“You might have a murder weapon, but if Josey’s killer wore gloves, then you can’t prove who used it.” Geoffrey ticks his point off with a raised finger. “Those hats are available at Walmart, so it could just be a coincidence. And even if it turns out to be Scott’s hat and Tara’s hair in it, that’s okay too, because Josey was inside my home every single week. She and my son were romantic at one point.”
Stunned, Scott’s eyes flare wide.
The kid should try poker sometime.
“Girls borrow their boyfriend’s clothes and things all the time.”
“Scott and Josey were romantic?” Drake presses. “Boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Casual,” Geoffrey insists. “Are you really so stupid to think they werestudyingin his room?”
“Wait, Dad. No?—”
“We heard your son accosted Josey in his bedroom that one time.” I study Scott’s horrified expression. “You grabbed her leg, and she said she wasn’t interested.”
“No! That’s not?—”
“So perhaps we should revisit that thing about romantic partners killing women. The statistics grow exponentially worse when a woman rejects a man, don’t they?”
No! I didn’t hurt that bitch. Whoever told you that is lying.”
“So, the secret recording she made of the entire interaction was fabricated?”
Surprised, Drake’s eyes swing across to me.
Yeah, cops sometimes lie to do the job. So fuckin’ what?
“Maybe Tara confessed to protect you?” I ponder. “Your hat was found with the murder weapon. The coveralls were large enough to fit your dad… and you and your dad are about the same size.”
“I didn’t hurt her!”
“You’ve treated your sister like crap your whole life. So maybe she saw this as a chance to really do something good. Something that would earn your approval.” I look the fucker in the eyes and drive my words home. “Maybe you killed Josey Ryan because she didn’t want you, and youfigured you could deny, deny, deny your way out of this. But Josey was street smart, so she kept a recording of the whole thing, just in case.”
“Absolutely not!” Rhonda growls. For her daughter, she weeps. For her son, she bites. “He couldn’t have hurt her. He was at home with his dad.”
“Exactly. Yes!” Geoffrey booms. “He was with me. I know that for a damn fact.”
“The recording doesn’t lie. Josey knew guys like you rarely take no for an answer.”
“Okay, so I touched her leg that one time in my bedroom. But I didn’t…” He gulps. “She didn’t—” He puffs his cheeks wide. “I didn’t kill anybody. I swear.”
I throw the ball. Left hand. Right hand. “Either Tara killed Josey to protect you. Or you killed Josey and Tara is lying… to protect you.”
“I don’t know what she did! I can’t control my sister’s actions.” So fucking easily, the spineless fucker tosses his sister to the side. “I was at home with my dad when Josey died.”
“The murder weapon came out of your garage.”
“It was just a knife!” Rhonda growls. “Standard knife. Every home has those.”
“This one was very specific. It came with a bit of engine grease and dust on the blade. A few asbestos fibers, too.” Left hand. Right hand. I shake my head. “You really need to clean up after yourself, Geoff. Asbestos is no joke.”
“My husband and son were at home at the time Josey died.” Rhonda releases Tara’s hand and faces me head-on like the mama bear she is. “They are each other’s alibis, and even if you don’t like it, that alibi is valid and exists. My daughter was at the mall with her friends. Get a warrant for the store’s cameras, and you’ll see she’s where she said she was.”
“She said she was with Josey. She literally confessed.”
“She lied, obviously!”
“I told you this was dumb,” Drake snorts. “Can’t sweep a minor into an interview room, have her confess to some shit when she didn’t have all the answers, and expect it to stick.”