Free In This Town by Beth Andrews Page A

alias had been discovered.
    “You’re admitting—to the officer investigating accusations of
ethics violations against you—that you withheld evidence?” Walker asked.
    “I’m handing over evidence that I believe will be helpful to
the officer in charge of Dale’s murder investigation.”
    “You want to help me? Why?”
    “Because it’s the right thing to do. And because once I saw
those toxicology reports, I would’ve fully investigated Mr. York’s death as a
murder.”
    “I guess we’ll never know if that’s the truth or not.”
    “No, we won’t. But instead of whiling away our time trying to
see which one of us can piss farther, I thought it might be in both of our best
interests to get these investigations over as soon as possible.”
    “You mean it’s in your best interest. And I don’t need help
with investigations.” He worked alone. Part of the reason he enjoyed his job was
that he wasn’t stuck with a partner, didn’t need every idea he had, every move
he wanted to make, vetted by someone else.
    And he sure didn’t need Taylor getting involved. Walker already
had a case with so many twists, turns and knots, he didn’t think he’d ever get
it all straightened out.
    “I screwed up,” Taylor said simply and, if Walker was reading
him right, honestly. “I had no reason to suspect Mr. York died of anything other
than natural causes. I had the coroner’s report telling me it was a heart attack
and there were no signs of foul play, nothing to indicate a struggle had taken
place or that another person had even been in that motel room.”
    “Could’ve been suicide,” Walker said.
    “You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
    “No, I don’t. But I have to cover all the bases.” Had to cover
his ass. Taylor might want to consider doing the same.
    “There was no goodbye note, no confession of guilt and remorse.
Hell, there wasn’t so much as an aspirin found on scene.” Taylor’s jaw
tightened. “All the evidence pointed to a heart attack. But…”
    “But?”
    “My instincts told me otherwise.”
    Walker shoved the cards back into the envelope. “Those the same
instincts that told you to keep pertinent evidence hidden?”
    “I had no proof it was pertinent until Tuesday.”
    “And yet you still kept digging until you found out who Dale
had become, where he’d been all these years.”
    “I had my reasons.”
    Walker widened his stance. “Reasons like wanting to bring some
sort of closure, give some answers to Captain Sullivan and her family?”
    Taylor took off his sunglasses and hooked them to the neck of
his shirt. “You think I don’t know how this looks, how tangled it is? Believe
me, all I want is the truth.”
    “That might be hard to come by. Dale York was the main suspect
in Valerie Sullivan’s murder but everyone knew there wasn’t enough evidence to
even charge him with the crime. He was a free man and, unless a witness came
forward or he confessed, he’d remain a free man. That couldn’t have sat well
with the family and loved ones of Valerie Sullivan. That’s plenty of people with
motive.”
    A car pulled into the lot. Taylor waited until the person had
entered the building before asking, “What if Dale didn’t kill Valerie?”
    “Do you think York was innocent?”
    “I think it’s a possibility.”
    “That’s about as big of a nonanswer as you could give while
still speaking.”
    Respect entered Taylor’s eyes but was quickly banked. “I don’t
like to speculate. I look at the facts and the facts pointed to Dale York being
the most viable suspect.”
    “Most viable, but not the only suspect.” Walker watched Taylor
carefully. “Captain Sullivan admitted to having argued with her mother the night
she disappeared.”
    “Captain Sullivan was only fourteen—”
    “We both know that doesn’t mean anything.”
    “She’s innocent,” Taylor said mildly.
    Walker couldn’t help but admire the chief’s control. His
conviction. “Are you