The Price of Justice by Marti Green

other end of the sofa.
    “Thanks for seeing me again. I won’t take too much of your time.”
    Kincaid crossed his arms. “Don’t think I can help you much. I already told you what I know, which is nothing.”
    “Well, for starters, have you thought about who else was in your group at the dance that night?”
    “Look, I told you. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember.”
    “Hey, buddy, you don’t know what a long time is. Now, my high-school dances were a long time ago, but yours? And I can tell you the name of every boy and girl I hung out with back then.”
    Kincaid squirmed in his seat, then took a gulp of his beer. “I guess you have a better memory than me,” he said, his voice barely above a murmur.
    Tommy leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. “Look, I’m not trying to pin anything on you. We have the killer. But you told me yesterday you hadn’t seen him before. Maybe someone else at the dance did.”
    Kincaid stood up, said, “I’ll be right back,” then left the room. He returned a few minutes later with the school yearbook. Together, they looked through the pictures of graduates, and when they came to one who’d been at the dance, Kincaid pointed him or her out. Tommy wrote down the names of each one, and, if Kincaid knew where they’d ended up, added that to his notes.
    When they finished, Tommy asked, “Had you dated any of these women before Carly?”
    “Why? What difference would that make?”
    “Maybe one of them got jealous when they saw you with Carly.”
    Kincaid looked at Tommy with a quizzical expression. “But she was raped. And you have the guy who said he did it.”
    “Look, I’m just fishing around. Maybe one of your prior girlfriends knew Sanders, pointed Carly out to him. Told him to rough her up. And then it got out of hand.”
    “That really seems like a stretch to me, but these two,” Kincaid said as he pointed to two names on Tommy’s list. “I’d dated them both.”
    Just then, the front door opened, and Kincaid’s mother stepped inside. She glanced into the living room, saw Tommy, and scowled. “What’s he doing back here?”
    “Just had a few more questions, Ma. He’ll be leaving soon.”
    “Not soon enough for me. No use in digging up the past, far as I’m concerned.”
    “I’m almost finished, Mrs. Kincaid, and then you won’t see me again.”
    With the scowl now plastered onto her face, she walked past the living room into the kitchen.
    Kincaid sighed. With his voice just a whisper, he said, “Nobody my age should be living with his mother.”
    “I’ll get out of your hair in a minute.” Tommy went over a few more questions, then thanked Kincaid and left. He’d gotten what he needed from him. No use in annoying his mother any longer.

C HAPTER
    17
    A s soon as Dani opened the front door of her home, she could hear the crackling of wood logs burning in the fireplace and smiled at the fresh pine scent. She stepped into the living room, and Doug stood up from his chair and pulled her into his arms.
    “I missed you,” he said after he’d kissed her. “Tough flight?”
    Dani nodded. Her plane had been delayed three hours on the ground and had to circle LaGuardia Airport for another ninety minutes because of heavy rain and strong winds. She’d expected to be home before Jonah went to sleep. Instead, she’d arrived a little after nine p.m., just in time for “honeymoon hour.”
    “Hungry?”
    “No, just tired.”
    “Want to forgo the couch? Head up to bed?”
    “And miss this fabulous fire? Not a chance.”
    They settled themselves on the sofa, Dani snuggled against Doug’s chest, and once again, she was reminded how lucky she was. Perhaps she didn’t have the wealth of someone like Winston, but she had the ultimate riches—a husband she loved and who loved her in return. Add to that a cherished son, and there was nothing else she desired—except that elusive magic ball that would accurately assess a person’s guilt or