Dead Certain - Mariah Stewart [110]
“This was Vince Giordano on the day he was arrested for murder down in Lyndon.”
“Who’d he kill?” she asked, her face paling.
“His wife and his two sons.”
She went another shade whiter. “Why isn’t he in prison?”
“Because he was convicted on tainted evidence, and his attorney got him off.” Sean handed her the pictures that were taken at Connie’s funeral. “And here he is, among the mourners at your friend’s funeral.”
Dolores sat and stared. She looked up at Sean with red-rimmed eyes and said softly, “I found her ring.”
“Excuse me?”
“I found her ring. In the pocket of his jacket. The jacket he wore the night she was killed.” Her voice was flat, without emotion.
“Where is the ring now?”
She took it off her hand and placed it on the table.
“Are you sure, absolutely sure, that this was her ring?” Sean made no move to touch it.
She picked it up and turned it so that the inside of the band was facing him. “Those are her initials.”
“You know that this ties him to her murder.”
Dolores nodded, her jaw set with resolution even as her eyes were filled with fear.
“Dolores, why are you bringing this to me, in Broeder, instead of to Chief Benson in Carleton?”
“Because I was afraid he’d find me if I stayed there. I wanted to get away from Carleton so that he wouldn’t find me. Besides, the newspaper said you were looking for this”—she started to rummage in her purse—“and that if anyone knew anything about it, to contact you right away.”
She removed a piece of newspaper folded small, then held up a small box and handed it to him. Sean opened it, and his heart all but stopped beating.
The pendant from Marian’s shop.
“Where did you get this?”
“He—Vinnie—gave it to me.” She made a face as she spread open the newspaper article. “He said it had belonged to his grandmother.”
“When? When did he give this to you?”
“About a week ago. On a Friday night.”
Sean glanced at the calendar on the wall. That would have taken them back to the night after Marian had been killed.
“It’s not exactly like the one in the paper, but it’s real close, don’t you think?” Dolores appeared to study the pendant as if she hadn’t seen it before, then covered her face with her hands.
Sean got up and went to her, sat down in the chair next to hers. “You are incredibly brave to come here, Dolores.”
“He killed her. He killed her because he knew that she saw this”—she stabbed at the newspaper with an angry finger—“and he knew that sooner or later, she’d show me. He killed her because of me. I let this . . . this . . . animal into my life, and he killed my best friend. It’s my fault she’s dead.”
“Dolores, it’s Vince’s fault that she’s dead, not yours, you understand me? He killed her. He and he alone is responsible for her death, not you. You had no way of knowing who or what he was. Do you understand?”
She nodded but her eyes would not meet his.
“Where is he now, Dolores?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure. He was at my house, but I don’t know if he’s still there. I’m guessing he’s not going to hang around too long, after he figures out what I’ve done.”
“What did you do?”
“He thought I was going to pick up Chinese for dinner.” She smiled, a faint touch of pride tugging at her lips. “I already had stuff in the car ’cause I’d found the ring and, damn it, he was not going to get away with that.”
The smile faded. “No way could I let him get away with that. So I packed the car and was just ready to leave when he came home from work, and I told him I was going to pick up some takeout while he was in the shower.” She clutched the cat tighter. “God, I was so scared. I’m still so scared.”
“You are one really smart woman.” Sean shook his head in true admiration. “Brave and smart. I’ll bet it made him crazy when he realized that you’d outsmarted him.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. This is one smart, smart killer, Dolores. And you outfoxed him.” He shook his head in amazement. “You should be really proud of yourself.”
“I’ll be proud of myself when you catch him and I go into court and testify about how he took me to dinner that night—that night