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She led them back, warned Devine that he couldn’t let Alex touch anything, and then left them. He figured she would have been far more hesitant to let the two of them have access to this evidence if Palmer’s death had not been officially ruled a suicide, despite her agreeing with Devine’s theory as to it possibly having been a murder.
“What are we looking for?” asked Alex.
Devine proceeded to tell her about his theory of the case with Earl’s death having been a homicide because of the man’s physical limitations. “And your seeing the pulley bolsters that.”
“That all makes sense, Travis. You would think Chief Harper could see that, too.”
“When he wasSergeantHarper he accessed your evidence file.”
“Why?”
“I guess he wanted to see if he could solve it, but your rape kit was missing, as I told you before.”
“Who would take it?”
“Whoever didn’t want your attacker to be found.”
“Do you have any idea who it is, Travis?” she asked in a trembling voice.
“I’m getting closer, I can feel it.”
He looked over the evidence that had been gathered from the Palmers’ studio and focused on the noose.
He took pictures of it with his camera.
“God, that is a gruesome-looking thing,” said Alex.
“Between World War II and 1961 the U.S. military executed 160 soldiers for various offenses. They were all hanged, and the Army was responsible for 157 of them.”
“An eye for an eye?”
“Not really. Fourteen offenses are punishable by death during times of war or peace. Every soldier knows what they are, or should. So long as he or she avoids them, they have no problem.” He didn’t tell her that one of them was for rape.
“And for times of war only?” she said.
“Four, including desertion and willfully disobeying or assaulting a superior officer.”
“I suppose you never willfully disobeyed or assaulted a superior officer?”
“Not asuperiorofficer, no,” said Devine, thinking of Kenneth Hawkins, who had, like Devine, also held the rank of captain.
He drove Alex back to Jocelyn Point. She got out of the truck and then poked her head back in. “I heard about your rental. Annie said it was shot full of holes.”
“It was. But I’m not.”
She visibly shuddered at his flippant remark. “Do you know why they’re trying to kill you? Is it connected to what happened to Jenny?”
“I don’t know, honestly. It could be connected to something totally unrelated. Old enemies,” he added.
“Please be careful.”
“I always am, Alex. It’s why I’m still here.”
Devine watched her walk inside, then started back down the drive. But as he was doing so he noted for the first time that the drive also had a branch off to the right, heading toward some of the other buildings he had seen on his first night here. He hung a quick right and drove off.
The first three buildings he reached were abandoned or falling down, and otherwise uninhabitable. The fourth one was not.
He parked in front and looked back at the main house. It was not visible from here because the trees and large bushes neatly blocked this building from both the house’s view and from the coast road.
