The Guilty

Chapter 55

Robie and Reel were sitting in their car outside of the Wendells’ Gulf Coast home. He had left his phone number with Wendell in case the man wanted to talk to them again.

Robie was now on his phone doing a search. He pulled up a screen and read down it. “News feed. ‘Billionaire oil man and noted philanthropist Nelson Wendell died on the operating table after emergency surgery to repair an aneurysm in his aorta.’ Like Bobby said, he died before Sherm Clancy did.”

“So you believe the son’s story?” said Reel.

“Yeah, I do. While he wouldn’t incriminate himself, what he did tell us about his father seemed sincere.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too.”

“Which means we have to find out who took the photos.”

“Why? Do you think that’s connected to the recent murders?”

“You don’t think they are?”

“Well, those photos were taken a long time ago. The murders of Clancy and the two Chisum sisters are very recent. There may not be a connection, especially if we believe Bobby Wendell that he didn’t kill Clancy.”

Robie shook his head. “I think all three murders are linked, Clancy and the Chisums.”

“And your father is being framed? Why?”

“I think he is being framed, but I don’t know why.”

“I’m not convinced of any of this, Robie.”

“Okay, but do you have another lead I’m not aware of?” said Robie curtly.

“No. I’m just trying to see the big picture on this.”

“The big picture, I think, includes somebody being involved in this who we don’t have a clue to as yet. An unknown factor that is driving all this.”

“Okay, Clancy dead. I get that. He was blackmailing Wendell. But if Wendell’s son didn’t kill him, then who?”

“How about the guy who was taking the pictures?”

“Now that makes sense. Pete Clancy said his dad made a deal with this person, but he could have gone back on that deal. And that could have cost Clancy his life. But what about the two Chisum sisters? How did they know about any of this?”

“I’ve been thinking about that. And my best guess is pillow talk.”

“What?”

“Pillow talk. They both had sex with Clancy. He was probably drunk at the time. According to Pete his dad was mostly drunk all of the time. He has sex with the girls and he talks, says stuff he ordinarily wouldn’t. You’ve seen something of the Chisum girls. They are opportunistic to a fault. They knew that information might get them money. Money they needed to get the hell out of Cantrell. They took the risk and it cost them their lives.”

Reel nodded thoughtfully. “That seems to hold together. Janet Chisum goes to meet the person for a payoff and ends up shot and thrown in the river.”

“Wait a minute,” said Robie. “Emma Chisum told us that Janet had something on an important person or persons. That was where she was going to make a lot of money.”

“So the Wendells then? Maybe Bobby just fed us a load of crap.”

“Maybe. I guess if Janet Chisum had those pictures too.”

Reel nodded. “And when she gets popped Sara takes up her sister’s opportunity and dies, too. Although it was pretty stupid of her to meet the person out in the middle of nowhere after what happened to her sister, don’t you think?”

“And Sara wasn’t stupid. Which means something is off there. I just don’t know what.”

“We could be missing a few pieces of this puzzle,” pointed out Reel.

“Granted. But how do we find out what they are?”

“By playing detective. But that’s all we’d be doing — playing — since that’s not what we do, Robie.”

“I’m not leaving this damn place until I figure this out.”

“What if you can’t figure out all of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You might piece together who killed whom. But that’s not your endgame, is it?”

“Then what exactly is my endgame?”

She touched his trigger finger. “Getting this to work again. Isn’t that what you want?” When he didn’t say anything she said, “Isn’t it?”

“What if I can’t answer that question?”

“Then I’d say that’s an answer in itself.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Asking all these questions about me?”

“I thought that was obvious. I’m trying to get to the bottom of what’s going on inside your head. It’s not easy, Robie. It wasn’t easy for me when I had to do it. But you do have to do it. You were right. To go forward, you have to go back. You get this square, your foundation is set. You can move on. But until then, you’re going to be damaged goods.”

“This all started with a screwed-up mission. Me killing a little girl.”

“I think this would have happened regardless. The moment you learned your father was in jail for murder.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“Why not? Seems obvious to me.”

“Look, you can stop interfering in my personal life. I don’t need that. Not now. Not from you.”

“Okay, so do you want me to leave?”

Robie said nothing. For a very long time.

Reel waited him out, her gaze held steady on him.

“No, I don’t want you to leave. I need you.”

“Are you sure, Robie? It won’t hurt my feelings if you tell me to go to Hell. I’m a big girl. I can take it.”

“I don’t want you to leave, Jessica,” he said slowly.

“Okay, then I’ll stay. So where to now?”

“We need to find the guy who took the pictures.”

“Okay, how?” asked Reel.

He let out a long breath. “If I knew that I would have already found him.”