The Night Stalker_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [44]
Heather disappeared into the kitchen. Jed took a shirt off the back of the couch, and put it on. He buttoned the shirt up to his neck so that his tattoos were hidden. I sensed that he was uncomfortable with how he looked, at least around me.
“Tell me about your meeting with Piper Stone,” I said.
“She came over here around eight-thirty, and we went for a drive in her car. We talked about my father’s execution. She told me she wanted to file another appeal.”
“Did she mention your father’s missing slippers?”
Jed hesitated. I sensed he was holding back.
“Who told you about the slippers?” he asked.
“I’m an investigator, remember?”
He laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “Yeah, she mentioned the slippers. She wanted to file an appeal because evidence was lost in the case that might have been destroyed. I told her it was a waste of time.”
“Why is filing an appeal a waste of time?”
“Because my father’s ready to die. He told me so the last time I went to Starke and saw him. He said he was ready to pay for the things he’d done. Those were his exact words.”
“What did the missing slippers prove?”
Jed shut his eyes, and I thought he might break into tears. LeAnn placed a consoling hand on her son’s knee. He took a deep breath and composed himself.
“My father wasn’t sane when he killed those women,” he said quietly.
Heather brought my glass of water, and I drank it while studying the young man sitting in front of me. He looked tortured, but I had to ask him.
“Was your father wearing the slippers when he killed his victims?” I asked.
Jed’s eyes snapped open, and for a moment I thought he was going to come over the coffee table and pummel me. Instead, he slammed his fist onto the arm of the couch.
“I don’t want to fucking talk about this anymore,” he said angrily.
“Jed!” his mother said.
“Sorry, Mama.”
“Did Stone tell you where she was going after she left?” I asked.
Jed hit the couch again. “You don’t listen, do you?”
“Did she?”
“She said she had some more digging to do. Now can we stop talking about this?”
I had a habit of pushing people to the breaking point when I was working a case. I’d reached that point with Jed, and I saw no reason to ask him any more questions.
“Sure,” I said.
“You’ve upset my son,” LeAnn said. “I think it would be best if you left.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll see myself out.”
Buster followed me into the kitchen, where I placed my empty glass in the sink. The faint sound of music floated through the air, Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun).” The music was tinny, and I realized it was the ring tone to a cell phone.
The window above the sink was cracked a few inches. I stuck my ear to the opening, and heard the music coming from outside the house.
I hurried down the hallway toward the back door that Jed had used earlier to take me to the garage. As I passed the doorway to the living room, Jed looked up from the couch.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I heard something in your backyard,” I said.
“What?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
Jed came into the hallway with Heather right behind him. His body language wasn’t friendly, and he put himself between me and the door. I nudged my dog, and Buster curled back his upper lip and emitted a menacing growl.
“Hey. Get him away from me,” Jed said.
“Back off,” I said.
“This is my house. You can’t order me around like that.”
“It’s your mother’s house. Now move.”
Jed got out of my way. I threw back the deadbolt on the back door, and went outside. The ringing grew louder. The garbage pail by the back door seemed the likely culprit, and I pulled off the lid. Lying on a bag of garbage was a bright red cell phone. Caller ID said OFFICE. I flipped the phone open.
“Hello?” I said.
“Who is this?” a man’s voice said.
“This is Jack Carpenter,” I said.
“Jack, this is Charles Crippen. Did you find Piper?”
“Not yet. Is this her cell phone you called?”
“Yes. I was hoping she’d pick up.”
“I’ll call you right back.”
I folded Piper Stone’s cell phone. Jed and Heather had come outside, and were standing on the stoop