Page 74 of The Devil's Advocate

‘I have. Mostly bars,’ said Harry. ‘Say, are you Ryan Hogg?’

The barman was leaning over the bar to clean it when Harry asked the question. His cloth stopped when Harry stopped speaking.

‘Who wants to know?’ asked the barman.

‘We’re lawyers for Andy Dubois,’ said Kate.

He sighed, then continued wiping down the bar, this time more vigorously.

‘I already told the sheriff what I saw,’ he said.

‘So you’re Ryan,’ said Kate. ‘Andy seems like a good kid.’

‘I thought so too, but you never can tell,’ said Ryan.

Kate exchanged a glance with Harry. Ryan had a lingering soft spot for Andy. She could tell. Harry saw it too.

‘The DA says Andy murdered Skylar Edwards. We don’t believe that. What do you think?’ asked Kate.

Ryan put the cloth down, came over to them and leaned on the bar, both hands spread wide.

‘I cried the night they found Skylar. She was special. Smart, pretty, a heart of gold. She had time for everyone. Lot of people in this town were proud of her. She looked after Andy when he was working here. Kept him straight. Made sure his work was up to scratch, most of the time. I don’t know why they argued that night. But I saw it with my own eyes. They were standing right at that front door.’

‘Can you describe how Andy was behaving toward Skylar?’ asked Kate.

‘He was hollering at her. Skylar was no flowerchild – she was giving it right back at him.’

‘Did Andy seem angry?’ asked Harry.

Ryan looked at the doors, as if recalling the detail in his mind and letting it play out in that space.

‘He raised his voice. I guess so.’

‘What do you think they were arguing about?’ asked Harry.

‘I got no idea, but he was real mad.’

They paused, Kate shot Harry another glance, and he nodded. Time to pop the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.

‘Ryan, do you think Andy killed Skylar?’

He shook his head. ‘I’m just trying to run my bar. I already told the sheriff I’m just gonna tell it straight. This is what I saw. That’s all. I don’t need Randal Korn sneaking up my ass.’

Harry sighed.

Kate understood Ryan’s fear. No one would want Korn as an enemy. But that didn’t explain why Ryan was lying. Not really. Andy said he didn’t have an argument with Skylar that night. They never argued, and she believed Andy. She glanced down at Ryan’s hands, spread out on the bar.

‘Thank you. Is it okay if I use your bathroom?’ asked Kate.

‘Sure, round the corner,’ said Ryan.

She got off the stool went around the bar to a set of doors marked bathrooms, and pushed through, her heart beating fast now. She took out her cell phone, sent Harry a text message.

Beyond the door was a short, narrow hallway. A fire exit dead ahead. A wall on the right painted white, but now covered in graffiti. On the left were two doors. With ‘Hogs’ and ‘Sows’ written on each respective door. She waited, listening at the door she’d just come through, waiting to hear the … and there it was. The alert signal from Harry’s phone to announce he got a text. Kate went through the door for ‘sows’ and wondered why on earth any woman would ever set foot in this goddamn place. She splashed water on her neck, washed her hands, dried them and then returned to the bar.

Harry met her eyes immediately.

Kate took her stool as Harry swallowed the last mouthful of booze in front of him, and put the glass slowly back on the table.