“I just do not know. Maybe somebody found it and left it there.”
“Why would someone do that?” asked the detective. “Were they trying to set you up?”
“I do not know,” said Levi. He closed his eyes, wishing he could just fall asleep and escape the ceaseless barrage of questions and the sickening feeling he’d carried with him since the night that Shelley was buried.
The detective rose from his chair and left the room. Levi wasn’t sure if the man had taken pity on him and wanted to give him a break or if the detective’s departure was part of a calculated plan to give Levi time to think and reconsider his answers. Whatever the reason, Levi was grateful to be left alone.
He imagined his parents, waiting at home and worried to death. Theirs was a small community, and news spread fast. Soon everyone would know that the police had taken him in for questioning. Everyone would be speculating on Levi’s involvement in a woman’s murder and grotesque burial. His parents would be mortified.
But, again, it was the fate of his sister that concerned Levi more. He loved Miriam and would do anything to protect her. Levi wouldn’t ever be able to reveal what he knew, because doing so could lead to her death. He had no reason to doubt that the murderer would make good on his threat to find a way to kill Miriam if Levi identified him.
The killer wanted nothing more than to eliminate any witnesses; the police wanted to solve their case. As he waited for the detective to return, Levi decided to go through with what he had only been considering before. He could do something that would satisfy both the killer and the police.
The detective entered the room. “You can go for now,” he announced. “But don’t leave town. We’re going to want to talk to you again.” He motioned to Levi. “Come on, get up. We’ll drive you home.”
“No thank you,” said Levi, thinking of his parents’ humiliation when a police car dropped off their son. “I can get home on my own.”
When he walked out of the station, the sun was just coming up. As he headed toward Pinecraft, Levi’s resolve strengthened. Though he hated to saddle his parents with the stigma and pain, he wanted to protect Miriam. He also ached to be released from the mental agony he was enduring. The thought of an entire lifetime of this ahead—of looking over his shoulder, of worrying about the killer harming his sister—filled him with dread. It would be better all around to end the whole thing.
He would take responsibility for Shelley’s murder.
Chapter 43
T he alarm went off way too early. Cryder instantly remembered the late night at the hospital. Before he went in for office hours, he wanted to check on Roz.
With his eyes still closed, Cryder reached out beside him and felt the empty space. Umiko had already gone for her morning walk. She very rarely missed it.
He had to hand it to his wife. She was incredibly disciplined. With her exercise, with her diet, with her housekeeping and careful budgeting. Even when his practice had been young, Umiko had managed to create a seemingly more affluent lifestyle than their income warranted. Now, though they had much more money, she didn’t want to move to a bigger or more luxurious place. Umiko was very satisfied with their two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath town house. It was their magnificent view of the Gulf of Mexico that she loved and never wanted to leave. Her parents must have sensed that when they named her: Umiko means “child of the sea.”
Location, location, location.
Umiko recited the real-estate chant whenever he brought up the subject of selling the place to Walter Engel. Cryder was more than willing to take the profit they would realize and find something else. Maybe an all-on-one-level condo downtown in a high-rise with a marina view. Something newer, with more space, and closer to his office would suit him just fine.
But Umiko was adamantly against selling. She wept whenever he
“Why would someone do that?” asked the detective. “Were they trying to set you up?”
“I do not know,” said Levi. He closed his eyes, wishing he could just fall asleep and escape the ceaseless barrage of questions and the sickening feeling he’d carried with him since the night that Shelley was buried.
The detective rose from his chair and left the room. Levi wasn’t sure if the man had taken pity on him and wanted to give him a break or if the detective’s departure was part of a calculated plan to give Levi time to think and reconsider his answers. Whatever the reason, Levi was grateful to be left alone.
He imagined his parents, waiting at home and worried to death. Theirs was a small community, and news spread fast. Soon everyone would know that the police had taken him in for questioning. Everyone would be speculating on Levi’s involvement in a woman’s murder and grotesque burial. His parents would be mortified.
But, again, it was the fate of his sister that concerned Levi more. He loved Miriam and would do anything to protect her. Levi wouldn’t ever be able to reveal what he knew, because doing so could lead to her death. He had no reason to doubt that the murderer would make good on his threat to find a way to kill Miriam if Levi identified him.
The killer wanted nothing more than to eliminate any witnesses; the police wanted to solve their case. As he waited for the detective to return, Levi decided to go through with what he had only been considering before. He could do something that would satisfy both the killer and the police.
The detective entered the room. “You can go for now,” he announced. “But don’t leave town. We’re going to want to talk to you again.” He motioned to Levi. “Come on, get up. We’ll drive you home.”
“No thank you,” said Levi, thinking of his parents’ humiliation when a police car dropped off their son. “I can get home on my own.”
When he walked out of the station, the sun was just coming up. As he headed toward Pinecraft, Levi’s resolve strengthened. Though he hated to saddle his parents with the stigma and pain, he wanted to protect Miriam. He also ached to be released from the mental agony he was enduring. The thought of an entire lifetime of this ahead—of looking over his shoulder, of worrying about the killer harming his sister—filled him with dread. It would be better all around to end the whole thing.
He would take responsibility for Shelley’s murder.
Chapter 43
T he alarm went off way too early. Cryder instantly remembered the late night at the hospital. Before he went in for office hours, he wanted to check on Roz.
With his eyes still closed, Cryder reached out beside him and felt the empty space. Umiko had already gone for her morning walk. She very rarely missed it.
He had to hand it to his wife. She was incredibly disciplined. With her exercise, with her diet, with her housekeeping and careful budgeting. Even when his practice had been young, Umiko had managed to create a seemingly more affluent lifestyle than their income warranted. Now, though they had much more money, she didn’t want to move to a bigger or more luxurious place. Umiko was very satisfied with their two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath town house. It was their magnificent view of the Gulf of Mexico that she loved and never wanted to leave. Her parents must have sensed that when they named her: Umiko means “child of the sea.”
Location, location, location.
Umiko recited the real-estate chant whenever he brought up the subject of selling the place to Walter Engel. Cryder was more than willing to take the profit they would realize and find something else. Maybe an all-on-one-level condo downtown in a high-rise with a marina view. Something newer, with more space, and closer to his office would suit him just fine.
But Umiko was adamantly against selling. She wept whenever he
Similar Books
