CHAPTER TWENTY.

Laura was still thinking about her conversation with Steve when the phone rang again. Greg.

"Hi, Laura! Heard that Chuck and the girls got back just fine last night. Wanted to check in and make sure everyone's all right?"

"Oh, hi, Greg. Thanks, the girls are great."

"That's a relief. Listen, Chuck's going to run a neighborhood blitz on Oregon tomorrow night. He's got a few guys lined up to question anyone and everyone who may have seen something the night of the murder. We're looking for a break with Santiago's name on it."

"That's good. Whatever I can do, you just let me know."

"Of course. Someone did kill Kim Connor. Even though the cops are looking for Santiago, the D.A. still hasn't given up on you. They'll backpedal once we get something solid, you can bet on that. They won't want egg on their face."

"And all I want is my life back - my freedom and my kids."

"Your freedom and your kids matter more than anything," he said firmly. "So tonight we're looking for a connection that ties Santiago to that night, before every lead goes stone cold and we end up in court. I want you cleared long before that."

"What can I do?"

"At the moment, just sit tight. You've got the girls home now, and they've been through so much. Be there for them."

Following his initial interviews a week and a half earlier, Chuck Dimer had a.s.sembled a small network of private investigators to thoroughly canvas Steve's neighborhood. The plan was to try to talk with every man, woman, and child in every household, and to identify anybody who might have been present in the area surrounding Steve's rented house. Located in an old section of Tampa, the Old Hyde Park houses were close together with small brownish lawns and few ornamental plants. Steve's was so worn down, even its cement stairs were crumbling.

The P.I.s were given a checklist and instructed to probe into anything unusual regarding that night, anybody who'd been seen or heard in the vicinity, descriptions of all cars. They were given pictures of Kim, of Laura, of Steve, of the Nelson kids, and of Frank Santiago and a few of his mob contacts.

"Okay, Greg, we're all set up," Chuck announced as they met at Bucky's on Swann Avenue for a quick breakfast the following morning. "I've got three guys going house-to-house in a ten-block radius of Nelson's apartment. Time of the murder was around eight so we'll ape that, more or less. I'll take the immediate vicinity myself."

"You got all the pictures?"

"Yup." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of photos.

Greg stated the obvious as he picked up the shot of Santiago. "Focus on this guy."

"Gonna look under every rock."

"Yeah. Wonder if you're gonna find Nelson under one. Can't see why a woman like Laura would marry such a jerk."

"Women are strange," Chuck answered. "Wonder why Celeste is marrying you?"

Greg's head jerked up.

"Just a joke, buddy. Anyway, I've never shaken the suspicion that Nelson's involved with the Connor killing myself."

"So you think he's hiding something or he's just a son of a b.i.t.c.h?"

"Good question. At first I thought the former, but now I'm not sure. Something came up in one of my interviews - that friend of Connor's I talked to right off, Carmen Williams. Turns out that Connor left Carmen all her earthly belongings, so I went back and talked to her again last week. She's really not a bad kid. Trying to pull her life together. Well, her being involved was in the back of my mind. Connor didn't have much, but to Carmen, who had nothing, maybe if she knew she'd inherit -"

"You think she's a suspect? Why didn't you say so?"

"Thought she might be, but after talking to her again, I'm thinking otherwise. She's so shook up. Connor had stuck by her all these years, her only friend. Besides, that Sunday night she was hanging out at a club in Ybor City. I had it all checked out."

"Oh." Greg sounded disappointed.

Chuck nodded. "And the girl is scared of Santiago. I sensed it the first time I talked to her and even more the second. Like she wanted to tell me more about him, but was afraid to."

"What does she know about Nelson and Connor?"

"They had a one-night thing. Connor told her about it the next morning and Carmen warned her to stay away."

"Stay away? Why?"

"Because Nelson was a married man. Because of her job at Channel Eight. Because of her boyfriend."

"Santiago?"

"The same. Said Connor wanted to break up with him, move to Atlanta. That he was jealous by nature. I couldn't get her to say that he'd ever hit Connor. Claimed to know nothing about what he did for a living, clammed up. Let's not forget how dangerous these guys are."

"Connor and Mr. Steve Nelson and Santiago," Greg mused. "What's it add up to?"

"After tonight's blitz, I'll talk to her again. Maybe she'll loosen up. You know, boss, Carrie's theory still holds up for me. Connor goes to Steve's for comfort, whatever, Santiago follows her and boom."

"Not much solace for Connor there." Greg shook his head. "Someone must've seen something over there on Oregon, Chuck. We're running out of time on this. It's already two weeks later."

"Hey, it is Sunday, Greg. Keep sayin' your prayers, my man."

On Davis Island, Laura's parents came over late morning, and in the early afternoon, the Nelson home had three unexpected visitors: Carrie Diamond with her eleven-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and Roxanne Musing. Oddly, they arrived at the same time.

"Roxanne! Carrie! And you must be Elizabeth," Laura exclaimed as she met them at the door. The child looked so much like Carrie with her violet eyes and brown hair - Elizabeth's in pigtails. Seeing the pigtails brought the shadow of a memory back to Laura, but she couldn't force a clear picture into her consciousness. Then she remembered that the girl couldn't hear her and she bent down to shake her hand. "What a beautiful dress," she said carefully so that Elizabeth could see her lips. She ran her hand over the pretty plum sundress, then she pointed to the child's eyes. "It matches your eyes."

Elizabeth smiled brightly at Laura, and her hands began to move in sign language.

"She says 'thank you,'" explained Carrie. "I hope I'm not barging in, but I wanted to see how you were doing before we went over to the school. They're having a fund-raiser, and Elizabeth's in a skit." As Carrie spoke, she automatically signed to the child. To Laura, she said, "The twins got back last night, right?"

"Right," Laura said. "Thank G.o.d. Let me introduce you to everyone. Come on in, Rox."

After saying h.e.l.lo in the living room, Peg and Carl took Elizabeth and the twins into the kitchen for milk and cookies. The twins insisted Elizabeth come upstairs to play with their legendary collection of dolls and stuffed animals as Peg started to make coffee.

"Do you like dolls?" Natalie wanted to know.

When Elizabeth didn't respond, Nicole stood up from her seat at the table and stood directly in front of Elizabeth. She repeated the question.

Elizabeth nodded vigorously.

With a squeal, all three girls went running upstairs.

"If I'd have known you'd be here, I would have brought Jose over," said Roxanne to Carrie.

"Jose?" Carrie asked politely.

"Remember that case at the hospital," Laura explained, "Ruiz?"

Carrie squinted. "The malpractice?"

"Yes. Roxanne's been taking care of the smallest boy, who's five. He was the only one in the family that wasn't seriously injured, and he had nowhere else to go."

"What happened to the parents?" Carrie asked. "I remember talking to you about dropping out of that case."

"The mother died," Roxanne said softly, "and their baby girl died. But the case was about Louis's ten-year-old daughter, Wendy."

"The father?"

"Louis is still in the hospital, and Jose's two older brothers are still there too. They're going to be okay."

"Still see them every day?" Laura asked.

"Yes, and I'm pretty worried. I mean, how are they going to survive this financially? Louis is a strong, proud man, but with the hospital bills, not being able to work -"

"What an awful situation," Carrie said slowly.

Laura nodded. "I explained to Rox the reason I had to drop out as a witness, Carrie, but I don't feel good about it."

"I can understand," said Roxanne. "Things haven't been easy for me at the hospital since they know I'm involved. The truth is, I'm worried about my job."

"What? Cliff Casey would never let that happen," Laura protested.

"I'm afraid he would. He's not happy about you either. Any doctor who even thinks about testifying against the hospital is considered a traitor."

"You know," Carrie said, "it's a shame about the Ruiz family, but as Laura's attorney, I have to say she has way too much to worry about right now."

Roxanne reached for Laura's hand. "Right," she said.

"Before I go, there's something about your case that I'd like to discuss." Carrie looked from Laura to Roxanne.

Laura read Carrie's cue. "Rox, whenever I talk legal stuff, I have to be alone with my attorneys. Maybe you could wait in the kitchen with Mom and Dad?"

"That's okay, honey, I've got to run." All three women stood and Roxanne hugged Laura. "Call you later."

"I'm glad to meet you, Roxanne," said Carrie. "I am sorry we can't do more for the Ruiz family."

After Roxanne left, Carrie said, "Laura, the main reason I came by is to tell you that Greg and Rob have been working all weekend on a motion to take to Judge Potter. There's good news. You know that residue test - the one that shows if you actually shot that gun?"

"Yes." Laura held her breath.

"Results came back negative," Carrie announced with a broad smile.

"Thank G.o.d. I mean, I knew it would, but still -"

"The prosecution will try to make light of it," Carrie cautioned, "because of the blood that contaminated your hand, but overall it'll give us something to work with."

Laura sank to the couch. "At this point I - it all seems so unreal. Seeing Roxanne. Thinking about my career. I worked so hard. Sacrificed so much. Will they ever let me back in the hospital? Will I ever be able to pick up my life?"

Carrie stepped closer and squeezed Laura's shoulder. "Laura, you're a strong woman. Your daughters are back and you have three young sons who need you, no matter what. More than ever."

"How can I even face them?" Laura bolted up. "Steve's telling them I'm some kind of monster. A killer. I haven't seen them in almost two weeks, haven't even been able to explain. And now something's wrong with Patrick -"

"Laura, I wish I could tell you that everything will be okay. I'm sorry, I really do have to get going." She squeezed Laura's shoulder once more. "What you need to do is stay as calm as possible, okay? Let's go up and fetch Elizabeth."

"Oh, she's a delightful child. I just wish -" Laura grew silent, choking back tears.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

Chuck had timed the investigative blitz for early evening to simulate as much as possible the scenario of two weeks earlier. The weather was humid and in the high eighties, similar to the night of the murder, but it had been drizzling that night. Chuck personally questioned the older woman living upstairs from Steve, who had called the police. He had interviewed her previously and this time, although cooperative, she had nothing more to add. He then planned to interview the neighbors on either side and the house directly across the street, along with the two houses flanking it. They all had the most direct view of who came in and out of Steve's apartment and the best chance to have heard anything unusual.

The neighbors directly across the street had been away that entire weekend. When they'd approached Oregon Avenue at ten thirty, it had been blocked off and they had difficulty getting through the police barricade to their home. This was substantiated by the police reports that Chuck had repeatedly scrutinized. To their right lived an older couple in their seventies, who relayed the details of the TV programs they had watched that Sunday evening from their family room in the rear of the house, denying even glancing out their front windows.

On the other side of Steve's, a middle-aged housewife delayed preparations for the family's dinner so Chuck could question her and her two teenage sons. Her husband had also been there, but he'd left that afternoon for a sales conference in Miami. Consistent answers. n.o.body saw anything that shed new light. The older of the boys recalled seeing Laura's light blue station wagon parked right behind Kim's canary yellow Firebird. He remembered thinking that the wagon was parked too close to the Malone driveway and that old man Malone would be p.i.s.sed, maybe enough to even clip it with his ancient pickup. He estimated the time to be minutes, maybe ten, maybe twenty, from when he'd noticed the two cars to when all the action started. None recalled any other unidentified parked vehicle. n.o.body saw Laura or Santiago enter the house or noticed any type of commotion or noise. n.o.body - except the woman upstairs from Steve - heard the gunshot.

Next, Chuck revisited Matt Malone, a widower with a mean-tempered reputation, who lived alone in the gray, two-story house on the left of Steve's.

"Who is it," the scrawny, white-haired, elderly man growled as Chuck rang the bell for the third time.

Chuck could smell the hint of whisky on his breath, but the old man seemed coherent. First time Chuck'd stopped by Malone's, he'd merely heard, "I didn't see nothin', and that's what I told the cops." This time Chuck came prepared with a fifth of Jack Daniels, which he hastily pushed into the man's veined hands.

"I'm not the law, Mr. Malone, I just need answers about that poor woman who got killed next door. Pay you back a little for helping me out."

Malone took the amber liquid. "I dunno, guess we could talk some. Sure you ain't a cop?"

"Absolutely sure." Chuck walked into the surprisingly neat living room. Everything was in place. Lace curtains, embroidered doilies on the end tables.Probably just as the deceased Mrs. Malone had left it.

Malone motioned for Chuck to take a chair. "You know I talked to the cops. Got nothing more to say."

"If you'll indulge me. You were here on Sunday night two weeks ago?"