Page 42 of Ride the Lightning
The club wasn’t open to the public until lunchtime, so Rocky and Jonah parked in the employee lot at the rear of the building. There was an intercom with a call button by the back door for delivery drivers to announce their arrival. Jonah pushed it twice before someone answered it.
“Yeah?” a gruff voice asked through the speaker.
“My name is Jonah St. John. I’m a friend of Marla’s and—” A loud buzzer cut Jonah off before he could finish. He smiled in triumph and opened the door, gesturing for Rocky to go first.
A man built like a rottweiler waited for them at the end of the hall. He ran a hand over his silver crew cut. Was he impatient or nervous?
“Jonah St. John,” he said, extending his hand to the man. “Are you Sandy Jasper?”
He shook Jonah’s hand and jovially said, “I am. It’s good to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Jonah returned. “This is my friend and fellow investigator, Rocky Jacobs.”
The two men exchanged pleasantries before Sandy showed them to his office. The space was ample and comfortably furnished. Large pictures hung on the wall showing the various aviation themes the club had featured over the years.
“Would either of you like a cup of coffee?” Sandy offered.
The two men both declined. Jonah had debated his approach during the drive over. Rather than dive straight into the interview, he wanted to gauge the mood and let Earl’s friend set the pace. The technique wouldn’t work with everyone, but there was no need for him to crash into their lives like a bull in a china shop.
“I wanted to believe Bo Cahill killed Earl because it was so much easier than accepting Earl’s killer was someone he trusted. It caused a lot of friction between our surviving friends over the years.” The older man briefly closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “There aren’t many of us left. God, it’s a miracle any of us survived the eighties. If HIV or AIDS didn’t get us, the bashers did. There was so much hostility and hatred directed toward us.”
“I can’t imagine,” Rocky said sympathetically, surprising Jonah. The PI was always so bold and brash, but it made sense he could stow it away when necessary. “We’re sorry for the hurt we’re causing by reopening the case.”
“Don’t apologize,” Sandy said. “Earl deserves to have justice, and Mr. Cahill ought to have his record cleared of the confession. It won’t bring the man back, but maybe it will bring peace to his family.”
“Did you know Mr. Cahill?” Rocky asked.
“No. The police said Mr. Cahill was visiting friends in Savannah when he ran into Earl, but I couldn’t tell you who those friends were,” Sandy replied. “No one in our circle recognized his name or picture.”
“Marla told me Earl had started dating a new guy before his death. She also said he’d started distancing himself from the group. What can you tell me about that?” Jonah asked.
Sandy leaned back in his chair. “The only thing I knew for certain about Earl’s boyfriend was that he was in the closet.”
“How are you certain?” Rocky asked. “Did Earl specifically tell you he was?”
Sandy nodded. “I think Earl got a thrill out of the clandestine meetings at first. Everything was so shiny and new, but it didn’t take long for the tarnish to appear.”
“Did Earl ever use a nickname when talking about his boyfriend or give you any hints on his occupation or stature in the community?” Jonah asked.
Sandy thought about the question for a few moments before answering. “Earl only referred to the guy as his beau in my presence. Based on the conversations we had, Earl was the guy’s first male lover. He never said anything about his beau’s occupation, but he once remarked how much he loved the man’s callused hands. I assumed he was a laborer of some sort, so most likely not a wealthy man or local politician who was dabbling on the wild side.”
Laborer. As in a construction worker?
“Do you think Earl’s boyfriend was married?” Rocky asked.
Sandy shook his head. “Earl never said or implied his beau had a wife. The presents he gave Earl weren’t overly expensive, so I don’t think he came from a prominent family. Earl treated his gifts as reverently as crown jewels. His favorite was a silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. He never took it off.”
Earl hadn’t been wearing the necklace in the crime scene photos Jonah accessed. Had it fallen off during the struggle, or had Earl’s killer removed it? Taken it for a souvenir?
They shifted their questions to the last weeks of Earl’s life, focusing on any known altercations. Sandy reiterated what Marla had told Jonah. Earl had started to pull away from them more and more, so he couldn’t be sure about quarrels with anyone.
“What can you tell me about Earl’s family?” Jonah asked.
“Nothing nice,” Sandy countered. “Not that my family was much better back then.” The older man’s eyes took on a faraway look as he recounted what it was like for him and his friends back in the eighties. “Perverts and pedophiles, they called us. When the AIDS crisis hit, Earl’s father, Thomas, looked him right in the eyes and told him he hoped he caught the disease. It’s a horrible thing for a parent to say to their child.”
“It’s unfathomable,” Jonah agreed. Had Earl’s father hated him enough to kill him?
“What about his mother? Did he have any siblings?” Rocky asked.