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“Do you think Ray would have killed Lucy in an effort to control Ian?”
Troy’s expression shifted to one of wariness. “I ain’t calling no one a killer. The Johnsons have been good to me. They treated me right when I bought this place. Ray’s even sent business my way.”
Too pushy. Too pointed. Finley scrolled it down a notch. Clinton had read her anticipation too well. “I’m only asking if you think Ray would have gone to great extremes to either control or push away Ian. He let me know he wasn’t happy with the relationship.”
More lies. But sometimes it took a carefully framed deception to get the truth.
Troy considered her question for a moment. “If Ray was going to kill anyone, it would have been Ian. But to tell you the truth, I don’t think Ray would kill anyone. He’s kind of a blowhard, if you know what I mean. He likes pushing people around and puffing out his chest, but the follow-through doesn’t live up to the preview. Personally, I think he hoped to run Ian off with those tactics.”
Possibly. Finley chose a simpler question next. “Did Ian talk to you about Lucy?”
“Not much. It all happened really quick. They met completely by accident. She had a flat tire, and Ian helped her out. They exchanged phone numbers and met up a few times. I think he really liked her.”
“Did you speak with him after her murder?”
Troy moved his head side to side. “Ian like went into seclusion. He didn’t answer his phone. Didn’t go out. I even went to his house. I knew he was there because his car was there, and he wouldn’t come to the door. He wouldn’t talk to any of us. I never saw him again after that. And then Ray said he was gone.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
He thought about that for a while. “The day she was killed, I think. I ran into him at Sonic. We talked for a bit. Ate burgers and fries.” His expression shifted to one of surprise. “You know, now that I think about it, he said something ...” His forehead furrowed in concentration. “Something about getting away from it all. But I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Later, I figured he had either made good on it or Ray had finally succeeded in running him off.”
Finley’s pulse was tripping at this point. “Did he mention anything about seeing Lucy that day? Maybe he mentioned plans with her.”
Troy shook his head. “I even asked him about her. You know, if they were getting serious or whatever, and he closed down. I figured she told him she couldn’t see him anymore. I mean, let’s face it, theyweren’t exactly from the same kind of families. The relationship was never going to work.”
“Did he seem angry when you asked about her?”
Troy appeared to think about the question before answering. “Not angry, no. In a hurry to get away from the question. I got the impression he didn’t want to talk about her that day.”
“One last question,” she said. “Why did you tell the police a different story thirteen years ago?”
The man stared at the ground for a moment before meeting her gaze. “Because I was afraid of what Ray and his daddy would do if I told the truth. It was a little crazy around that time, and we were all worried about getting pulled into the investigation.” He shrugged. “It’s guys like us who get nailed when rich white girls get murdered.”
Finley struggled with the urge to demand more answers ... to rant at this guy for keeping the truth from the investigation thirteen years ago.Stay cool.
“Thank you.” Finley withdrew a card from her bag and handed it to him. “If you think of anything else that might help us solve this mystery, I would appreciate a call.”
He tucked her card in his shirt pocket. “No problem.” A pained expression scrunched his face. “Just make sure you don’t tell Ray all the stuff I said about him. I mean, I’m not afraid of him anymore or nothing like that, but he can make problems with my business.”
“Not a word,” she promised. “This conversation was about helping me determine what happened to Ian, and nothing else.”
They walked back through the office. At the door to the front parking area where she’d left her Subaru, he said, “Ian is—was, whatever—a good guy. I don’t think he would have hurt Lucy or anyone else.”
Finley thanked him and headed to interview number two. She preferred doing these sorts of interviews cold in hopes of getting truer responses. More often than not, it worked.
The interview with Skyler Wright went basically the same way as Clinton’s. He seemed surprised to be visited by Finley, giving her the impression that Troy and Ray had not given him a heads-up. He, too, claimed Ian had a thing for Lucy, though he couldn’t say for how long or how serious the relationship was. Wright also insisted that fear of getting into trouble had kept him from coming forward thirteen years ago. As with Troy, she read no deceit in his voice or mannerisms. If either had been lying, they were damned good at it.
After interviewing the two people who were supposed to be closest to Ian, the consensus was the same: Ian Johnson was a good guy. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Ray Johnson was a bad guy who wanted rid of his little brother.
Most important of all: Lucy Cagle and Ian Johnson had been involved.
Funny how it seemed someone really wanted the world to know that now—after all these years. When the stars all aligned that perfectly, Finley always worried.
She had a feeling the other shoe was about to drop.
Cagle Residence
