Julie gave the woman a tap on the shoulder. Sherri turned and tried to place the face.
“Sherri Platt?”
Julie had planned to ask Sherri some probing questions, at some indefinite point in the future. But the moment had found her, and Julie saw no reason to delay.
As Julie introduced herself, Sherri’s expression changed. It appeared that she recognized Julie, perhaps because of Sam’s accident.
“Dr. Devereux. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like a few minutes of your time, if possible.”
Sherri checked her phone, the watch of the new millennium. Julie guessed Sherri’s age to be about thirty, which meant she’d been in her late twenties during the Brandon Stahl trial. No ring on her finger, though she had a gold cross pendant hanging from a thin gold chain around her neck.
“I have to be back on the floor in fifteen minutes.”
“No worries,” Julie said. “This won’t take long.”
They found seats at an empty table and Julie exchanged a glance with Lucy, one she hoped conveyed that an explanation would be forthcoming.
“So what’s up?” Sherri sounded genuinely intrigued and her blue eyes flickered with curiosity. She was a pretty girl, Julie thought, and she acted receptive, though beneath the surface something about her was off-putting, a noticeable detachment. Sherri radiated cold, like a gray morning in fall.
“I want to talk to you about Brandon Stahl.”
In a flicker, Sherri’s body language shifted from open to closed. She stiffened as she slid her chair back, and then folded her arms tightly across her chest, her hands clenched in fists. She broke eye contact, tilted her head down, and fixed her gaze to the floor.
“What about?”
“I went to see him in prison.”
“Why would you do that?” Sherri’s voice was soft, but with an edge.
Julie couldn’t tell whether it was bad memories or something else making her so uncomfortable.
“I’m trying to figure out if there’s a connection between his case and my fiancé’s death. He died here a few weeks back.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry for your loss.” Sherri did not sound sorry. She sounded as if she wanted to be anyplace other than here.
“I’m wondering if you can tell me a bit more about what you heard Brandon say that day.”
“I already told that to the court.”
“Yes, I know. I was just wondering why you didn’t come forward when he first got arrested.”
Sherri stood. “I’ve got to go. I’m going to be late.”
Julie stood as well. “I’ll walk you.”
Sherri looked as if nothing could please her less.
“Look, that was a really horrible time for me. I don’t feel like reliving it right before my shift.”
“Why? Were you close to Donald Colchester?”
“No.”
Sherri was moving now, at a quick pace too, and Julie followed. Passing the table where Lucy and Michelle sat, Julie held up a hand to let her friends know she would be right back. She hurried her steps to catch up with Sherri.
“Can you tell me why you waited to come forward?”
Sherri stopped walking, turned, and fixed Julie with fierce eyes. She jerked her head back as if needing space. Maybe she needed more air, too, because her breathing turned heavy, while her body went perfectly still. Sherri took her hand away from her mouth to speak.
“Because he was going to get off and I had to do something,” she said in a shallow voice. “I had to do something or else he’d go free. So I told the judge what I had heard. I was coming down the hall pushing a cart of medicine and I happened to overhear a conversation between Donald Colchester and Brandon Stahl. It sounded private, and I didn’t want to rush in and intrude, so I waited outside the door. That’s when I heard Donald say that he wanted Brandon to help kill him, and Brandon saying he understood Donald’s pain and that he’d be willing to inject Donald with morphine. Brandon said, ‘You won’t feel a thing. You’ll just go to sleep like you want.’ I didn’t know what to do. So I left and gave Donald his medicine later. That’s the truth.”
Sherri shuffled her feet during much of her monologue, after which she fixed Julie with an unblinking stare.
“Okay,” Julie said. “I’m sorry to have upset you. For all those weeks the evidence against Brandon Stahl was in question, and here you were sitting on a powder keg. That must have been difficult for you.”
“What’s difficult for me is you bringing this up now.” Sherri pointed at Julie in an accusatory way. “Ambushing me like this. I don’t appreciate it at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to walk alone.”
Sherri spun on her heels and took off at a good clip. Julie watched her go. She was not a trained psychologist, had never studied body language. But Julie had raised a son almost into his teenage years. One thing experience had taught her was how to detect a lie when she heard one.
CHAPTER 27
Lincoln Cole heard every word. Every single thing Sherri and Julie had just discussed. Julie’s phone calls were not the only thing he could eavesdrop on. The TrueSpy software installed on Julie’s phone converted the microphone into a sound transmitter. Without her knowing, Julie’s conversations were being transmitted to a wireless receiver disguised as a hearing aid in Lincoln’s right ear. He had bought the receiver for three hundred bucks on an online shopping portal specializing in that sort of gear.
Based on what he had heard, Lincoln knew his employer would want a full report. He would prepare it from his van. In a few hours, Julie would be done for the day and would then head for home. TrueSpy also gave Lincoln access to Julie’s calendar. One device used for multiple purposes made Lincoln’s job that much easier.
Lincoln had been loitering in the hallway outside the cafeteria, in full view of the two women he was spying on. He wore street clothes and was not worried Julie might spot him. She had not noticed when he followed her to the Barstow Building for her meeting with Dr. Coffey. He knew Sherri Platt, though. He knew Sherri very well, but she was too flummoxed to make the connection.
Dr. Julie was not Lincoln’s first job for this employer. A few years back, Lincoln Cole had accepted a decent sum to bribe Sherri into making false statements about Brandon Stahl. It did not take much of a bribe, either; not that this was a surprise. As a cop Lincoln had seen plenty of illicit payments offered for dirty deeds done dirt cheap, as the band AC/DC put it. The hard rockers from down under really were on to something there.
Lincoln knew a number of dimwits who thought they were talking to a paid killer, not undercover police. They wanted spouses gone, lovers gone, ex-wives or husbands gone, and offered paltry sums to get the job done. They proposed five thousand, ten, and on rare occasions twenty large. People paid more for decking than they did for murder.
Lincoln kept his employer a secret, but Sherri guessed that he worked for the Colchester family. Of course, Lincoln would neither confirm nor deny her suspicion. Sherri had no idea she was picked for a reason. She had strong religious beliefs, worked on the same floor as the ailing Donald Colchester, and had a shift at the same time Brandon was caught on that recording.
Lincoln had paid a visit to Sherri’s small house in Melrose, where she lived alone, and played her a copy of the recording the judge had disallowed. His instincts had been right. Hearing Brandon’s offer to kill Donald Colchester did inspire her cooperation.
“This isn’t some frame job,” Lincoln had explained. “Brandon is a legitimate killer, and he’s going to get away with murder unless you help us.”
Lincoln described the problem as a technicality in the law. If Sherri wanted to see justice done, they would need her help. Sherri wanted to see justice done, all right. Fifteen thousand dollars helped her along. A cash payment was made promptly, and thanks to her testimony, Brandon Stahl was put away for life.