“It’s been too long.” He turned into the graceful driveway.
Melissa flicked a look at the windows and pulled her hand into her lap. “I think Linda’s done having church meetings for a while.”
“We have to find another way.”
Melissa gazed at the front porch. The beautiful carved wood door that symbolized entrance into the splendid and shining Jack-son world. “You have any ideas?”
“I’ll think of something.”
“When?”
His expression turned smug. “Tonight.”
FORTY-FOUR
FEBRUARY 2010
“Hey!” Melissa launched off the couch and lunged for her purse. Perry clutched it to his chest and twisted away from her. She screamed a curse and swerved around him, hands scrabbling for it. He jerked away again and bent over it. Melissa pummeled his back with her fist.
“Melissa, stop!” I jumped up.
Dan was on his feet, head swiveling from me to Melissa. “What’s going on?”
“She has a gun in there.”
Dan strode to Melissa, grabbed her arms, and pulled her away from Perry. She turned on him like a banshee, arms and legs flying. Dan fought to hold her off. Perry turned to help, still holding the purse. I ran to take it from him. He pivoted toward Melissa, captured her from behind in a bear hug. She screamed and squirmed, but he held tight. He pushed her forward until her legs hit the couch, spun her around and forced her down.
Dan stood to one side of Melissa, Perry on the other. Their faces were flushed. “Don’t you move.” Perry pointed a finger at her.
Melissa glared up at them, teeth clenched and trembling. She was outweighed, outnumbered, and betrayed. Her glare cut to me, glistening with hatred. And a telltale glint of something else she would never admit.
Fear.
“All right.” Dan held up a palm. “Let’s just all calm down. I need to hear this from the beginning.”
“There’s nothing to hear.” Defiance pinched Melissa’s face.
“Joanne says there is.”
“Joanne’s a liar.”
Dan looked to me and spread his hands. Baxter Jackson was no stranger to him. They may not be close friends themselves, but Chief Eddington provided a strong link. Baxter was a prominent citizen in Dan’s county—and no DA would pounce on such a person without good reason.
My legs felt suddenly weak. The last twenty-four hours had been the longest in my life. Now that my ploy had worked—so far—what energy I had left seemed to drain right out of me.
I still held Melissa’s purse. I didn’t trust her anywhere near it. I backed up and sank into the armchair Dan had left. He and Perry continued to guard Melissa. I set her handbag in my lap.
“It started last night on a road near my house…” Quickly I related the story of Hooded Man, the break-in at my home, finding Melissa, the gunman in her house, Perry’s rescue. Perry listened as intently as Dan, equally amazed at the parts he didn’t know. Melissa pressed back against the couch, head down, arms folded. Even in her silence I could almost smell the burning gears of her mind. She would not give in easily.
“So I brought her to you, Dan. I told her I was bringing her to my brother’s house.” I dared a glance at Melissa. She shot me a look of pure venom. “She can tell you everything about Linda’s murder. Baxter has to be caught quickly. Now he’s after both of us.”
“I’m not telling you anything.” Melissa leaned toward Dan. “’Cause guess what? I lied to her. I don’t know anything about Linda’s death.”
“Then why is Baxter after you?” Perry retorted.
“Maybe he’s not. Maybe it’s someone else, who knows? She has no proof it’s Baxter.”
Dan raised his eyebrows at me. “Do you?”
“I…no. You’ll have to find the gunman. Make him talk. Baxter will never admit to anything.”
Dan ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s put that aside for a minute.” He regarded Melissa, two fingers at his lips. The stance of a prosecutor pondering argument. “So you don’t know about Linda’s death.”
“No.”
“But someone told Joanne you do know. And now that someone may be trying to kill you. Mere coincidence?”
“You can’t make me stay here.”
“You want to call the police?”
Melissa seared him with a look.
Dan walked two steps toward me, turned back, and pointed at Melissa. “Stay there.” He approached me. I held up the purse. He peered inside until his expression indicated he saw the handgun. “You got a permit to carry this?”
“It’s a friend’s. I just borrowed it a few days ago.”
“I take it that means no.”
No response.
Dan focused again inside the purse. “Unlawful carrying and possession of weapons. That could get you a year in state prison.”
Melissa shoved upright, her eyes wide. “You can’t do that to me! It’s not my gun!”
“That’s the point.”
“But it’s just borrowed. I can give it back.”
“You’re carrying it. You shot someone with it.”
“He was trying to shoot me!”
“Tell that to the DA.”
Melissa’s shoulders arched. Her eyes sought Dan’s, silently begging him to take back his words. Dan stared back at her with his hard prosecutorial gaze. With a loud expelling of air, Melissa fell against the couch. Her chin dropped. “I can’t believe this.”
Dan handed the purse back to me. Shrugged. “We could forget about the gun.”
From beneath her lashes, Melissa eyed him warily.
“Unlawful carrying and possession of a concealed weapon is a small thing compared to homicide. That’s a crime that should never go unpunished. Tell me what you know about Linda Jackson’s murder, and we’ll let the gun thing go.”
“I told you. I don’t know anything!”
He headed for the couch and sat down beside her. Too close. Melissa leaned away.
“I think you do.” Dan’s voice ran smooth. “I’ve known Joanne for years now. She’s done some skip tracing for me, did you know that? Whenever I’ve had to find a witness that we’d lost track of. Joanne’s reliable. I believe what she says. And she tells me you’ve admitted to her that you witnessed Linda Jackson’s murder.”
“I didn’t. Really.” Melissa’s voice sounded dull. “I lied.”
Dan eyed her, waiting. Silence throbbed the air. Melissa focused blankly on the floor, her face a mask of stubbornness.
Perry eased away from her, back to his armchair.
Dan shifted his position. “Ever hear of a material witness?”
Melissa made no response.
“That’s what you are. You witnessed a crime, and your knowledge of that crime is material to prosecuting the case. Under California law you can’t just walk away with that knowledge. If you refuse to tell what you know, I can put you in jail. Right now.”
“No!” Melissa’s head swung toward him, her cheeks blanched.
“I can keep you in jail up to forty-eight hours. Which means Monday morning I’ll take you before the judge. He will order you to face the grand jury and tell them what you know. If you fail to appear before the grand jury, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.”
The district attorney’s words fell like hammers upon Melissa. I watched her body shrink with each blow. When he finished, her gaze roved the floor as if seeking an answer to this nightmare.
“Why are you so against testifying?” Perry asked. “You lived with Linda. I saw the two of you come into my store plenty of times, and you seemed to be great friends.”