Free Love Kills by Edna Buchanan Page B

that he always knows without fail when somebody is lying.
    She turned to Nazario. “What did your built-in shit detector say?”
    â€œWhat Britt said was true,” Nazario said. “In all the time we’ve dealt with her, she never lied. This was no different.”
    Riley folded her arms and perched casually on the corner of Burch’s desk. “So who would’ve guessed? Any of you know she was pregnant?”
    They all denied it.
    â€œA surprise to us,” Corso said. “We had nothing to do with it.”
    She nodded, eyes hollow. “So where do we stand on Spencer York?”
    â€œTalked to Brenda Cunningham,” Stone said. “Brenda Cunningham Grokowski. Resides in Oregon with her second husband, Mike, a long-distance trucker. Has two more kids, little girls. Hasn’t been able to afford to go back to court to fight her ex for the boy’s custody. Hasn’t seen Jason since he was four. He’s a teenager now.”
    â€œHow’d she react when she heard York was dead?”
    â€œWith relief. Said she would’ve killed him herself back then if she’d had the chance. She’s still angry that he never went to trial for the assault on her and Jason.”
    â€œJust when did she meet Mike the trucker?” Riley asked thoughtfully. “Was he Brenda’s man of the moment when she was roughed up by our victim?”
    â€œNope,” Stone said. “Claims she had no boyfriend at the time. Had casually dated a co-worker at IHOP. With her son gone and no trial on the horizon once York disappeared, she got depressed, lost her job, and was about to be evicted. Did a stint as a topless dancer at the Pink Pussycat. Not her finest hour. When a friend, another dancer, moved to Oregon, she went along, sort of spur-of-the-moment, she said. They shared the cross-country drive. She landed a job in Portland, found Jesus, and met the trucker in church. Said he’s never been to Florida.”
    â€œCheck him out anyway,” Riley said. “See if that’s true, if he has a rap sheet, or ever owned a gun. What about her ex, Jason’s father?”
    â€œCalled the guy,” Nazario said. “Says he’s not sorry he had his kid snatched. Has no clue who wasted York or why. Suggested we check Brenda’s boyfriends.”
    â€œAnything else?”
    He nodded. “I’m looking into York’s last confirmed sighting. When he left the News building, he went over to WAVE radio to be interviewed by a talk-show host. Listeners called in, including somebody from a support group for divorced dads. He invited the Custody Crusader to speak at their meeting the following night.
    â€œHis bondsman says he established back then that York did address that dinner meeting of Fathers First. They met once a month. The News story on York appeared in that morning’s paper. They had a full house. I can’t find anybody who saw him after that. Two weeks later, he failed to appear at a pretrial hearing.”
    â€œSo his killer nailed him between the meeting that night and his missed court appearance,” Riley said. “Leaves us with a two-week window.”
    â€œI’m thinking,” said Burch, “that he had to be killed closer to the night he met with the fathers. York wasn’t shy. He was a big-mouthed son of a bitch who craved attention and was on a roll. Yet nobody heard anything from him after that night.”
    â€œThe group’s defunct,” Nazario said, “but I’m looking for a membership list from back in the day.”
    Â 
    Burch stopped by Riley’s office before going home. Still at her desk, she was poring over old reports.
    He noted the framed photograph, still in a prominent place on her bookshelf: Riley and Kendall McDonald at a department fishing tournament.
    â€œYou okay?” he asked.
    â€œSure. Have to admit that one took me aback. Would’ve been nice to have a heads-up.