Davidson looked up, scowling. “Then get the hell out of here, Decker. I shouldn’t be talking to you anyway without my lawyer present.”
“You’re still the executor and trustee of your ex’s estate?”
“Yes,” he replied in a calmer tone. “But in light of everything, I’ve talked to Duncan Trotter about assigning those duties to someone else, maybe a bank.”
“Why?”
“It’s actually what Julia would have wanted. And if I get convicted, I can’t perform those duties for the estate. And it’s a large one. It needs professional management.”
“So you knew how rich your wife was?”
“She made no secret of it.”
Decker nodded and rose. “Okay.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Go talk to Dennis Langley.”
“You really think he might have killed Julia?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t think the guy cares enough about anyone else to commit murder. From what I’ve heard, he’s too self-absorbed.”
“You might be right about that. He’s getting married, by the way.”
“Really, to whom?”
“Gloria Chase.”
“Oh right, I heard they were an item.”
“What do you know about her?”
“Blew into the area about five years ago and took it by storm. She reminded me a little of a younger Julia, actually. Strong, independent, take-no-prisoners sort of mentality. And beautiful and brainy on top of it. Langley is a lucky guy.”
“Maybe luckier than she is.”
“How do you mean?”
“Only time will tell,” said Decker.
Chapter 77
“Why are you back?” asked Dennis Langley after his assistant, Rose, had escorted Decker in and left his office. She didn’t look like the same woman as before, Decker thought. Her shoulders were slumped, and the sunny smile he had seen during his first visit here was gone. And she hadn’t sashayed out the door with twitching hips like before. And the reason for all that was clear.
Langley had told her about the marriage.
“Like a bad penny, I guess,” said Decker as he sat down across from the man.
“Make it snappy. I’m a busy man.”
“If you’re cooperative, I’m sure we can knock this out pretty quickly.”
“Knock out what pretty quickly? My alibi is solidly established, so there’s really nothing more to discuss.”
“You say you never went to the judge’s house?”
“That’s right.”
“So you wouldn’t have had access to the key she had to her ex’s place?”
“Of course not. I didn’t even know she had one.”
“She never mentioned it?”
“No. And how would I even know what it looked like, or where it was?” He cocked his head. “Why is that important?”
“I understand you’re getting married next week, and then flying to Nevada right after. Why the rush?”
“I don’t see how that is possibly any of your business.”
“Why don’t you just imagine it is and answer the question?”
“Why don’t you just imagine we’re done and get out of here? You know, Decker, you have no cards in your hand, not a one. So don’t try to pretend to play any. You keep this up, coming to see me and my fiancée, I’ll file harassment charges against you, and I’ll make them stick. And then where will you be?”
Decker said impassively, “I don’t know. Where?”
“Okay, we’re done. You obviously have nothing better to do with your time. But I do.”
“Why did you move down here?”
“Again, none of your concern.”
Decker glanced at the man’s collar. “You going to see Gloria later?”
“Yes, why?”
“Piece of advice. Change your shirt.”
“Why?”
“You have lipstick on your collar. Interestingly, it’s the same shade of red that your assistant, Rose, is wearing.”
Langley pulled a hand mirror out of his desk drawer, checked his collar, and used a tissue to rub off the lipstick. “She was congratulating me on my upcoming marriage and got a little carried away.”
“Really? I assume she kissed you before you told her that you were betrothed.”
“Think whatever you want.”
“How exactly did you get the prostitute to drop the charges against you?”
Langley rose. “You are very, very close to a defamation suit.”
“Don’t think so.”
“Oh, so now you’re a lawyer?”
“No, everything I said was true. She was a prostitute, you were charged with assaulting her, and she then dropped the charges and left town. I hope she’s still alive.”
“Goodbye, Decker.”
Decker walked out of his office and closed the door.
He stopped in front of Rose’s desk. She was crumpling up a tissue and wouldn’t look at him.
He sat down across from her. “I take it you heard about the wedding plans?”
She nodded and blew her nose.
“And you two were...?”
“At least I hoped so. I mean, I know he was seeing her, but I never thought...” She glanced up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “He told me he loved me.”
“I’m really sorry,” Decker said as she blew her nose again. “That was not a nice thing for him to do.” He looked around. “This is pretty expensive office space, and it’s built out top dollar. And the guy drives a Bentley. I mean, I know lawyers do well, but is there something else going on here?”
She looked at him guardedly. “I don’t think I can talk to you about anything having to do with this firm.”
“That’s fine. I don’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Seeing as how he’s been so loyal to you.”
He heard her say something under her breath that sounded basically like, Fuck it.
She glanced at her computer and a few seconds later tapped some keys. “In addition to being Mr. Langley’s assistant and paralegal, I also handle the firm’s accounts. Now, I have to go and see someone about something. I’ll be back. You can just hang around here if you want.”
She walked off and Decker immediately sat down behind her desk.
The pages he was scrolling through were financial in nature. He took screenshots of all of them and then studied the pages as he walked out.
The embittered Rose had just given him a piece of low-hanging fruit. Langley should treat his employees better.
When he passed by the Bentley, he smiled and patted its hood.
Now he understood Dennis Langley quite clearly, not that it was so very difficult.
But was he also the murderer of Julia Cummins?
Chapter 78
White had made a dozen calls and come up essentially empty.
The senior members of Tanner’s former Senate staff were almost all either deceased or long retired. She had gotten some names and a few pictures online of these people from their younger days. She supposed they could show them to Deidre Fellows to see if she recognized the man in the bedroom helping Kanak Roe to wrap up a dead woman and stuff her into a suitcase.
But if the person had been a young aide, a secretary, or some very junior member of the staff, it was going to be really difficult to track that person down now. It wasn’t like they kept exhaustive lists of such personnel in some neat and tidy archive. A lot of the staff had probably gone on to work with other members of Congress after Tanner retired, or left the political arena entirely. If the man was a personal aide of Tanner’s and not part of his political operation, they still might be able to identify him, but she wasn’t sure how. Mrs. Tanner was dead. Mr. Tanner would be of no help. Deidre was an only child, and she hadn’t recognized the person that night. Kanak Roe would know, but he was probably dead, too. And all of this had happened before Kasimira Roe was even born.