Ties That Bind

Chapter 17

"SO WE GOT THE SON OF A BITCH, I see." Sergeant Winston walked toward Madison and Terry.

They were at their desks, catching up on paperwork, waiting for arrangements to be made.

"Not that I would have received the update from you." He eyed Madison.

"That we did." Terry smiled at his superior. "Called for his lawyer. The guy had him on speed dial in his BlackBerry. He should be here soon."

"He's coming in on a Sunday?"

Madison's cell rang. She answered. "Knight...all right...thanks." Both men were looking at her for a report. "Well, that was Officer Higgins. Layton's story checks out. He went to the gravesite."

"So he tells the truth about that. Big deal. It doesn't mean he's innocent in all this." The sergeant crossed his arms and straightened out his back, popping his gut farther out. The strain on the buttons of his shirt was unflattering.

"Apparently, he left flowers and a card. You're not going to believe what it said." Madison walked over to Terry. "Take a look at this." She held her cell phone so he could see the picture Higgins had forwarded to her. She read it aloud for her boss.

Terry said, "Doesn't look too good for this guy."

"Come on, Terry. What do we have?"

"So you've put all the resources into finding this guy and now we have him, you're backing out?" The sergeant didn't look too impressed.

"I never said I thought he did it."

"You could have fooled me."

Madison addressed her partner and wished the sergeant would leave and take care of some paperwork. "I believe it's possible, but what do we have besides circumstantial evidence?" She asked the question of Terry. "Can you answer that?"

"We have the card now."

"I'm not sure if that's enough. Those words could be twisted to mean different things. The DA will see that." She lifted her coffee mug, swallowed a large mouthful, and licked her lips. What she craved was a chocolate bar. "We have his fingerprints on cuffs, but he's explained that."

"He had the motive. He loved her. She wanted to end it."

"So other people say. They would still get together to—"

"I'll leave you to it, but call the minute you get your shit together." The sergeant made his exit.

When he was out of earshot, Madison said to Terry, "Yes sir, yes, I know you want to know everything, at every second." She caught eyes with her partner who found obvious amusement in her display. "Hey, when he calls, and you know he will, I'm handing the phone to you."

"I don't think so." Terry redirected back to the case. "Didn't you notice the anger in Layton's eyes when he was talking about their relationship arrangement? It wasn't a mutual decision. He didn't want to see her with anyone else."

"Yeah," Madison sighed. "I don't know. My gut is pulling me in two directions. I'm interested in finding the guy from the photo."

"You're still stuck on that?"

"Why are you being so stubborn about it?"

"It's a picture. Why would a killer leave a photo of himself behind? Stupid, don't you think?"

"There's no talking to you about this. And I'm not saying he's necessarily the killer, but he might have something to offer the investigation. Why are you so hardheaded about Layton?"

"Do you ever look at the evidence that stares you right in the face—at all? If you did, you'd see it as clearly as it is, Layton did it."

She let out a rush of air. Her mind was so jumbled with thoughts that they swirled without a clear focus.