Free In Shadows by Chandler McGrew Page A

don’t know . . . we waved and she seemed okay . . . and I wanted to get home to Pierce. Maybe if I’d picked her up, offered her a place to stay—”
    Virg shook his head. “You can kill yourself with maybes, Mandi. There’s just no way of knowing. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Are you sure about the time?”
    She nodded. “Pretty close.”
    Virgil was silent for a moment.
    “Well,” he said at last, “if anyone thinks of anything, you all know where to contact me. Something that seems trivial to you might make all the difference.”
    He patted Mandi on the shoulder, turning to Jake. “You picked a heck of a week to come home. Sorry about your uncle Albert. You staying?”
    “Just visiting. My partner and I needed a break,” said Jake, introducing Cramer.
    “Big-city law enforcement getting you down?” said Virgil, giving Jake the once-over.
    “Why do you say that?”
    “I’m a cop.”
    Jake laughed, but his face clouded when Virgil nudged him out of the crowd.
    “I want you to take a look at something, Jake,” said Virgil, slipping a Polaroid photo out of his jacket.
    Jake stared at what appeared to be two crystal candlesticks resting atop a canvas pack. The sticks were cut into a swirling diamond pattern, larger at the top than the base. They looked ungainly, possibly unstable, and terribly familiar.
    “The girl had these on her?” he asked, shaken.
    Virgil nodded. “I thought I recognized them. They’re the ones from the mantel in your parents’ house, aren’t they?”
    Jake nodded. “Unless there’s another pair like that in town.”
    “Not likely.”
    “All right, then. Tell me more.”
    “You’re on vacation.”
    “Apparently she broke into
my
house.”
    “Nothing more to tell, yet. She was beaten up pretty good, but it didn’t look like it was bad enough to kill her. Don’t know if she was raped yet, although I expect so. I’m waiting for the medical examiner’s report.”
    He looked at Jake as though waiting for him to add something.
    “Anything new on Albert’s murder?” Jake asked.
    “No. But whoever did it is crazier than a mule on whiskey sodas. It wasn’t pretty, Jake. Way I figure, it had to be strangers. Nobody around here is that crazy. It wasn’t a robbery gone bad. Not a damned thing was taken that we could see. Seems like some loony just ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. I hate to admit it, but you know how it is. More than likely the case will never get solved without some real luck.”
    Jake frowned. “You want some assistance?”
    Virgil eyed him as though weighing the idea.
    “No,” he said at last. “You got no jurisdiction here. And you made it pretty clear years ago you didn’t want any part of the sheriff’s department. Besides, Albert was family.”
    Jake shrugged. “Cramer and I might be helpful.”
    Virgil nodded. “You might at that. And you might muddy up my chain of evidence and let the guilty parties slip through the court system. You know what defense lawyers are like.”
    “We’ve both had training you haven’t,” said Jake. “And you could be wrong. Two murders in Crowley in a month? Both beatings? Don’t you think they just might be related?”
    A couple of Ernie’s congregation had casually edged close enough to listen in, but Virgil shooed them off with his eyes. “The two murders probably
aren’t
related. The girl’s killing could be just a rape gone bad.”
    “Albert’s body was found upright against the kitchen table. What was the crime scene like for the girl?”
    Virgil frowned. “How do you know that, Jake?”
    Jake shrugged. “Cramer got hold of the report.” When Virgil gave Cramer a surprised look, Jake smiled. “He’s resourceful.”
    “Well,
she
was lying facedown. Fully clothed. Blue jeans, T-shirt, hiking boots. It was almost like the killer didn’t want her to look at him.”
    “That happens,” said Jake. “A disorganized killer might feel remorse. He’ll dress the victim or