Free Even In Darkness--An American Murder Mystery Thriller by Lynn Hightower Page A

Russell Woods obsessively checks his fly. I have no confidence in this man and woman, who arrived on my doorstep with bad news and accusations the night my girls were taken away.
    Woods and Jones sit across from us, and exchange little nods with Smitty. He gives them a curt good morning. Smitty has told me that in spite of the rumors he does not think Woods and Jones are having sex. They are competitive with each other, very different people with similar, high ambitions, and they keep each other’s secrets in an uneasy balance of truce and struggle. If the balance of power shifts, there will be no loyalty, and as partners they are an edgy match. There are rumors that Jones consults tarot cards for every case, but Smitty says the story came from an unreliable source.
    Mavis Jones realizes she’s left the door open, and shuts it softly while Woods switches on the recorder and officially reads me my rights. Woods pauses and looks over at Smitty, who does not disappoint.
    â€˜I’d like it noted on the record that my client, Joy Miller, is here voluntarily, and is anxious to do whatever she can to aid this investigation. That she is extremely worried and suffering from anxiety about the safety of her granddaughter and daughter-in-law, Andee and Caroline Miller. And that she would appreciate every consideration as a concerned member of the family.’
    I listen to this and I like it, and I wonder why it is that people hate lawyers. There is nothing better when you need a hired gun.
    â€˜So noted,’ Woods says.
    They are dancing – Woods, Jones, my own attorney, Smitty – following rhythms and doing the steps they have all done before. They know each other. They work together. To them this is a job. To me it is my life.
    Woods begins with routine questions – my address, my whereabouts on the day that Caro and Andee disappeared. Do I know of any threatening phone calls, any enemies, anything out of the ordinary, before the package of articles arrived? Do I have enemies, stalkers from my days on television, who might be involved?
    But I have been out of the public eye for many years. I have little or nothing for them. Nothing to satisfy that edge in their voice. Smitty frowns at his watch.
    Woods smiles like a predator. ‘Mrs Miller, tell me about your relationship with your daughter-in-law, Caroline Miller. Would you describe it as cordial?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Close?’
    I hesitate. ‘Yes.’
    â€˜How often do you talk to Caroline?’
    â€˜Once in a while.’
    â€˜Every day?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜Every week?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜She answered the question, Agent Woods,’ Smitty says. ‘They were close. They were cordial. Sometimes they talked on the phone.’
    â€˜Did you talk to her once a month?’ Woods asks.
    â€˜Maybe.’ This is making me uncomfortable.
    â€˜Maybe?’
    â€˜Every two or three months.’
    â€˜Every two or three months. And this is a relationship you describe as close?’
    Woods makes me nervous. He has the by-the-book ferocity you find in the IRS, and the arrogance that comes with working for the government. A man like Woods has rules instead of ethics, and he will send you to jail, innocent or guilty, so long as the paperwork pans out.
    I lift my chin. ‘Yes, that’s right.’
    Woods stares at me and earns an intense glare from Smitty. Woods shrugs. ‘Have you ever visited your granddaughter at her home in Arkansas?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜And they’ve lived there how long?’
    I look at the ceiling, doing the numbers in my head. ‘Andee was about two and a half when they left, so roughly five years.’
    â€˜So in five years you’ve never gone to Arkansas to visit?’
    â€˜We’ve made plans a few times. It never quite worked out.’
    â€˜How many times?’
    â€˜Maybe … I think three. Three times.’
    â€˜Why didn’t it