Due Justice

Chapter 31

Tampa, Florida

Monday 1:00 a.m.

January 25, 1999

“I circled his block a couple of times because there was a car pulled up on the side of the house and I didn’t want to meet anyone there, or” and she looked a little sheepish, “interrupt him if he was busy.”

We all knew what she meant.

“Anyway, on about the third pass, I saw Mr. Worthington leaving the house, pulling off a pair of surgical gloves. He dropped a gun into his pocket.” Her breath caught. She gulped air. “I left right away. But I’ve been afraid he saw me. I think he trashed my apartment.”

I sat dumbfounded. George was, too. No one said anything for a long time.

Not that I believed her. O’Connell wouldn’t have committed murder.

Nor would I allow Carly to accuse him.  Probably seeking to divert attention from Grover, a much more likely suspect.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked her, quiet steel in my tone.

Carly looked down at her hands.  Seemed to have difficulty answering the question. She’d twisted George’s handkerchief into a thin rope, and then pulled it as if she could shred the linen into pieces the way she’d done with her paper napkin that first day.

A dark stain spread over her neckline, wet with tears. She refused to meet my gaze.

“I told Christian.”

My temperature rose about ten degrees. George lay a calming hand on my shoulder. He should have covered my mouth.

Sarcasm. “Because he’s such a trustworthy man, I suppose?”

Two hiccups. More nose blowing.

She whispered, “We’ve been secretly living together for about a year. Don’t feel left out. No one knew.”

George’s hand on my shoulder squeezed hard. Not as good as duct tape over my mouth, but I got the message.

“Okay,” I said, drawing out the word into three syllables.

“Not about Morgan’s research. I wouldn’t tell Christian that.” More sniveling. “But about Worthington. He said no one would believe me. Worthington’s reputation is impeccable. Except for my relationship to you, which isn’t even legal, I’m a nobody.  I’d had an affair with his nephew, which he disapproved of. Why would anyone believe me?”

I’d have politely disagreed, but why lie?

Carly nodded. “See? Even you think so. Christian was right.”

She took an enormous amount of air into her lungs and rushed the rest. “And we thought they’d find his body quickly and forensics would prove Worthington did it and then I wouldn’t have to say anything at all.”

She began crying again, but this time her tears flowed silently. We waited while her wave of tears passed. She blew her nose one more time.

“But then, they didn’t find the body and when they finally found it, they didn’t know who it was. The time dragged on and on. I got so stressed I couldn’t function.”

George asked, “What were they looking for? In your apartment?”

She smiled, albeit weakly. Reached into her pocket and pulled out a computer disk. “I’m not sure, but I think he was looking for this.”