"We already talked to them. And to everyone connected to Diane Hinson too."

"But you don't mind another set of eyes," said Mich.e.l.le.

"Go ahead," said Williams. "You have full authority."

"Just report back to me if you find anything interesting," said Bailey.

"I'll count the minutes," muttered King.

CHAPTER 44.

KING AND MICh.e.l.lE DROVE TOtheir office to do some work before heading out to see Pembroke's and Canney's parents. The silver Volvo station wagon and BMW Eight Series were parked in front of their office.

"Eddie and Dorothea," said Mich.e.l.le as she got out of the Whale. As if on cue the doors opened on each of the vehicles and the pair got out.

"Driving separate cars," commented Mich.e.l.le in a low voice.

"And maybe going in separate directions."

Eddie was dressed in gray dress slacks, white shirt and a blue blazer and carried a leather briefcase. With his deep tan and strong, weathered features, plus the nice clothes, he looked very handsome, Mich.e.l.le noted appreciatively.

Dorothea was dressed all in black, which seemed appropriate under the circ.u.mstances, but King knew it had nothing to do with mourning the loss of the family patriarch: the fishnet stockings, stiletto heels and very visible cleavage were the giveaways.

King unlocked the door to the office building, and they all went inside.

When they were all settled, King said, "We're really sorry about your father, Eddie." He glanced at Dorothea but said nothing because the woman's look invited no such condolences.

"I still can't believe it," said Eddie. "Mom was there at ten, and at ten-thirty he's dead."

"Remmy told us she saw no one when she was leaving," said Mich.e.l.le.

"Well, it's not like the person would've been jumping up and down in front of Remmy yelling, 'I'm going in to kill your husband now,'" said Dorothea irritably.

Eddie said, "Thanks for pointing that out, Dorothea. If you have nothing helpful to contribute, why don't you just sit there and continue sulking?"

Good for you, Eddie Battle,thought Mich.e.l.le.

Dorothea looked like she was about to fire back with something suitably nasty, but she managed to restrain herself. She just sat there with her arms folded, scowling at the floor.

"What can we do for you, Eddie?" asked King.

Eddie pulled a newspaper out of the briefcase and pointed to a front-page article. King took the paper and scanned the story while Mich.e.l.le read over his shoulder.

When he finished, King looked very upset. "How the h.e.l.l did the account of Remmy's threatening Junior get leaked to the press?"

"Maybe Lulu," suggested Mich.e.l.le. "Or her mother, Priscilla. Sounds like something she might do."

"Regardless," said Eddie, "now the whole town thinks Mom had Junior killed."

"But theGazette also reported that Junior's death has been linked to the serial killings," pointed out Mich.e.l.le. also reported that Junior's death has been linked to the serial killings," pointed out Mich.e.l.le.

Eddie slumped down in a chair. "That doesn't matter. People will think she paid someone to make it look that way."

"So how's Remmy taking it?"

"It's killing her."

"But she's not denying she threatened Junior?" asked King.

Eddie now looked wary. "I don't want to play semantics with you, Sean, but even if she threatened him, she had nothing to do with the man's death."

"I can't control what people think."

"I know that, but I just thought, well . . ."

"What do you want us to do, Eddie?" asked Mich.e.l.le gently.

"Yes, it would be nice if you came to the point," said Dorothea. "I have two homes to show this morning."

Eddie ignored her and said, "Can you go and speak to Mom again? I know you came by the other day with Chip, and she sort of cut you off. But if you came by again, I know she'd see you. She needs someone to talk to right now."

"What exactly would she tell us?" asked King.

"I'm not totally sure," admitted Eddie. "But at least you can get her side of things instead of just this trash in the paper."

"I'm sure Chip and his men will do that."

"But she'd be more comfortable with you. Between you, me and the wall, Chip and Mom don't really get along all that well."

"Even though he saved your life?"

"I don't know how to explain it. I only know it's true."

"He speaks very highly of her."

"Maybe I wasn't clear.Mom doesn't really care for him all that much." doesn't really care for him all that much."

"All right, we'll speak to her. But, again, that won't stop people from gossiping."

Dorothea broke in. "Since Eddie keeps beating around the bush, let me say it straight out. There's no way in the world that Remmy had anything to do with that man's death. But if you find whoeverdid kill Junior, that would stop all the talk." kill Junior, that would stop all the talk."

"Right," said Eddie. "And then maybe you'll find who murdered Dad too."

"So you think it might be the same person?" asked King.

"It just seems very coincidental that Junior was charged with burglarizing my parents' home, and then in quick succession he and my father are killed."

"That was actuallymy idea," said Dorothea proudly. "And the reason I'm here. I got to thinking about this last night. What if somebody is using this string of murders to hide the killings of Bobby and Junior? And if so, it must be connected to what was stolen." idea," said Dorothea proudly. "And the reason I'm here. I got to thinking about this last night. What if somebody is using this string of murders to hide the killings of Bobby and Junior? And if so, it must be connected to what was stolen."

"That's actually something we're considering," admitted King.

"See!" exclaimed Dorothea, pointing at her husband. "I told you!"

"All right, Dorothea, all right," Eddie said. "So you think it's possible, Sean?"

"Anything's possible," said King vaguely. "Will your mother be home today?"

"Yes, but the funeral's tomorrow. A lot of people are coming in for it."

"Then we'll talk to her after that. What time's the service?"

"Two o'clock. There's a service at Christ Church and burial's at Kensington. You're welcome to come, of course."

Dorothea hunched forward. "So do you have any leads, anyone you suspect so far?"

"It's an ongoing investigation, Dorothea. We can't comment on that," replied King.

"I just thought that if we helped you, you might fill us in on things," she said bluntly.

"Sorry, it doesn't work that way. But since you're here, I have a question to ask you. You visited Bobby in the afternoon on the day he was killed?"

Dorothea stared at him blankly. "That's right. So what?"

"What was the purpose of your visit?"

"He was my father-in-law. I wanted to see how he was doing. It wasn't the first time, and I was there long before he was killed."

"And that night you went to Richmond. What time did you get there?"

"I don't remember. It was late. I went to bed."

"What hotel?"

"The Jefferson. I always stay there."

"I'm sure you do. And I'm sure they can give us the exact time you arrived."

"What the h.e.l.l are you getting at? I came here this morning to try and help you, not to be interrogated."

"And I'm trying to helpyou. If you were at a hotel ninety miles away when your father-in-law was being killed, you have an ironclad alibi. I'm sure the FBI has already checked into this as well." If you were at a hotel ninety miles away when your father-in-law was being killed, you have an ironclad alibi. I'm sure the FBI has already checked into this as well."

Dorothea stared at King for a few more moments, then rose and stalked out. Eddie thanked them both and quickly followed. King and Mich.e.l.le watched through the window as they went to their cars.

Mich.e.l.le said, "You don't think she was at that hotel at ten o'clock, do you?"

"I think she was somewhere she doesn't want her husband to know about. And I'm sure Bailey has already found that out but not bothered to tell us. Her answer about seeing Bobby before was total B.S. I checked at the hospital."

Mich.e.l.le watched as Eddie climbed in his car. "I wonder how a nice guy like him ended up with a witch like her?"

King looked at her and smiled. "Going sweet on Eddie Battle?"

Mich.e.l.le's face flushed. "Get serious, Sean."

"Do you have anything planned for tomorrow afternoon?"

"Maybe a run."

"It's canceled. We're going to a funeral."

"Why?"

"It's a little-known fact that killers very often go to their victims' funerals."

"Well, we didn't go to the other funerals."

"There haven't really been any others. Rhonda Tyler's parents apparently didn't want to be bothered, so she was buried in a potter's field near Lynchburg. I went to the burial. The only other people there were the gravediggers."

"I'm surprised no one from the Aphrodisiac went. Like Pam maybe."

"I think they just want to forget it even happened."

"Talk about hiding your head in the sand."

"And Steve Canney was cremated without a service."

"That's a little unusual for a big football star."

"His father didn't see it that way."

"How about Pembroke?" asked Mich.e.l.le.

"Her parents were so embarra.s.sed by what she was doing with Canney when she died, they buried her at an undisclosed location out of the area."

"Hinson?"

"Her parents took her remains back to New York where she was born."

"So what do you make of Eddie and Dorothea's coming by?" she asked.

"Eddie I understand. His mother probably put him up to it. Her dutifully loyal son is a perfect tool for her. Dorothea's presence was far more interesting. She claimed it was to tell us her theory on the killer. I'm surprised she'd given it that much thought actually. I think she came princ.i.p.ally to fish for information."

"Maybe she's just bucking for a bigger piece of the estate. Not that she needs it."