Free A Discount for Death by Steven F. Havill Page B

nod.
    “That’s good,” he said.
    Estelle straightened up and turned to Barbara Parker. The woman stood by the front door, Mindi in her arms.
    “You know who’s waiting out front, don’t you?” she said.
    “Yes,” Estelle replied. “I saw him.”
    “I hope things work out for him. You know, I really like him. And none of this is his fault.”
    Estelle nodded. “We’ll just have to see,” she said. “I need to ask you to stay inside with the children.” She stopped short of the front door and pulled out her cell phone. “Brent,” she said when Sutherland answered, “I’ll be talking with Perry Kenderman at the Third Street address. Have a unit circle around that way, code one.”
    “I hope you’re not expecting trouble,” Barbara Parker said as Estelle put the phone in her pocket and reached for the door.
    “I sincerely hope not, ma’am. But I’m not feeling particularly heroic just now.”

Chapter Nine
    As the undersheriff approached, Perry Kenderman drew himself up so that he wasn’t slouching against the car. One hand rested on the fender, the other was thrust into the pocket of his jeans. That pose didn’t work, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
    Estelle walked up so close she almost stepped on Kenderman’s feet. Her face was less than twelve inches from his. He stood a little straighter and tried to meet her gaze, but looked away after a few seconds.
    She leaned even closer, and when she spoke it was no more than a husky whisper. “I’m testifying before the grand jury in fifty-five minutes, Perry. That’s enough time for you to tell me what happened, don’t you think?”
    “I…” he started to say and bit it off.
    “No, you didn’t,” Estelle said, finishing his thought for him. “You’ve lied to me since minute one.”
    He managed to face her then, so close she could smell his breath.
    “I…”
    “You and Colette had an argument last night. Right here at the Parkers’. Start from there.”
    He looked past her toward the house. “You know about my brother?”
    “Yes.”
    “She was going to move back to Las Cruces. To live with him.”
    “Go on.”
    “Well, I…”
    Estelle remained silent, trying to read through the amber-speckled blue of Perry Kenderman’s eyes to the backside of his mind. While they stood there, two vehicles passed, and Estelle heard a third idle to a stop further up the street. She glanced in that direction and saw Deputy Jackie Taber’s unit. Kenderman saw it as well, and that seemed to prompt him.
    “All I wanted was for the kids to be safe,” he said, turning back to Estelle. “That’s all I wanted.”
    “They’re safe with their grandmother, Perry.”
    “No, they’re not. Not if he comes back for ’em. You don’t know my brother.”
    “You’re right, I don’t. Has he threatened them?”
    “No. Nothing outright.”
    Estelle frowned. “It was you who was chasing Colette when she slammed into a utility pole, Perry. Not your brother.”
    The bluntness of her comment brought a flash of pain that made his eyes blink.
    “What was the argument with Colette about?”
    He nodded as if the question put him back on ground that he understood. “She was going to give up her job and everything. Move back to Cruces.”
    “To be with Richard?”
    Perry nodded.
    “And you didn’t want that.”
    He shook his head.
    “So tell me what happened.”
    He looked down at his boots. “She got mad, said some things. I said some things I shouldn’ta said. I tried to talk some sense into her, tried to make her understand what Rick was doin’ to her.”
    “And what was he doing to her?”
    “You been inside?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then you met Mindi.”
    “And Ryan.”
    “Yeah, well…” he stopped.
    “Did you attempt to physically restrain Colette last night?”
    “No. I tried to take her arm once, when she was gettin’ all wound up. That was all.”
    “And then?”
    “And then she got on her bike and rode off.”
    “That’s it? Nothing