Vindication by H. Terrell Griffin

Author:H. Terrell Griffin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

I SLEPT LATE on Sunday, enjoying the soft bed in Esther’s guest room and the languor stirred by the memories of an evening spent with my lover. It was nearing nine, and the sun slanting through the east-facing windows of my bedroom was struggling to overcome the air-conditioning. I was coming awake slowly and reached across the bed for J.D. Then I remembered the kiss on the forehead and the soft closing of the door as she left early that morning. Time to get up.

It was nearing sundown when I had arrived at Esther’s house the day before. J.D. had borrowed Judy’s car and parked it in Esther’s garage out of sight of any nosy neighbors or The Villages security patrols who might want to know whose car was parked in the driveway while Esther was in jail.

J.D. opened the front door to my knock, and I was engulfed by the aroma of frying chicken. She hugged me, gave me a kiss, and said, “Dinner’s about ready. Sit down on the sofa and relax. We’ll be ready to eat in fifteen minutes.”

I took a deep breath and said, “I was hoping for sex, but fried chicken is better.”

She made a face. “I’ll remember that. I don’t mind frying chicken, you know.”

“That sounds like you’d rather toil over a hot stove than roll around in the hay with me.”

“You are one perceptive man.”

“I was kidding,” I said.

“I wasn’t.”

If she hadn’t been smiling when she said that, I would have thought I’d stepped in it again. My big mouth, which she once told me wasn’t nearly as funny as I thought, is apt to get me in trouble. I’d have to work on that some.

Over dinner, I filled J.D. in on the details of my trip and what I’d discovered. “It’s still a jumble,” I said. “I can’t see a picture taking shape.”

“What’s bothering you?”

“Josh Hanna, for one. He’s Danny Lathom’s son, and even though he was very young when his dad died, he does have some vague memories of good times. Over the years, he may have built Danny up into a hero, an icon. And if he had any indication that Olivia killed his dad, he might have come down here and taken care of her.”

“That might not be a bad hypothesis,” she said.

“Yes, but how would Josh have found out anything about Olivia? I didn’t think his mother shared any of that with him. She said she didn’t and I believe her. She spent the last twenty-two years living for that boy. She never spent any of the life insurance money on herself. She just used the interest to make life a little easier for her son than she could provide on a teacher’s pay.”

“Are you sure about that? Is the principle of the life insurance still in the bank?”

“James Hurt is going to check on that. Discreetly. He said he could probably find out if she had a large sum in the bank even if he couldn’t get the exact amount.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.