Part 83 (2/2)
”All right.” She sat, oddly comforted when Barbie elected to curl up by her feet instead of Eli's. ”I'm sorry I made you feel I didn't trust you. That wasn't it.”
”It's part of it, but we'll get into that later. Tell me exactly what happened. Step by step.”
His response only dampened her already soggy mood. ”I wanted to meditate,” she began, and told him everything in as precise a manner as she could.
”You never touched the gun?”
”No. It fell when I dropped the box, and I left it there.”
”As far as you know, they didn't find any prints that shouldn't have been there?”
”No, just the fibers.”
”And the police haven't contacted you since?”
”Vinnie called me today, just to check in. He said they should have the ballistic results tomorrow or Wednesday, but more likely Wednesday.”
”What about the gun itself? Was it registered?”
”He didn't tell me. I think he has to be careful what he says to me. But they know it wasn't mine. I've never owned a gun. I've never even held a gun. And if it was the gun used to kill Kirby Duncan, they know I was here, with you.”
Handily covering each other, Eli thought. Just what would Wolfe make of that? ”What did your lawyer say?”
”To call him if they wanted to question me again, and that he'd contact Detective Corbett directly. I'm not worried about being a murder suspect. n.o.body thinks I killed Duncan.”
”I could've planted the gun in your place.”
”That would be stupid, which you're not.”
”I could be using you for s.e.x and patsy potential.”
For the first time in what felt like hours, she smiled. ”No more s.e.x if you make me your patsy. And that's just not logical as it only turns the light back on, makes them look at you again. Which is exactly what whoever did plant it wanted, and why they suddenly made that anonymous call to Wolfe. The fact is, really, all this reeks of setup, and Corbett's not an idiot.”
”No, I don't think he is. But there's another angle. It's possible you've had contact with the killer three times now. Here, in the bar and now with him planting the gun at your cottage. That's something to worry about, and you know it. You're not an idiot either.”
”I can't do anything about that but be careful.”
”You could leave, go visit your mother for a while. You won't,” he added before she could speak. ”And I don't blame you. But it's an option. Another option is to trust me.”
Hearing him say it, knowing she'd given him cause to say it, made her absolutely miserable. ”Eli, I do trust you.”
”Not where it gets sticky, you don't. I don't know if I blame you for that, either. Men have let you down. Your father. It's one thing for it not to work out between him and your mother, but he's still your father. And he chose not to be one, not to be a real part of your life. He let you down.”
”I don't dwell on it.”
”That's healthy of you, but it's there.”
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