The door opened to a tall, muscular man who wore a Glock at his side. Behind him were two other men, also armed.
Alex and Deke held up their badges. “We’re here to see Ray.”
The man glanced at the badges and turned to one of the other guards, who vanished behind a pair of pocket doors. “Please come in.”
The entryway wall was covered with a large, intricate mural of a young man fighting a legion of dragons. The dragons were painted in tremendous detail, including scaly faces, fanged teeth, and red eyes that all but jumped off the wall.
They didn’t have to wait long before Ray Murphy appeared. He wore his trademark goatee and sideburns, a purple silk shirt, and pants that lay over the bulge of his ankle bracelet. Barefooted, he moved toward them with a wide grin on his face and his hand extended. “I haven’t had the law here in a couple of days. Agent Morgan and Detective Morgan.” He studied them. “Must be brothers.”
Deke ignored the comment. “We have a few questions.”
Ray moved into a side parlor decorated in deep purples and with pictures of dragons and wizards. In a large stone hearth, a fire blazed. Ray sat on a large, plush chair, resting his arms along the back. “What brings you out here today? It’s an unexpected surprise.”
“Just came to ask you about Sunday.”
“What about it?” He looked amused by the question as he relaxed back in his seat.
“Where were you?”
Ray laughed as he jerked up his pant leg. The thick tracking device was strapped to his ankle. “Church.”
“And after church?”
“Pull up the data on my bracelet.”
“I’m asking you.”
“I was here.”
“Mind if Agent Morgan checks your anklet?”
“Have at it.” Ray wiggled his toes but didn’t bother to rise.
Alex shook his head. “Stand up. Put your foot up on a chair.”
Ray grinned. “Don’t want to kneel before the dragon lord?”
Alex’s expression remained stoic.
With a shrug, Ray rose from the chair, settled his foot on an ottoman, and lifted his silk pants leg. Alex moved forward and inspected the monitoring device. “It looks intact.” He stepped back. “No signs of tampering.”
“Mind telling me why you’re checking?” Ray settled back against the chair cushions.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend, Ray? I think her name is Kendra?” Deke asked.
Eyes darkened with suspicion. “Kendra. Why do you want to know about Kendra?”
“Where is she?”
“New York. Shopping for my birthday present.” He rolled his shoulders, muscles flexing with a portion of an elaborate tiger tattoo. “No, wait. She’s in protective custody. That cop got her and she flipped on me.”
“Funny you should mention that detective. She was killed Sunday.”
Ray tsked as he glanced at buffed fingernails. “Damn, that’s too bad. What was her name again?”
“Deidre Jones. From what I hear, Deidre got Kendra to wear a wire. Those tapes are what got you in trouble.”
A smile quirked his lips. “My lawyer isn’t so sure about that. This case is no slam dunk for the cops.”
“That’s not what I heard. I also heard you were pissed and threatened to kill Detective Jones and anyone who talked to her.”
“I don’t recall anything like that.” Ray’s smile widened and a gold tooth flashed. “And last I heard, Kendra is alive and well. Besides, I have no hard feelings for Kendra.” He touched his fingertips to his breastbone. “I love her.”
Deke shook his head. “Kendra’s lucky a guy like you is so forgiving.”
“That’s what I told her,” Ray said.
“You forgive the cop that got her to wear the wire?”
Dark eyes glinted before he smiled. “Deidre Jones is nothing to me.”
“If we can believe that anklet, you didn’t kill her, but maybe you sent someone to do your dirty work. Maybe you told your guy to mess her up bad . . . send a message to Kendra.”
“I don’t care about a damn detective. And Kendra and I’ve gone our separate ways. Alive or dead, she makes no difference to me. You said she was messed up. How was it done? How was she killed?”
Deke’s tone deepened. “Stabbed.”
Ray shook his head. “That’s got to hurt. Hell of a way to go.”
Alex kept his voice low, even. “You like knives, don’t you, Ray?”
He nodded, shrugged. “I do like them. But I didn’t kill your detective. And I don’t know who did.”
Deke’s headlights shone bright on the rental car parked in the lot by the running trail. He pulled up beside the four door and checked his watch. “Hell of a place and time to meet.”
“She and Deidre talked about this place. She knew Deidre loved it here. She wanted to see it and I didn’t want another night to pass without talking to her.”
Deke pointed toward a bench where a lone woman sat, staring at the park. “Deidre’s sister, Joy?”
“That would be my guess.”
Neither liked rehashing the details of the detective’s death, and interviewing loved ones who’d lost family always left a sour taste. “Let’s do this.”
They found Joy Martin sitting on the bench, her hands resting in her lap as she stared down the path. It was as if she were trying to picture Deidre’s last steps on the path. She wore a midweight overcoat suitable for California but not nearly adequate for the cold nights here. Long hair draped her narrow shoulders. Silver rings decorated long fingers. She tapped a nervous high-heeled foot.
Alex pulled his badge from his pocket. “Ms. Martin.”
Joy looked up with brittle green eyes that reminded him of Deidre. “You must be Agent Morgan.”
He tucked the badge back in his breast pocket. “Yes, ma’am. We spoke on the phone. This is Detective Deke Morgan. He’s with Nashville Homicide.”
“Two Morgans?”
“We’re brothers, ma’am.”
“Ah.” Nodding, she turned her gaze back to the woods. “She mentioned you both a few times. Frankly, I don’t think she liked either of you.”
“I’m not the most likable guy,” Alex said. “And neither is Deke.” He kept his tone soft.
Deke nodded. “We won’t win any popularity contests.”
Joy looked up at Deke, a wistful expression in her gaze. “She said you were one of the best detectives she ever worked with. She respected you.”
He moved toward the bench but didn’t sit, as if he were breaching a hallowed space. “I’m trying to find out what happened.” He avoided using the words killed or died. The words triggered hard emotions that muddied clear thinking.
She rose and stood almost as tall as Deidre. Her shoulders weren’t as wide, but her body was equally lean. “You know she was getting a divorce.”
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t friendly.” She slid her hands into her pockets. “Tyler didn’t want to let go.”
“She didn’t talk about her personal life. But I’ve since learned the divorce was rough.”
“No, she wouldn’t want anyone at the office to know. She loved her job and never wanted anything to tarnish her reputation.” She turned from the path in the woods. “She was dating again. A guy named David. I met David once. Struck me as lots of fun and no substance, but a step up from Tyler.”
“I understand you and Tyler weren’t close.”
“No, we’re not. In fact, Deidre and I had grown distant because of him. I don’t like him. She was too good for him. It was only after they separated that we reconnected.”
“Anything unusual going on with your sister that you know of?”
She twisted a silver ring on her index finger. “She was really rattled the last time we spoke. I asked her what was going on, but she wouldn’t tell me. Said it had to do with a case.”
“She mention anything about the case?” Deke asked.
“She just said she’d made a mistake and now she was going to have to fix the problem so that she could move on with her life.”
“A mistake?” Alex asked. Sins of the past; David’s words echoed.