The Viper

“At least twice the age of her houseboy.”

“Attractive?”

“And repellent.”

“What were you expecting?”

“That she might reveal something useful. Possibly the event that was the basis for Lenny Lerman’s blackmail plot. Maybe a few objective facts about Slade’s background that would sharpen my picture of the man. She did say with particular conviction that he’s a superb liar.”

He poked at a remaining bit of egg, then put his fork down again. Beyond the glass doors, everything was white or gray or black, except for the muted red of the barn across from the now-frozen pond.

“It’s snowing again,” he said.

She finished her coffee. “So, where do you stand with the case?”

“Nowhere. I have major problems with every hypothesis.”

“Including the ‘Slade is guilty’ hypothesis?”

He nodded. Truth be told, the main source of his doubt regarding Slade’s guilt was the decapitated rabbit. But he wasn’t about to mention anything that threatening to Madeleine. “The evidence is inconsistent with Slade’s temperament. The man I visited in Attica is nothing if not cool under pressure. I don’t see him making so many incriminating mistakes—leaving that axe and pruning clipper where they could be discovered, putting one of his own camo suits on Lerman, burying the body so close to the house, dropping a cigarette butt with his DNA on it by the gravesite.”

“You’re saying he was framed?”

“It’s one way of explaining the evidence. But it raises a difficult question. Was framing Slade a way for the killer to escape responsibility for killing Lerman? Or was killing Lerman a way to set up the framing of Slade?”

Madeleine eyed him warily. “That’s the sort of question that obsesses you.”

“The answer could be crucial. If the primary goal was to kill Lerman, then that’s where we’ll find the key to this whole affair. The insurance investigator insists it was all about the insurance money. Meaning the suspects would be the victim’s beneficiaries, Sonny and Adrienne. But I just don’t see them as perps. Adrienne is a hospice worker, and she fosters homeless kittens. Sonny may be explosive enough to kill someone, but framing Slade would have required planning, not explosiveness.”

Madeleine continued watching him without comment.

“The other possibility—killing Lerman to frame Slade—has its own problems. It would require knowledge of Lerman’s blackmail plan, knowledge of when Slade would be at the lodge, and knowledge of exactly when Lerman planned to confront him. It seems like a hell of a coincidence that one of the few people to whom Lerman confided his plan would just happen to hate Ziko Slade enough to want to destroy his life and be willing to murder Lerman to do it.”

“You’ve obviously given this a lot of thought.”

“But all I can see are three possibilities. One, Slade is guilty as charged. Two, someone else killed Lerman and framed Slade to get away with it. Three, someone wanted to frame Slade and killed Lerman to do it. But there are major flaws in all three.”

“I think this would be an ideal time to put your final thoughts on paper—the pluses and minuses of the three possibilities—pass them along to Emma and let her take it from there. You’ve done enough.”

Gurney nodded vaguely.

27

YOU’VE DONE ENOUGH.

Madeleine’s comment was echoing in his mind later that morning as he sat in the den, going through the files he’d received from Marcus Thorne. He realized she had a valid point; he just wished he could pass along a possibility that had more pluses and fewer minuses. But if he were to come up with a new Lerman murder hypothesis, he needed either new facts or a new way of interpreting the ones he had. He decided to begin with the GPS map of Lerman’s trip, which showed the route Lerman had followed from his apartment in Calliope Springs to Slade’s lodge in the wilderness above Rexton.

The duration of the trip—two hours and twenty-one minutes—seemed a bit on the long side. But Lerman’s sixteen-minute gas-station stop could explain it.

That did, however, seem like a long time to spend at a gas station. Perhaps Lerman spent some time in the station’s convenience store or restroom. Or a neighboring store. Gurney opened his laptop and entered the gas station’s address in Google Maps Street View.

The facility that appeared on the screen was small and scruffy. There were only two pumps, and the tiny store behind them looked more in need of demolishing than updating. He rotated the viewing angle 180 degrees. Directly across the road from the station was a shabby strip mall housing a discount cigarette outlet, a martial arts dojo, a liquor store, an auto supply shop, and a vacant storefront.

He imagined Lerman stopping for gas, noticing the liquor store, and going over to buy something to settle his nerves before going on to his meeting with Slade. But the fact that he could imagine that scenario didn’t mean much.

Kyra Barstow might have more information than she’d presented at the trial. Gurney retrieved his phone from the breakfast table and called her.