Free Eyeshot by Lynn Hightower Page A

love and decide you were soulmates in the first forty-eight hours? Married guys are usually in a hurry. Three. Does he watch the clock when you guys are together? Because if he’s married, he’s usually supposed to be somewhere else. And four.” Sonora glanced back through the two-way. No more ham sandwich. She was definitely going in. She looked back over her shoulder. Saw Sanders heading down the hall toward the ladies room.
    â€œShe left after three,” Gruber said. “What’s four?”
    â€œYou’re a guy, you were married, you probably already know.” Sonora headed through the door into Interview One.
    Barber was not glad to see her. She handed him a napkin. “Catsup on your mouth.”
    He took the napkin and wiped his lips, crumpled it into a ball.
    Sonora sat on the edge of the table, swinging her right leg. Barber still had the bread crumb hanging from his mouth. She knew it was going to drive her crazy. “Okay. Let’s speak hypothetically here.” She looked at Sam, who poured a handful of Fritos in his hand.
    Barber crossed his legs, thighs pressed tightly together. He flipped a wave of dark hair out of his eyes and the bread crumb fell off the corner of his mouth. Sonora breathed a sign of relief.
    â€œNow, Jeff, let’s say, just for the heck of it, and hypothetically you understand, that while you been here talking to Sam and eating your sandwich, that I got a court order and went to your photography studio there. And let’s say I found pictures of Julia Winchell. Pictures taken before this conference. I’d have to decide you’ve been lying to me, and I’d want to know why. I might suspect you of something awful. I might have to talk to your friends and neighbors and also, not incidentally, to my sergeant and a judge about my suspicions of you.” She stopped talking for a minute, watchful. Heard Sam crunching Fritos. Sonora leaned in close. “We got witnesses, Jeff. People who know the two of you were together, people who will testify that you and Julia Winchell were having an affair.
    â€œNow, Jeff, Julia’s been gone fifteen days—as far as we know, in touch with nobody. Her husband’s worried about her. I’m worried about her. What I don’t understand is why you’re not worried about her. It makes me think you already know what happened to her.”
    Barber leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and covered his eyes with his hands. He looked like he was going to be sick.
    Could have been the sandwich, Sonora thought.
    She noticed that his palms were large and square. She pictured them around Julia Winchell’s neck. Cop imagination.
    Sonora gentled her voice. “We need to find her, Jeff. We need you to talk to us, tell us everything you know. I think—I get the feeling that you know something that could help me find her. You need to talk to me, Jeff. Talk to me for Julia’s sake. You care too much about her not to help us. Don’t you, Jeff?” Sonora took a breath. “Jeff? You with me here?”
    He raised his eyes, hands still covering his mouth. “Of course I care.” The words were muffled behind the thick fingers.
    â€œIf you care you’ll talk to me.”
    He looked from Sonora to Sam. “I think … I think something did happen to her.”
    Sam quit crunching Fritos.
    Sonora nodded at Barber. “Been worried about her, haven’t you?”
    He nodded.
    â€œIt’s got to have been hard for you. Nobody you can ask, nobody you can talk to. How long you been worrying, Jeff?”
    â€œSince she didn’t call.” He swallowed so hard it made Sonora’s throat hurt. “She was supposed to call. We were going to … to meet together. But she didn’t, and so I knew something had to be wrong.”
    The male ego, Sonora thought, glancing back at Sam. Something had to have happened to her, or she would have called.
    â€œHow long