A Bias for Murder by Sally Goldenbaum

Author:Sally Goldenbaum
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2019-05-04T16:27:19+00:00

Chapter 17

“Oh, Halley, dear,” Po murmured, drawing the disheveled woman into the front hall. Her hair was loose and messy, falling over her shoulders. A sweater was wrapped carelessly around her shoulders and her Canterbury T-shirt was half-tucked into the waist of her jeans. For a brief moment, Po thought she might have been in an accident. “What is it, Halley? Are you all right?”

Halley drew apart, wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She nodded, her throat tight.

“Come in,” Po said, and drew Halley through the entryway and into the warm glow of the family room lights. Eleanor brought a glass of water over while Po urged Halley to sit on the couch. In the distance, the sirens increased in volume, filling the night air with a strident symphony.

Kate rushed in from outside, her dark hair flying. “Po,” she called out, “there’s a fire somewhere. We can smell the smoke.” She stopped suddenly, spotting Halley.

“It’s Joe—” Halley said, looking up at Kate.

“Joe?” Po asked gently. The wild look in Halley’s eyes was disturbing. And now her words weren’t making sense.

Halley shook her head, as if trying to straighten her thoughts, to put them in order. “Joe’s apartment,” Halley said. Her voice was almost a whisper. “The Harrington’s garage is on fire.”

By then the rest of the Sunday supper crowd had come inside and were busying themselves in the kitchen, putting dishes in the dishwasher, talking softly, and hoping Halley could provide more information as they listened to the voices across the room.

“Were you there?” Po said, sitting beside the distraught woman.

Halley nodded. “Jed and I went over to see if Adele would let me into Joe’s place. To…to get some things he and I had looked at together. The police were gone by then—it was late this afternoon—and I knew Adele wouldn’t wait long to throw everything out of Joe’s apartment. I wanted to salvage some things Ollie had given Joe, some things that meant a lot to him. She almost threw me off the property, threatened to call the police. Said she’d had enough bad things happen to her. And then…then she seemed to weaken. And she told me she couldn’t deal with anything right then. She was exhausted and would be going to bed early. But she said I could come back tomorrow.”

Po handed Halley a tissue.

“But I wasn’t sure she meant it. I didn’t trust her. So I went back late tonight by myself, determined to not let all remnants of those two good men end in a dumpster. I figured she’d be asleep.” A sad smile eased the tense lines outlining her face. “I knew where Joe kept a key to his place, and I decided I’d just go in and take some things. I know it’s wrong, but I didn’t care. I walked along the bushes hidden from the house, and was halfway there when I spotted the flames.”

“And then?”

“And then I was so frightened that I turned and ran in the opposite direction, back toward the street.

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