Part 290 (2/2)

father's shoulder so that they could both study the printout. ”I

want to dig a little deeper, find any and all of the connections between

these twelve people and Jane Palmer.”

”You've got the McAvoys on the list. You don't think they killed their

own son?”

”No. It's the connection.” He pulled over a file and opened it. He had

a list of names connected with broken lines. It resembled a family --e,

headed by Bev, Brian, and Jane. Below were Emma's and Darren's names.

”I've been hooking them up, using interviews and file information. Take

Johnno.” Michael slid his finger down. ”He's Brian's oldest friend, his

writing partner. They formed the group together. He remained friends

with Bev during her long estrangement from Brian. He also knew Jane the

longest.”

”Motive?”

”Money or revenge is all we've got,” Michael went on. ”We can easily

apply both of those to Jane Palmer, but it's a stretch for anyone else

on the list. Blackpool.” Michael moved his finger down. ”He was more

of a hanger-on at the time Darren was killed. His big break came

several months later when he recorded a song Brian and Johnno had

written. And Pete Page became his manager.” He ran his finger over the

lines connecting Blackpool with Brian, Johnno, Pete, and Emma.

”No connection with Palmer?” Lou asked.

”I haven't found one yet.”

With a nod, Lou leaned back. ”There are several names on your list that

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