Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy

Author:Annette Dashofy [Annette Dashofy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books
Published: 2022-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

When Pete returned from his fruitless hunt for Gabe Zediker, he found Abby waiting for him in the conference room. She’d uncovered the whiteboard and was copying names and information from her laptop onto it.

“You’ve been busy,” Pete said.

“That’s what you pay me for.” She scrawled another name on the board before facing him. “Speaking of, I think I should get hazard pay for having to work with my brother.”

“I didn’t tell you to partner with him.”

“No, but I didn’t see the sense in duplicating efforts.” She pointed to her handiwork. “This is what we’ve come up with.”

Pete studied the names, only one of which he recognized, as Abby talked him through them.

“There are twelve out-of-towners visiting for the reunion, seven of them men. Five students and two teachers.”

Pete approached the board and pinned a finger next to Donald Grimes’s name. “I know him. He was at the farm this morning when the Zediker kid showed up. According to Zoe, Grimes put Gabe in his place. Not to mention, she texted me he wants to buy the old pickup.” Pete looked pleadingly at his officer. “Please tell me he isn’t a strong suspect. I really want that truck gone.”

Abby snickered. “I think you’re safe.” She gestured toward the notes she’d written next to Grimes’s name. “Criminal history is clean. No warrants. Not even a traffic citation. Credit score is in the good range. He doesn’t have any guns registered to him. The worst thing I can say about him is he’s from New Jersey.”

Pete snorted a laugh.

“He’s maintained the same residence for the last fifteen years. Married with two kids. And he has an alibi. His wife and daughter confirmed all three of them were in their hotel room from five o’clock Saturday evening until seven Sunday morning.” Abby shot a grin at Pete. “Go ahead and sell him the truck before he changes his mind.”

Pete’s thoughts exactly.

The other teacher was still in the same profession but had moved to Georgia. Of the former students, one was a minister—probably not their man—and another was an attorney. Both had a couple of traffic citations, but nothing outstanding. Another owned a small restaurant in Lansing, Michigan. All three also had alibis.

Which left two.

Abby tapped one name with the dry-erase pen. “This guy’s been in and out of jail for over a decade. Battery and simple assault charges up the wazoo.”

“Simple assault?”

“Either he never got more physical, or he had a good lawyer who pled him down on the real serious stuff.” She used the non-business end of the pen to scratch her chin. “Wayne’s digging deeper and is supposed to get back to me.”

“Which leaves…” Pete rapped the last name with his knuckle.

“There wasn’t enough room on the board for that one’s entire rap sheet. But he’s not our guy.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“A motorcycle accident five years ago ended his life of crime. He suffered brain trauma and is paralyzed from the chest down. Plus, he didn’t fly in until two days ago.

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