He gave her a sad look and slowly shook his head.

She closed her eyes tightly and grimaced. "There isn't actually such a witness is there?"

"No," he said in a low voice.

"That wasn't very nice, Ray."

"Sorry. I can guess the rest of it. You acted very quickly that day. You had the idea of killing Towson already in your mind, but you didn't know when. You didn't have a plan. Then I showed up. Al had already told you on the phone that we had been arguing. The pieces of your plan fell into place. The perfect fall guy had fallen into your lap. You realized the day for action had arrived. It was the perfect time to go ahead with what had been on your mind. You then told me to wait a few hours before reporting Loraine, so I'd be out running around with plenty of time to have gone back and shot him."

"This can't be happening, Ray. Since our wonderful night together, I've thought about nothing but the two of us. I have everything planned in my mind-the rest of our lives together." She put her palms to her cheeks and looked down at the table. "You're tearing my dream all apart. I can't believe you're saying these things and doing this to me, to us."

"I can't believe I'm doing it either, and I might not have the story completely correct. My guess is you didn't carry the gun around. But you had time to go home, pick it up, and go to his apartment. He let you in, of course, with no problem. You shot him and went back to the office. Then you phoned the police and told them about the stranger in town."

"This is crazy." Her eyes were now moist.

"Why did you do it, Tammy? Such a great man that had done so much for you, that you owed so much."

Her eyes flared. "Not as great as people believed. For one thing, he cheated me on a land deal. Last year he had inside information from some spy in Tallaha.s.see that the D.O.T. was going to put in an additional access ramp to I95. He and his cronies bought up the land around there before the word got out. His involvement had to stay hidden. So, I fronted for him. They resold the land to the state for a huge profit. I was supposed to get a share. He gave me a token amount. The land deal was worth millions. I was counting on big money. It was the payoff for those years of putting up with him. It would have set me up."

"You wouldn't kill anybody over money."

"I was pretty for him every day for years. Every morning getting ready because I was going to see him. Years of exercise and skipping desserts. I tried slitted skirts, short skirts, and no skirts-once I wore inappropriate shorts to a lawn party. Dressing for a party once, I tried on a braless see-thru but I didn't dare leave my bedroom wearing it. Then, Miss Babalou, or whatever her name is, does her cha-cha and his genitals go up in smoke. She was twenty years younger, and he kept her hidden to avoid negative campaign talk. h.e.l.l, he could have had me, I was twenty years younger, and there would have been no talk-everyone already a.s.sumed we were a couple. I haven't seen her but other women he's dated all looked like boys standing next to me."

"There's no explanation for attraction." It was inadequate but he said it. Sandy had told him to keep her talking.

"One time they were someplace they weren't supposed to be-I never did find out the details-he phoned me in the middle of the night very nervous, something had gone wrong. He said if reporters checked I was to say he was with me overnight. No one would be surprised at that; it was the perfect affair cover up. Good old Tammy, she's always there. Move her around like a piece of furniture. Dust her off when you need her. Look right through her when you don't."

"He took your loyalty and gave you none of his personal self in return," Ray said.

"About four months ago, we were leaving his office, and he picked up my keys off the table by mistake. He held them out. Instead of taking them, I took his hand, folded his fingers around my keys, and held his fist in both of my hands. Don't know where I got the nerve to do that. I looked up at him and told him my apartment key was there in his hand and why didn't he keep it just in case. He said in case of what? I said well, maybe some night when you're lonely and feel like, you know, being with someone friendly, having someone who likes you, someone you can trust, someone safe."

"What did he do?"

"All he had to do was squeeze my hand, or make a tiny smile. At that moment, I was his. I'd have stripped naked for him right there, but he wouldn't have noticed. All I wanted was a d.a.m.n smile or at least a sugarcoated rejection. Couldn't he at least have said that he understood? But you know what he did? He laughed. He laughed at me. He thought it was a joke. Just as though it was beyond belief that the two of us could be intimate. Preposterous, I suppose, that he could be s.e.xually attracted to me. I was so embarra.s.sed I wanted to crawl under the rug. I spent that night crying and pounding on my pillow, beating myself. Why did I do it? How could I have said that, how stupid he must think I am, what on earth was I thinking? How could I ever face him again? Then I became angry and pounded on the pillow again, but now it was him. I was pounding on him. I hated him."

"Understandable." He knew she had never told anyone, and she had to get it all out, although this was absolutely the wrong time.

"I was angry and afraid. Afraid I'd never be a part of his personal life. I'd never win him over. All those years, all those meetings, and all those parties. See how handsome he is in that tuxedo. Look at that lucky girl on his arm. Their tongues would wag. Hundreds of rumors. Wish I had a dime for every person who was absolutely positively certain that we were having s.e.x. Look, those two are leaving the party together again-ho, ho, ho. Sometimes I felt like standing up and yelling, *Attention, everybody, I have an announcement to make. We're not a couple, we don't have s.e.x. I'm just for show.' I'd lie in bed fantasizing he was touching me, but his fingers never did."

"You went with him to Meg's party."

"No, I lied about that. He called Meg and said he was coming alone. She was nice, phoned me immediately, and said of course I was invited. I knew then I was out. He was serious about her. About a month ago, I got a call from a real estate friend in Tampa who said Al and some young woman were shopping for condos and had made an offer. I knew he was setting her up in a love nest. I swore to myself the deal was never going to go through. Go to h.e.l.l, Al Towson and take your Latina hottie with you."

"You wanted him dead."

"It was just a hateful thought in the back of my mind. But then that day, he phoned and said he argued with you. Then you showed up with your crazy story. Fate was telling me I had my opportunity."

"Your vague idea of seeing Towson dead became clear.

"I went home, got the gun, and went to his apartment thinking I'd never have the nerve to use it. I started in with all my protests."

"What did he say?"

"He said we could talk later, he had to go out. In other words, he was too busy for me. I said no, we would talk now. Why couldn't he have just smiled and taken me in his arms? It would not have been too late. None of this would have had to happen. But you know what he did? He laughed at me. He told me I was being silly. He laughed like that time when I made a fool of myself offering him my keys. It was that same laugh. That set me off. I lost it. I took the gun out, closed my eyes, and tried not to think about what I was doing."

"After he buzzed you into the building, he had plenty of time to put something on before answering his door. Why did you want him found dead in his underwear? To humiliate him, the dignified man found dead with his pants off?"

"To make it look like an affair. He had on his Kaftan when he opened the door. I made him take it off, as if a husband or boyfriend had surprised the lovers. I wanted to call attention to the affair: wine gla.s.ses, unmade bed and caught undressed. I wanted a scandal. A scandal that would be a permanent footnote to his life. And I wanted confusion to divert attention from me. Maybe even get her arrested. They can't prove any of this."

"So it was you who Mrs. Crawford saw leaving the building not the lover."

"I was heading for the elevator when she opened her door and came into the hall with her dog. I had to get away from there fast. My G.o.d, he was on the floor bleeding. So I went back in and found the scarf to put around my head. She was down the block a little when I left, I didn't know whether she saw me."

"After I was jailed you relaxed, no one suspected you. You thought you could handle all your police friends. Then Sandy showed up. You didn't expect someone so sharp to start digging in on my behalf. So, you cozied up to me and invited me overnight, figuring you'd better get on the inside of our investigation to find out what we knew."

"You're mostly correct. I was attracted to you when we first met at the restaurant, until you came out with that crazy story. When I asked you up to dinner, I didn't intend to sleep with you. I thought I'd find out about your defense and then you'd leave. But during the evening, I fell in love with you, Ray, and then I didn't want you to leave. That was love happening in my bed, I'm not an actress. I opened up to you as never before. That night my dream of a life with you started." Her eyes were glistening. "You don't have to tell anyone."

He was too angry at that moment to consider whether he had fallen in love with her. The relationship that had started beautifully was instantly laid to waste when Sandy told him Tammy was the killer. "Tammy, you put me in jail and would have left me there. I not only lost my freedom I could have been executed."

"I was depressed, my life seemed so hopeless. Everything seemed upside down. I wouldn't have done it if I had known how you really are. I never expected to find someone like you. We could still have a great life together. This doesn't have to mess up everything. They think Barner did it. They arrested Loraine. It's over. You and I can live with this since we love each other. We'll go away somewhere. We can do it. I'm not really a bad person. You don't have to say anything."

"We met too late, Tammy." He slowly shook his head and pointed up behind the booth. "That little black ball up there on that ledge-is a camera. Our conversation has been videotaped."

She froze. Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened. Then she frowned, her eyes narrowed and her face got red. She stared fiercely at him and through her clinched teeth mumbled, "You knew I loved you. I said as much to you, and I certainly showed you how much the other night. And you used that love to trick me."

She was correct-she was here confessing because she loved and trusted him. Neither of them would ever forget that. Yet, she was guilty and he was innocent. She had put his life at risk and this deception was necessary to get out of jeopardy. He realized that he was rejecting her just as Towson had rejected her for years.

She stared down at their hands clasped tightly together. "My b.a.s.t.a.r.d, my sweet loving b.a.s.t.a.r.d, at long last I've found you-and it's too late. Why couldn't it have been you that I met fifteen years ago?"

"Even a month ago would have changed everything," he replied.

Chapter 37.

Ray and Tammy were still sitting there motionless when Chip and Sandy entered the cafe. From the doorway, Sandy saw them and called out, "Hey!" After a second look she quickly put both hands over her mouth and stopped right where she was. "My G.o.d, she did confess."

A uniformed officer came in behind them and told Chip the videotaping was successful: they got the whole confession. Chip told him, "Good, Mirandize her and put her in my unit. You know who she is don't you? She's a friend. Take it slow and go easy with the cuffs. Stay with her and don't let anyone bother her. I'll be out in a minute."

Ray gave Tammy an awkward goodbye and walked over to Sandy and Chip. "I was on the wrong track. I believed it was Loraine right up until we all met last night. You were correct Sandy. When I confronted her with everything we discussed, she confessed. How did you zero in on Tammy?"

"It bothered me when she told me that she thought Loraine was the killer and at the same time was telling Chip you were guilty. But I first became suspicious when she told me that it was a shame for a great life to be snuffed out with a couple of bullets-the irony of two little bullets wiping out years of accomplishments. The way she said it I knew she didn't realize he was killed with only one bullet. She believed it was two because she knew she had fired two. She didn't know one missed and was found in the wall."

"We didn't release that detail," Chip said.

"But that wasn't conclusive. In my mind, she gave herself away when she first met you in the restaurant," Sandy continued. "One minute she's threatening to sue you if you go to the police, and then she unexpectedly stopped being hostile. That's when she realized you fit perfectly into the murder plan that had been on her mind."

"First, she screamed don't go to the police, then a minute later, she said it was okay, just wait a few hours. She needed me out running around at the time of the murder, and she needed time to shoot Towson and get back to her office."

"All that plus the lies and inconsistencies you confronted her with today. Those things were just hints not proof, but they tipped me off. Now it's up to Chip to nail down the proof."

"We needed to search her place," Chip said. "This videotape is mostly circ.u.mstantial, but it gives us enough to get a search warrant."

"She no doubt burned that silk scarf with the blue and red triangles," Sandy said. "Any chance blood splattered on the suit she was wearing? Although I guess she'd have it cleaned."

"We sometimes contact a suspect's dry cleaner. They tend to remember bloodstains. More likely, she'd burn it if she noticed it. We'll scope her entire closet, including the soles of all shoes. We know someone stepped in his blood splatter."

"Remember when I was first arrested, and you tested my hands for gunshot residue?"

"It would be long gone from her hands."

"That's not what I'm getting at. Does GSR cling to cloth for a long time?"

"It can, but it brushes off and it washes off."

"Well, when I first met Tammy in the restaurant at noon on the day of the murder, she had one of those large satchel handbags. I remember because it was next to her on the table, and I was thinking how well coordinated she was. I remember it was light brown because it matched her suit. As I recall, it was suede. Would gunshot residue stick to suede?"

"Like Florida bugs to a windshield."

"Look for that suede bag when you search her place. I'm guessing after shooting Towson, she put the gun in that handbag because that's what she was carrying that day. You won't find the gun in there, but I'll bet you'll find gunshot residue."

"If she put the recently fired gun in her purse, the lab will find residue and traces of firearm oil," Chip explained. "They'll do a Trace Metal Test, use infrared photography and a microscopic examination. They can match it with the residue found at the murder scene. I'm arresting her right now. We're dropping all charges against you."

"My nightmare ends."

Sandy said, "A good attorney will say it's not first degree, that she didn't go there to shoot him, they got in an argument. Her attorney will make it sound like a lover's quarrel, pa.s.sion of the moment. She might try to plea out to manslaughter?"

"She won't get to keep those Chinese porcelain dishes she inherited when Towson's brother finds out they're worth a half-million dollars," Ray said.

"Seriously, that much?" Sandy asked.

"Easily. He had several complete settings plus the historical directory. Towson, apparently, wanted to take care of Tammy should he die. She would have been a rich woman. Instead, she goes to jail because he broke her heart. Meanwhile, Loraine has replaced me in jail, arrested for drowning Barner."

"Loraine is a real culprit here," Sandy said. "Her greed set off the whole chain of events, starting with framing you for the murder."

"She still thinks Barner was the murderer, so she's expecting to be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as well," Chip said. "We think she paid Barner a lot of cash up front to kill Towson. He just pocketed the money with no intention of doing anything. Let her yell. What could she do? So, when Towson was shot, Loraine naturally a.s.sumed he did it. Barner figured what the h.e.l.l, tells her yeah he did it. And goes to her place for the payoff."

Sandy said, "So, Barner was in Vegas spending the down payment, and was overjoyed when he heard about the murder. The target he had no intention of shooting had been shot. He came back pretending he had finished the murder contract, and to get the rest of the money from her. And get it before the police caught the real killer. Don't you love it?"

Chip said, "So, she drowns him thinking she's covering up her part in Towson's murder, but she had no part in Towson's murder. Furthermore, she believed the gun she was trying so hard to conceal was the murder weapon, but it had no relevance."

"So, bug guy outsmarts Mensa Babe. Can you nail her for drowning him?" Ray asked.

"Murder by drowning is one of the toughest homicides to prove," Chip said. "We have motive, but only circ.u.mstantial evidence. She's hired Gerald White, the whiz Palm Beach lawyer. Remember he got that rich Neilson kid off a couple of years ago: the senator's no-good nephew who they charged with rape, DUI and leaving the scene of the accident that killed his date. Moran can't compete with him."

"So, Chip, you think Loraine will still get the big life insurance payoff on Towson?" Ray asked.

"Sure. The insurance company will try to hold things up, but I don't see how the conspiracy charge can be proven with Barner dead."

"Here's the big twist," Sandy explained, "Moran was indeed faced with the murder of a very important public figure. But, he was so focused on making it into a big national crime he overlooked a simple small-town killing for unrequited love. He'll get a conviction on Tammy, and she'll face some years behind bars, but the trial will be small potatoes compared to Loraine's."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"Loraine's trial will be a huge national sensation. It will be a circus. Think about it: you have s.e.x, a seventy-year-old beauty in a thong, millions in insurance money, conspiracy, and a murder-for-hire scheme. Plus, one additional murder by drowning thrown in at no extra charge. Seriously, the media will go wild."

"They'll call it the Granny-Thong Caper," Ray said. "I might write a book."

Sandy continued, "The hotshot lawyer, Gerald White, will get a couple million of Loraine's insurance money, and she'll be acquitted. From then on, Moran will be known as the second-rate who can't cut it in the big time."

"So Moran will get the big sensational crime case he's always wanted. Except he'll be on the losing end," Chip said. "Big toad Moran will never get out of his small pond."

Ray said, "So heartsick Tammy goes to jail. Greedy Loraine murders and ends up free and very wealthy. And I learn a lesson about minding my own business."

Sandy winked at him. "Well, now that I know you, I like the way you are. Don't change too much. In truth, I thought the granny-s.e.x was kind of cute, but by my count, you've slept with two murderers. You might try cutting back on that."

"No one else could have done what you did, digging in, setting up relationships with Chip and Linda, getting in people's faces and negotiating. You made things happen. Without you, I'd still be in jail at the mercy of little Bonaparte. You're going to be one deadly lawyer. I owe you for all this and still owe you for way back when, Sandy."

"Call me Sis. We were different people back then, just a couple of kids. All is forgiven. It's lonely out there. I think I came down here because subconsciously I wanted some family in my life."

"I glad you're my sister." Ray stepped toward her and reached out his hand. She took his hand and quickly pulled him to her. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and locked her arms around him.

He was surprised and speechless. After a moment he was able to say, "You saved me, Sis."

"Well, sisters do nice things like that," she said. She released him and when she looked up, he saw that her cheeks were wet.

He needed a moment and then said, "And I'm getting smarter about women, Sis. Meg Emerson invited me over for dinner tonight. I think she likes me."

Sandy rolled her eyes, "No kidding, you really think so?"

"She wants to talk about us being partners and starting a retirement plan consulting firm. She's a whiz at sales, and I know the paperwork end."

Sandy shook her head. "Raymond, we need to talk. Meg doesn't want to think about business tonight. Trust me on this. Don't take a ledger book, take a bottle of wine."

Chip said, "I made some really sloppy mistakes. You saved my tail several times. I'd be back on uniformed patrol if not for you."

"Nonsense, your dad would be proud of you."

"With all this wrapped up," he said, "this town's going to be quiet and dull."

"Doesn't have to be," she said.

The End About the author: Rod Hoisington has a background in business and education and lives in Vero Beach, Florida.

ONE DEADLY SISTER is the first novel in the Sandy Reid Mystery series and is available in paperback from Amazon.