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Chapter 29
THEY HAD TAKENphotos of what they had discovered in the potting shed and then put everything back. Since they had no warrant, anything they found would not be admissible in court if it ever came to that.
They drove off and wound their way back down the hill to Baronville.
“Do we tell Green and Lassiter what wefound?” asked Jamison as she steered the vehicle.
Decker shook his head. “No, they’d be pissed about what we did, and there’s no need to fight that battle right now. And we have no idea if that stuff really belongs to Swanson. It’s just a hunch. But his old landlord did say he rode a bike.”
“Long ride up here and back.”
“Hey, if it’s the only wheels you have?”
“So where does that lead us?”
“To the possibility that John Baron is lying to us. He says he didn’t know Costa; I’m convinced he did.”
“Come on, Decker, lots of businesses sponsor Little League teams. You can’t expect a bank bigwig to know all the coaches.”
“Granted. But I wouldn’t expect abigwigto keep a photo of the team at his house either. And it’s notlike Baronville National Bank is Goldman Sachs or Citibank. Everybody probably knows everybody else. And if that stuff does or did belong to Swanson, then that means that Baron possibly knewtwoof the four victims. And Costa’s secretary said the bank holds the mortgage on this place. For all we know, Costa is the point of contact for Baron.”
“We could ask for alibis from him.”
Decker shook his head. “I don’t want to go there with him, not yet. He’s cagey. And he apparently is alone a lot of the time, so what sort of alibi could he reasonably provide for two sets of murders?”
Jamison glanced at the truck’s clock. “Oh no, we’re going to be late.”
Decker glanced at her. “For what?”
“Zoe’s birthday dinner.”
“Do we have to go?”
She looked at him, dumbstruck. “I’mthe one who’s taking them to dinner, Decker. It’s at the nicest restaurant in town. You knew about this. It’s one of the reasons we’re visiting them now. To celebrate Zoe’s sixth birthday. I have her presents in the back of the truck at least, so we don’t have to go back to the house.”
“But we’re in the middle of an investigation.”
“And we’ve been working on it all day. And we have to eat. So we’re going to the dinner.”
“But—”
“No buts, Decker. We’re going!”
“Alex—”
Jamison made a slashing motion with her free hand. “Not another word. She’s my niece and I love her more than anything.”
Decker sighed and slumped back against his seat.
***
The restaurant was half full. When Jamison had said this was the best restaurant in Baronville, Decker hadn’t known what to expect. But it was comfortably furnished and sparkling clean. The wait staff wore white shirts and black bow ties, the napkins were linen, and the menu had some dishes Decker had never heard of but that sounded tantalizing.
Amber and Zoe were indresses, and even Decker could tell that Amber had taken time with her makeup and her and her daughter’s hair. This was apparently a big deal. Decker’s mind took him back to his own daughter’s birthdays. Theywerebig deals.
He glanced at Jamison, who gazed adoringly at her niece.
“Did you have a good day at school, Zoe?” she asked.
