Free Eyeshot by Lynn Hightower Page B

have you two been … together? Jeff?”
    Barber let his hands drop between his knees. “I was down in Knoxville picking up a lens a buddy of mine was selling. He was retiring, getting rid of a lot of his equipment, and I went down to buy stuff off him. They’re doing a lot of construction on I-75 down near Knoxville, so this guy tells me my best bet getting home is to take Maybryhood Road and go through Clinton. That way I bypass all the mess and the traffic tie-up. Said there was a good place to have lunch there—the Blue Moon Diner. Near some place where some twins used to have a restaurant, I don’t know. But that’s where I met Julia.”
    He said her name with a gentle hunger.
    â€œSo you met her in the diner,” Sonora said.
    Barber brought up a bright red flush. “A woman like that, running a diner in Clinton, Tennessee? Have you seen pictures of Julia?
    â€œShe had beautiful cheekbones, a kind of round, Slavic bone structure. I asked if I could take her picture. I did, and went home. Could not forget her. So we—we talked on the phone, a lot of that. I told her about this conference, the small business thing.”
    â€œWhose idea was it for her to come up?”
    â€œMine. But she wanted to come. I think she did.” He frowned. “She wasn’t happy at home. I mean, she wasn’t un happy, but she wasn’t happy either. To be honest, she was fine either way without me. But I wasn’t fine without her. It’s like …” He looked at the wall. “It’s like she woke me up. I’ve been on autopilot since … for a while now. First it had to be that way, then it just got to be the way it was. I mean stupid stuff. Like I didn’t notice how ratty and dusty my office was, till I got Julia in my life. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.”
    You could clean your office, Sonora thought.
    Sam leaned sideways. “When was the last time you saw her?”
    â€œWe had dinner at the Montgomery Inn, the one on the river.” His voice had gone low and gravelly. “We were supposed to go out again the next night. But there wasn’t a next night.”
    Maybe she had indigestion, Sonora thought. “What happened?”
    â€œI went back to my room late. We were supposed to meet for breakfast—they have a breakfast buffet. It comes with the room.”
    Sam nodded, man to man. The importance of a breakfast buffet was not lost.
    â€œShe called my room early that morning. Said for me to go on without her. She seemed distracted and, I don’t know, kind of angry. I thought she might be mad at me, so I tried to talk to her, but she said she’d call me later.”
    â€œDid she?”
    â€œI didn’t wait. I thought something was wrong. Like between us. So I went to her room.”
    Might be true love, Sonora thought. Passing up that breakfast buffet.
    â€œWhat was up?” Sam said.
    â€œShe had a newspaper. One of those ones they leave outside the door. I wish they hadn’t.”
    â€œWhy’s that?” Sam said.
    â€œShe had it folded back to a picture of that prosecutor who’s going after that Bengals player. Drury.”
    Sonora nodded. “Keep talking.”
    â€œShe’s using nail scissors to cut this article out of the paper. Says she saw this guy Caplan kill somebody eight years ago.”
    Sonora looked at Sam, then back to Barber. “Tell me exactly what she said.”
    He swallowed. “It happened while she was in school.”
    â€œShe say what school?” Sam asked.
    â€œUniversity of Cincinnati. I mean, people get killed around there every year. I thought she must have meant some kind of thing in the streets. But she said this happened inside. And she saw it.”
    â€œDid she report it?” Sonora asked.
    â€œShe told the security guard, but when she took him back inside, there wasn’t anybody there—no body, no murderer. Guard