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“List them.” Arnett’s pen was poised over his notebook.
Mitch took over. “They’re mostly mine. I have a Glock 19, a Luger, and a SIG Sauer 522 LR.”
Jo nodded as Arnett jotted them down. “You said mostly yours. Anything else?”
“I have a Beretta,” Frieda said, voice far quieter.
“What caliber?” Jo asked.
“Twenty-two.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Jo scanned the flaming red, yellow, and orange trees whizzing past her window as Arnett drove back toward Oakhurst. “I’m amazed they were willing to let us take the guns without a warrant.”
“They know the writing’s on the wall. We’d’ve been back with a warrant for more than just the guns.”
“We still will if I have anything to say about it,” Jo said. “Marzillo can put a ballistics expert on the two that are the same caliber as the gun, and hopefully we’ll have a match to the bullet and a warrant by the end of the day.”
“Seems unlikely to be the rifle given the close-range nature of the entrance wound,” Arnett said. “But the pistol fits.”
“Mitch could have used her gun, but after meeting her, I think we have to consider she may be the killer. She definitely seems to be the one in control there.”
He scratched his chin. “And we only looked at him. Very sexist of us.”
“No time like the present,” Jo said, and tapped into the MCT. “Interesting version of the story they told.”
Arnett sped up onto the pike. “How stupid do you have to be to not realize we have access to all the facts? Junkie, my ass.”
Jo reached for her necklace. “It would be one thing if Ashville had just done what she’d threatened—gone to the witness and asked her to testify again, gone to the DA and asked for witness protection. But to use another person’s victimization to get what you want? When waters get murky like that, scary things hide below the surface.”
Arnett nodded, but kept his eyes on the road.
“And I’m wondering about the cops who showed up on the Fourth of July. Did she just make a noise complaint and the cops were over-aggressive, or did she specifically ask them to send a message? Frieda’s posture completely shifted when she was telling us that part of the story, and her anger was different. I think she might have been telling the truth.”
“Either way is possible. But it’s not like the officer’s gonna admit it one way or the other,” Arnett said.
Jo’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen, hoping it was Marzillo or Lopez with an update. But the picture of her brother-in-law’s dark hair, blue eyes, and too-charming smile popped onto the screen. “Oh great, it’s David. What the hell could he possibly want?”
Arnett shot her a sympathetic look. “Sounds like a fun call. You going to take it?”
“Whatever it is, putting it off isn’t going to help.” She took a deep breath and raised the phone to her ear. “David. What’s up?”
“Hi, Jo. Is now a bad time?” David’s voice floated over the line with a practiced nonchalance.
Jo reached for the right balance betweenso-nice-to-hear-from-youanddie-in-a-fire-you-cheating-ass. “No, actually, we’re in transit and I may not have another chance for a while. What’s up?”
“Oh, well.” He hesitated, then dove back in. “I’m calling to thank you for giving me the OK to move into Matt’s place. I wasn’t sure you’d be willing to allow it.”
It was Jo’s turn to hesitate—she hadn’t anticipated hearing from him directly. And, she was fairly sure he wasn’t just calling to say thank you. “It doesn’t do anybody any good to have you out on the street.”
He laughed awkwardly. “Well, I appreciate it more than I can say, especially since Matt’s place is furnished. I’d really hate to have to squander the girls’ college fund on furniture that’ll just end up on the sidewalk in a few months.”
She bristled. “You’re assuming quite a lot. It might be better to get yourself settled into a new life sooner rather than later.”
She caught Arnett’s wince—apparently she’d erred too far on the side ofdie-in-a-fire. She cleared her throat and made a stab at civility. “How are you settling in?”
“All finished.” His voice was artificially light—her words had stung. “I only had a couple of suitcases. But now that I’m not in a hotel I’ll have room to bring over a few more things from home. Quite a situation, isn’t it?”
