“He didn’t turn it on during the day.”
Briscoe looked down at his notes. “The housekeeper was off that day. Good chance the killer knew that.”
“The murder weapon indicates the murder wasn’t planned,” Cassidy said, “just something that happened on the spur of the moment. So maybe the housekeeper not being here was just coincidental.”
“I’m not big on coincidence,” Briscoe said.
Neither was Beau.
“What about the senator’s phone?” Cassidy asked. “Did you find anything on it?”
“We’re still looking for the phone. So far we haven’t found it.” Tom turned in Beau’s direction. “When we talked at the station, you didn’t tell me the reason you came to Pleasant Hill.”
“I told you I came to get some papers signed. That’s why I was here.”
“I’d like to take a look at them, Beau.”
The adoption papers. “It was personal business between my dad and me. I’d rather it stayed that way.”
“I’m sure you would, but in a town the size of Pleasant Hill, word gets around pretty fast. Currently, the hot topic is you, Beau, you and Missy Kessler. And of course that includes Missy’s baby. Gossip has it that baby is yours. People think maybe you and your dad were fighting about it. You lost your temper and killed him.”
The knot in Beau’s stomach went tighter. When he made no reply, Cassidy spoke up. “The baby isn’t Beau’s, Detective. Senator Reese is the father.”
He should have been angry; the information was private. But all he felt was relief. He didn’t want to betray Missy, but he didn’t want to go to jail, either.
Briscoe settled back and drilled Beau with a glare. “That’s what Missy told me. Might have been better if you’d told me, Beau. Might not look like you had a reason for wanting to keep the information secret.”
“He was trying to protect her,” Cassidy said.
“It’s all right, Cassidy,” Beau said softly. “I should have told Tom the truth from the start.” He spoke to Briscoe. “Missy was afraid of what people would think if they knew she’d had an affair with a man so much older than she is. I figured she’d suffered enough. Since her pregnancy had nothing to do with the murder, I was hoping no one would need to know.”
“When did you find out?” Tom asked.
“Josie called me a couple of days ago. She asked me to meet her at the café, which I did the day before the murder. She gave me a copy of the DNA test that proved the father of Missy’s baby was my dad.”
“How did that make you feel?”
Beau could see it coming, feel the trap closing in on him. “I was angry. I couldn’t believe my father would take advantage of a girl that young. I drove out to the house to talk to him. We argued. He agreed to give Missy full custody. I went back to Dallas and had the paperwork drawn up, then came back to get it signed the next day. When I walked into the house, I found my father lying on the study floor.” He clenched his jaw against the painful image that hadn’t left him since that morning.
“You realize, Beau, you’re the only suspect we have. The only person who had access to the house, to the weapon that killed him—the only person who had a motive to want him dead.”
Beau came up off the sofa. “I didn’t want him dead! We didn’t get along. I didn’t approve of his relationship with Missy. That doesn’t mean I killed him.”
Briscoe slowly rose from his chair. “Then there’s the fact Ms. Jones saw you leaning over the body with the letter opener in your hand.”
Cassidy stood up. “I’ve had time to think about that, Detective. Yes, I saw Beau with the letter opener, but his hand wasn’t wrapped around the handle in a manner that would have been used to strike down a victim. He was pulling the instrument out in an effort to save his father’s life.”
Beau could feel his heart beating a loud, rapid cadence inside his chest. She was changing her story to protect him. Taking a terrible risk.
Briscoe stared at her, his gaze unwavering. “Are you sure you want to go down that road, Ms. Jones? Giving a false statement to the police is a criminal offense. So is aiding and abetting.”
Cassidy’s chin inched up. “I’m a private investigator, Detective. I’m trained to look for those sorts of clues. I saw Beau Reese removing the letter opener from his father’s chest in an effort to save his life. I was upset when I gavemy initial statement. I hadn’t had time to process what I’d witnessed, go through the sequence of events. What I just told you is exactly what I saw, and should it come down to it, exactly what I’ll tell a jury.”
Clearly unhappy, Briscoe closed his notepad and tucked it back into his coat pocket. “I’d suggest you get a lawyer, Beau. Unless something new develops, you could be in serious trouble.” He turned to Cassidy. “As for you, Ms. Jones, since you’re so convinced Beau is innocent, I suggest you use your investigative skills to find the person who killed Senator Reese.”
Briscoe turned and walked out of the house. The door slammed shut behind him.
Beau turned to Cassidy. Neither of them had moved. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
