still dead.
Mack saw Trey leaning against the hood of his cruiser and talking on the phone when he pulled up to the gas station. He walked past Trey and overheard just enough of the conversation to know that Trey was talking to his mother about having lunch with her later, and he guessed she was going to be the next person to be interviewed
Trey nodded.
“Mack, if you’re reading this and you are questioning my death in any way, there’s something you need to tell Trey Jakes. The tassel in the envelope does not belong to anyone from the wreck. The night of our graduation, before we ever left town, we gave our caps and gowns to our parents. I was told the tassel was in the pocket of my pants. I have no idea how it got there, but it was bloody, as was everything else I’d been wearing, so they thought nothing of it. I don’t remember the wreck or what we’d been doing before it happened, but after Dick died, I began having dreams, and one of them had to do with that tassel. I kept seeing a boy’s body on the ground, holding a tassel soaked in blood, so maybe it was already bloody when I put it in my pocket. Maybe they can get DNA off it. Maybe it will help figure this mess out. I don’t know what happened, but I think the four of us were a part of something bad. I can’t bring myself to believe we caused it, but we were so drunk when we had the wreck there’s no telling what might have happened beforehand. I want to think we witnessed it. I want to think we were on the way back to Mystic to get help when the wreck happened. I want to think that, but I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve had a feeling in my gut ever since Dick’s murder that either Betsy or I could be next. You know how much I love you. You know how proud I am of all you’ve accomplished. Live your life. Don’t waste it. Go make peace with Melissa. I know you still care.
Dad.”
* * *
The silence in the vault was telling. The banker, Gregory Standish, was pale and shaking as he stared down at the rusty-looking tassel in disbelief.
“So that’s not dirt on there,” he muttered.
Trey pulled an evidence bag out of the inner pocket of his jacket, and bagged and tagged it in front of them, then pocketed the letter.
“I need to get this to the state lab,” he said, patting the pocket where he’d put the letter. “I’ll make sure you get this back.”
Mack shook his head. “I don’t want it. I know he loved me. That message was for you.”
Trey glanced at his watch.
“The serviceman is coming to the garage to look at the lift in about a half hour. I need to be there to let them in. Do you have the keys to the garage on you, Mack?”
Mack nodded. “I’ll follow you there.”
Trey pointed to the banker and his secretary.
“Everything you heard in here is confidential because it’s directly connected to an ongoing murder investigation, so I don’t expect to hear any gossip around town, understand?”
Standish and his secretary both nodded.
Satisfied he’d done all that was needed, Trey headed out, leaving the others behind in the vault.
Mack was shaken as he glanced over at the lawyer.
“Mr. Emerson, I don’t suppose you need me anymore. The box has been opened and the contents recorded, right?”
“Right. An inventory of the contents will be included in the papers when his estate goes into probate.”
Mack nodded, then shook hands with the banker. “Thank you for your assistance and consideration.”
Gregory Standish turned on the charm. “You’re entirely welcome, Mr. Jackson, and on behalf of all of us here at the bank, please accept our condolences on the loss of your father.”
Mack left then, his mind already on the next facet of the investigation. If that lift was truly faulty, then there was no way to back up what his father had written, but if the lift was fine, the letter was added proof that his father had been murdered. He wasn’t sure how he felt because either way, his father was still dead.
Mack saw Trey leaning against the hood of his cruiser and talking on the phone when he pulled up to the gas station. He walked past Trey and overheard just enough of the conversation to know that Trey was talking to his mother about having lunch with her later, and he guessed she was going to be the next person to be interviewed
Similar Books
