The porch worried her. Even one partial fingerprint would demand an explanation. She got the Lysol out and wiped down the table and chairs again. She turned on the overhead fan to dissipate the disinfectant’s odor.
She stood at the porch door and surveyed the pool scene. His clothes appeared okay, strewn around as if he undressed in a hurry. She couldn’t see the bottom of the pool from the porch. She wanted to walk out to the pool to be certain the body was there, but of course, it would be there. Light dew covered the patio and walkway. If she walked to the pool, she would leave footprints, would that be plausible? Yes, that fits. Her story was she awoke in the morning and was surprised to see his van in her driveway; she had spotted the clothing and walked out to the pool.
So then, she did walk out. There on the bottom was his naked ugly body that would already be decomposing in her pool, of all places. Disgusting. Damn him anyway.
When she noticed his van parked at the side of the house, she had another thought. Where are his keys? She hadn’t thought about the keys. Need she worry? Did he bring them in the house? Would the police find them in the house? Tried to think, did he have them at the table? No, didn’t think so, she would have found them when she cleaned.
Must think about her story, where would his keys be if he came to the house in the dark to sneak a swim. Possibly in his truck. She walked to his truck in the driveway. Couldn’t clearly see the ignition switch and mustn’t touch the door handle. Keys must be in his coveralls. She didn’t dare to disturb the clothing again, might leave some small clue. Yes, the keys had to be his pocket. That’s okay, that’s logical. Anything else?
Okay, show time. How emotional should she seem for the police? Not emotional at all, she decided. She had no emotional involvement in his life or death, she barely knew the man. Perhaps Chip Goddard would respond, he seemed easy to deal with.
Get it over with. She punched 911.
At that moment, her plan started going downhill. Then it crashed and burned.
Two police units were already there when Detective Goddard arrived and carefully walked around the house and the grounds. He asked her a few questions and told her to stay inside the house with the officer. Said he had to leave but would be right back. Loraine was furious, she had shopping to do. He went out to the officers at the pool, told them to treat the entire house and grounds as a crime scene. He told them to just stand there and keep their mouths shut. He called for CSI and left. He didn’t return for almost two hours,
He returned with a search warrant. Later he left with the gun, the money, and Loraine Dellin in handcuffs.
The following week her new attorney from West Palm Beach stated he was confident that when all the facts were known his client would be completely exonerated.
He explained that guns are routinely kept in safes so the presence of a gun was irrelevant. Further, his client had recently sold twenty thousand of securities and obtained cash. She had already spent ten thousand on sundry items and the ten thousand dollars cash found in her safe in the Ziploc bag was simply mad money and insignificant for a woman of her means.
The attorney also stated that CSI had failed to find any of the victim’s prints or DNA in the house.
However, her attorney responded with “No comment” when asked how traces of Pyrethroid, a powerful scorpion killer used by professionals—that were on the victim’s coveralls—were also detected on the money inside a Ziploc bag in the bedroom safe.
Chapter 36
Ray was already at the downtown café when Tammy came in. She waved, walked directly to him, and kissed him full on the lips before sliding into the booth opposite him. “Aren’t Chip and Sandy supposed to meet us here?” She waited a moment before making a questioning smile, because he hadn’t spoken. He was just staring at her; thoughts of their night together still filled his mind.
He remembered falling asleep facing her, their knees touching and her hand under his cheek. Later in a dreamy twist of awareness, he sensed her warm body away from him and moving about in the room. He felt cold and tried to wake but pieces of darkness were shifting around like a blurry puzzle. He was lying naked on his hard cell bunk; his stiff jumpsuit was crumpled under his head for a harsh pillow. He was cold and couldn’t move. Some enormous man in a uniform was standing over him and pointing. He heard the sharp metal clang of the jail cell door. And then, her bare total softness returned, she was warm. He felt her reach out and touch him and her softness enveloped him, and he passed back into bliss with only a fading image of the jail cell.
He remembered awakening in the unfamiliar bedroom wondering if it was true where he was, and true what had happened between them. She was on her side facing him with her breasts showing over the top of the sheet. She saw that he was awake, smiled, and stretched out a perfect leg toward him. Then she raised the corner of the sheet like a theater curtain, to offer him her lovely body again. For him, there was nothing else anywhere.
That was two nights ago. After last night’s talk with Sandy, the incredible happening with Tammy would be remembered sadly.
He heard Tammy’s voice ordering iced tea. He blinked hard and saw her across the booth table. The waitress was hovering.
“Oh yes, iced tea is fine,” he said.
“Turned out really wild the other night, didn’t it?” She puckered her lips and fluttered her eyelashes like a silent screen star.
He had to laugh. “You’re a devil.” He would never kiss those lips again.
“Well, you know where I live.” She reached over and squeezed his hand.
He couldn’t say what he needed to say with her touching him. He gently took his hand away. To cover the awkward moment he reached for a napkin. “Chip had some sort of call, and Sandy is packing for Philly. They’ll be along.”
“Did you see the paper, Ray? Thank heaven the long Park Beach nightmare is over. Imagine Loraine paying Sonny Barner to kill Al and then drowning him to cover it up.”
“Well, Loraine hasn’t confessed and all the evidence isn’t in yet.”
“I never cared much for her, but I’m certainly shocked she’d do it. I’m so happy for you, Ray. Now they must drop the charges.”
He wished she wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t certain he could go through with it if she was smiling. “Sandy and I had a long talk with Chip last night. He was confused about an old boyfriend of yours, the sheriff’s deputy you dated. You told him the guy’s name was Carl Richards.” It helped to talk down to the table and not directly at her.
“I don’t remember what I told Chip.”
“Well, that’s what was recorded. He went looking for him, and found him working in Georgia. Except his name wasn’t Carl Richards, it was Chet Richman. Chip thought for a minute you were trying to mislead him.”
“Richards, Richman, potato, potahto, how many dates have I had since high school?”
“I know what you mean. I have a couple of old girlfriends I wish I could forget. Anyway, Richman is now a deputy in Macon. He said he once bought you a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver for protection for your birthday. Do you still have it?”
She appeared surprised at being asked. “He’s wrong, must have been some other girl. I never had such a gun.”
“That’s the same caliber used to shoot Towson. Some coincidence, huh.”
“What are you getting at? The police found the murder weapon in Loraine’s safe. I have nothing to do with that gun.”
“Wrong, ballistics proved the fatal shot didn’t come from Loraine’s gun. The police haven’t released that information.”