Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [806]
As for the convenience store robberies, Charlie Starks admitted—surprising even his mother—that Jared had used them only as practice runs. Charlie had scoped out each store then reported back to Jared who was waiting outside. The boy talked about it as if it were some game the two had played.
Grace crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, watching Pakula search through Jared Barnett’s closet, emptying shoeboxes of baseball cards and tossing out a couple of footballs, neither of which seemed to have any hidden compartments.
She glanced at Melanie Starks, trying to determine if she was, indeed, conning them, hoping to cut a deal for both her and her son. Life with the possibility of parole for Charlie and less time for her. Grace and her boss had agreed that, if Melanie Starks could, in fact, implicate Max Kramer as the mastermind of the bank robbery as well as the murder of Tina Cervante, it would be worth the deal. What an odd twist of fate it would be if Max Kramer, the defender of death row inmates, ended up on death row himself.
“I don’t think there’s anything here,” Pakula said as he dug through the dresser drawers and looked under the bed. He shoved aside the piles of clothing and pulled back the bedcovers and suddenly there it was.
Grace knew as soon as she saw it. Underneath Jared Barnett’s bedspread was Emily’s stuffed white dog.
“It’s Mr. McDuff,” she said without realizing how ridiculous it probably sounded.
“Excuse me?” Pakula said.
Grace went over to the bed and picked up the stuffed animal. “Emily’s been missing this since Wednesday. She kept telling me that the shadow man took it.”
“The shadow man?” Pakula was looking at her now as if she were nuts. Even Melanie looked confused.
“I think your brother must have taken it from my house.”
“Why would he do that?”
Then Grace felt it. She found the slot cut into Mr. McDuff’s back and, without pulling it out and contaminating it, she could see Jared Barnett had inserted an audiocassette. She held it up to show Pakula and Melanie.
“He must have known that I might be the one looking through his things, and of course, I wouldn’t miss this. I think we have our evidence.” And she looked to Melanie. “If this is what I think it is, you might have your deal.”
EPILOGUE
Two years later
Manhattan, New York
Andrew Kane smiled up at Erin Cartlan as she handed him a bottled water.
“They’re lined up out the front door,” she said, pleased, referring to the line of people outside the door of her bookstore waiting to meet him and get an autographed copy of his new book.
“I hear it’s your best yet,” the brunette in front of him said, waiting for him to finish her inscription. “East of Normal? Wherever did you come up with that title?”
“You’ll figure it out when you read the book,” he answered.
“Is it true it’s based on something that really happened to you?”
“You know book publicists,” he said, keeping his eyes down and scratching his name on the page. “They’ll say anything to sell tons of books.”
He handed her the book and that’s when he saw her. She was in line, not ten feet away. He almost didn’t recognize her. She was dressed in a tailored brown suit and her hair was cut short. She was actually very pretty. If he didn’t know better he’d think she was a professional businesswoman and not an ex-convict out on parole. She waved when she saw him notice her. He waved her to the front of the line.
“Do you mind?” he asked the gentleman who was next and, of course, what could he say but no he didn’t mind.
Andrew stood to greet her, not knowing what was appropriate. She saved him by offering her hand.
“God, Melanie,