The Guilty by David Baldacci
Robie leaned against the front fender of his rental. “We need to find Pete Clancy.”
“He might be dead.”
“Don’t think so. He’s on the run.”
Reel said, “Well, then he might be far, far away.”
“You think Blue Man could help us there?”
“I think you need to stop stomping on the good graces of Blue Man.”
“He said that?” he asked.
“No, but I interpreted that. You’ve got me. I think that’s going to be it. He doesn’t even want you down here.”
Robie sighed and stared up at the Willows.
Reel followed his look. “What’s up?”
“I have memories of this place. A…girl.”
“Do tell.”
Robie filled her in on Laura Barksdale and the night he had left Cantrell for good. Or so he thought.
“So Romeo lost his Juliet?”
“Something like that.”
“Whatever happened to the Barksdales?”
“I don’t know,” replied Robie.
“Well, maybe you should find out.”
He shot her a glance. “Why, what does it matter?”
“I can tell that it does, to you. And if you come back to your hometown, you might as well address everything while you have the chance. You might not get another.”
Robie glanced over at her, surprise on his features. “You speaking from experience?”
“What else?”
“I wouldn’t really know where to start.”
“How about with your father?”
“My father? I’m not sure I can talk to him about that.”
“Robie, my father was someone you couldn’t talk to about anything. But unless your dad is a racist murderer like mine, then I think you can probably have a conversation with him.”
Chapter
40
AT THE LUNCHEON outside, Tyler kept his gaze swiveling between Robie and Reel.
Victoria picked up on this and said, “He’s wondering why you’re here.”
Reel put a hand on Robie’s shoulder. “I’m Will’s friend.”
Robie nodded.
Tyler immediately touched his heart and then pointed at Reel.
She looked taken aback by this and glanced over at Victoria.
“Congratulations, you’ve been officially inducted into Tyler Robie’s Hall of Love.”
Reel stared quickly down at her plate while Victoria studied her closely.
“Do you have children, Jessica?”
Robie glanced sharply at Reel but said nothing.
Reel lifted her gaze to meet Victoria’s. “No.”
“Well, it’s not too late for you. Look at me. We’re probably the same age.”
“Yeah,” said Reel tersely. “About.”
After lunch, Priscilla cleared the dishes. Victoria had gone into the house with Tyler, leaving Robie and Reel at the table.
“So you be stayin’ with us?” asked Priscilla, eyeing Reel.
“For a while, yes.”
“I’ll set up a bedroom for you.”
“Please don’t go to any trouble. I don’t need much.”
“No trouble.”
She swept some crumbs off into the grass and said, “Heard tell there was some trouble last night.”
“Who did you hear that from?” asked Robie.
“I forget. Might be some folks that were in the woods last night on the north side of town doing some gator baggin’.”
Robie and Reel exchanged a glance.
Priscilla continued. “But I’m sure you two don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.”
“We don’t hunt gators,” said Reel.
“How ’bout people? You hunt them?”
“Well, that would be illegal,” pointed out Reel.
“Uh-huh,” said an unconvinced Priscilla as she gathered dishes in her arms.
Robie rose. “Let me help with those.”
“No, no, just sit yourself down and enjoy this fine Mississippi heat and humidity.”
She sped off to the house.
“I think we’ve been made,” said Reel.
“Small town,” said Robie. “But ‘made’ by gator hunters is a first for me.”
“So instead of taking in this fine Mississippi weather, why don’t we go see your dad?”
“Let’s go see his lawyer first. I want to find out if she learned anything from the files I found at Pete Clancy’s.”
As they walked toward the front of the house, Reel said, “So what is this lawyer like?”
“Toni Moses? Well, let’s just say that the phrase ‘force of nature’ doesn’t do the lady justice.”
“Gotta meet her,” said Reel. “If just for the novelty.”
* * *
Moses met them in her office. Robie had introduced the two women and then Moses had immediately launched into discussion.
“These files you brought me?”
“Anything helpful?” asked Robie.
“The money part was easy. Sherm Clancy made a lot. And he spent a lot. And he recorded every dime of it.”
“What else? Anything about the Rebel Yell?”
“I’m sure there would be, if I could read it.”
“What do you mean?” asked Robie.
“Take a look for yourself.”
She spun her computer screen around so they could both see it.
They read down the screen.
Reel said, “It looks to be in code.”
“That was my conclusion,” said Moses.
Robie sat back. “I wonder if we can find someone to break it.”
“Like who?” asked Moses.
“The FBI, maybe? They’re down here investigating.”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” said Moses.
“Why?”
“You stole this from the Clancys’ residence. Which means it’s tainted. So, technically, the FBI can’t use it. I doubt they’d even look at it. Could get them folks in trouble. Condonin’ a felony.”
Robie looked at Reel. “How about our folks?”
“Remember what I said? I wouldn’t go there. Know any nerds down here that could do it?”
Robie thought about this. “I might.” He turned back to Moses. “But we do have something to fill you in on.”
He took a few minutes to tell Moses about what had happened the previous night.
Her jaw dropped lower and lower as he spoke. When he was done she shot a glance at Reel. “Who the hell are you people?”
“You’re actually not the first one to ask that,” said Reel.
“And the answer would be?” persisted Moses.
“We can’t tell you,” said Robie.
“You’re gonna give me a heart attack, you know that!”
“Not our intent. Have you seen my father today?”
“Went over this mornin’. You plannin’ on seeing him?”
“Going over there next. How’s his mood?”
“I can say truthfully that it hasn’t changed.” She paused. “Well, maybe it has.”
“How so?” asked Robie.
She peered up at him. “He seems, well, resigned.”
“To what, his fate?”
“To somethin’.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look, Robie, I’ve seen it happen before. Sometimes people just shut off and let the process do what it will do. And sometimes they do that because…”
“They do that why?”
“Maybe from guilt.”
“So you’re saying he killed Clancy? I thought that didn’t matter to you.”
“It doesn’t. To me. But maybe it matters to him.”
Chapter
41
THEY LEFT MOSES’S office.
Robie had a copy of the files from Clancy’s computer on a flash drive.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“I have a guy who’s good with computers. He might be able to figure it out.”
“I need to see him, too. And then I have to talk to a doctor. His office is a couple blocks from here.”
“A doctor? Are you sick?”
“No, but a friend of mine is.”
“Look, why don’t we split up then? You need to see your dad and this doctor. Why don’t I run down your computer guy? We can meet up back here.”
“You sure?”
“There’re two of us. Why not make the most of it?”
“You armed?”
“Hell, do you really have to ask?”
He gave her the name and address, and she drove off.
Robie went to the jail where Taggert appeared to be waiting for him.
“There’s already talk goin’ round ’bout what happened,” she said in a low whisper, so the other visitors in the waiting room couldn’t hear.
“Did you really expect to keep that quiet? Priscilla already knew about it.”
“Shit! I guess you want to see your dad?” she said.
“I guess so. I understand that Toni already saw him?”
Taggert nodded. “Yeah, she didn’t look too happy when she left.”
He and his father met in the visitor’s room. Taggert did not chain the prisoner to the hook in the floor. Robie flashed her a grateful look for this.
The two men sat across from each other. The senior Robie looked thinner and haggard, with gray stubble on his chin.
“You okay?” asked Robie.
His father shrugged. “Under the circumstances, fine.”
“Some things have happened that you need to know about.”
This got his father’s attention. Robie recounted for him the events of the previous night.
“So this Jessica Reel saved your neck?”
“Not the first time.”
“You two in uniform?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what exactly?”
“We serve our country in a different capacity.”
Dan Robie looked taken aback by this. He looked at his son’s arm. “You got wounded servin’ your country?”
“Yeah, I did.”
The man nodded slowly. “Why don’t you and your friend just get on back to doin’ what you do then? No reason to stay here.”
“No reason? Other than you’re on trial for murder?”
“Why is that your concern?”
“I’ve made it my concern.”
“Let’s not pretend there’s any love lost between us, okay? That’s just a waste of both our time.”
Robie scowled. “Why do you have to make this so hard? I’m here. I came all this way.”
“That was your choice, not mine.” Before Robie could respond his father held up a hand and said, “I’m glad you’re not dead. I’m glad your friend Jessica was there to help you. But considerin’ all the facts, I think it best for you and her to leave.”
“And what about Victoria and Tyler?”
“I’m goin’ to tell them to leave, too.”
Robie looked shocked. “What!”
“I’ve thought it through. Just until the trial is over and things get back to normal. Although if I’m convicted there’d be no reason for them to come back. She can sell the house and move somewhere else. Get on with her life.”
“Have you talked to Victoria about this?”
“Not yet.”
“There is no way in hell she’s going to leave you, I hope you know that.”
“I’ll make her see reason.” He stared grimly at his son. “I’ve never had trouble makin’ myself clear, have I?”
“She’s still not going to go.”
“Well, that’s my problem, not yours.”
“You’re making no sense.”
“And you’re not listenin’. Just like when you were a punk kid. You don’t listen, Will, to a damn thing!”
Robie sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s a two-way street, isn’t it? The not-listening part?”
“I was the parent. You were the child. It was my job to tell you what to do and it was your job to do it.”
“No, I was your son, not some Marine recruit you were trying to turn into a killing machine. And how could I grow up as your son and not learn to question everything? Just like you did?”