Long Shadows

Chapter 60

They next tried Doris Kline’s house, but she didn’t answer their knocks.

“Car’s in the garage,” said Decker as he peered in the window. “But there’s another space where a golf cart might be parked.”

“Maybe she’s teeing off at the golf course, too,” said White.

“Seems to be a strong trend in this state.”

They got back into the car, but Decker didn’t put it in gear. He looked at White. “So, what would you do next?”

“I’d head back to the courthouse and talk to the judge’s clerks, especially Sara Angstrom.”

“The judge might have confided in her, you mean?”

“Women do, Decker, a lot more than men. Guys just like to keep it bottled in. Until they blow. By the way, my mother said to tell you hello. I think she likes you.”

“But she hasn’t even met me.”

“That might be the reason,” said White with a smile.

As Decker pulled off, he grinned, too.

Sara Angstrom met with them in her office. She was dressed somberly, and her mood matched her dress.

“I’m not sure what I can tell you that would be helpful.”

White said, “Anything that the judge might have told you about her personal life. Even if it seemed trivial. It might be important.”

“I really don’t feel comfortable divulging information like that.”

“Sara,” said White. “Someone murdered your boss, brutally. Nothing you tell us will go any further, and it’s not like the judge would mind. All we want is to find whoever took her life. I’m sure you want that, too.”

Angstrom looked anxiously between them for a moment before nodding and leaning back in her chair. “I knew about Dennis Langley. Judge Cummins told me and Dan Sykes, I suppose so we would be aware of any potential conflict. I didn’t really like him. I’ve seen him a lot in the courthouse. He just always seemed so full of himself. He practically struts through the place.”

“Then were you surprised the judge was seeing him?” asked Decker.

Angstrom seemed to withdraw into herself at this query.

“Please, Sara, whatever you can tell us,” implored White.

“When I came here the judge had been divorced for a couple of years. She was beautiful, smart, and very well off. I knew about her family money. And then I went to her house and saw how lovely that was, and her clothes were all designer stuff. And she vacationed in the South of France and Italy, and she’d even been to Japan and Australia. Pretty amazing life.”

“Tell us about her life lately,” said Decker.

“When I first got here she wasn’t really dating anyone, I mean, not seriously. But then, all of a sudden, she started seeing a string of guys, including Langley. It was like a switch was turned on for her.”

“She was nearing fifty. Maybe she just wanted to cut loose and have some fun,” said Decker. “Midlife crises aren’t limited to guys.”

“Maybe that was it. She seemed so straitlaced before. But then she started dressing, well, younger, I guess. New, cool hairstyle, blond highlights. She dieted and lost weight, not that she really needed to. I think she might have had some work done on her face. Her clothes were really costly, I could tell. But...”

“Maybe not exactly age appropriate?” suggested White.

“It’s no business of mine,” said Angstrom firmly. “She could dress however she wanted. But it was just a change in her, I guess. That’s what stood out to me.”

“Any other guys that ‘stood out’?” asked Decker.

“Not really. I was surprised that she was seeing Langley, though.”

“Did she ever talk to you about him?”

“Only once, really, after he came to visit her in chambers and I saw them exchange a kiss. She must have noticed the look on my face. After he left she laughed and said for me not to worry. She knew what she was doing. And that it was just fun for her. She wasn’t going to marry him, even if that’s what he wanted.”

“She said that?” asked Decker. “That he wanted to marry her?”

“Yes. I was relieved. I mean, I think the guy’s a creep. There was some story about him and a prostitute around the time I first got here.”

“Yeah, we heard about that. Did the judge ever mention that to you?”

“No.”

Decker said, “Langley told us that the judge never asked him to her house. Whenever they were... intimate, they were at his house, and they once went to a hotel in Miami.”

Angstrom blanched. “That’s weird. Why would she do that? It’s not like she was married or anything. She could do what she wanted, where she wanted.”

“He explained it away as her perhaps being afraid of something.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t him she was afraid of?” asked Angstrom.

“Did she ever confide in you that she was scared of Langley?”

“No. But when she broke it off she told me that it was time, that he was getting too needy, too, I don’t know, obsessed. And she had to ‘cut the cord’ — those were her words.”

White glanced at Decker. She said to Angstrom, “Langley’s girlfriend gave him an alibi for the judge’s murder.”

“You mean Gloria Chase?”

“How do you know her name?”

“Because Langley loves to tell everyone that he’s dating her. She’s apparently some amazing businesswoman. She’s also gorgeous. So he treats her as some big prize.” She paused. “That’s funny.”

“What is?” asked White.

“A friend of mine works at the county clerk’s office. She told me she saw Langley and Chase there.”

“When?” asked Decker.

“Yesterday.”

“What were they doing at the clerk’s office?” asked White.

“My friend said they were getting a marriage license.”