Page 99 of The Right to Remain

“That’s not possible.”

“How is it not possible?”

“The way I understand the term, a ‘setup’ would mean you didn’t shoot Owen.”

Helena had always considered CJ dangerous. Even so, she was beginning to think she’d underestimated him.

There was a knock on the door. CJ answered. It was the woman they’d chased from the room. She was wrapped in what appeared to be a curtain or drapery from one of the other bedrooms.

“Uh, can we get our clothes, CJ? Please?”

Helena had seen and heard enough. “Hope you get an STD, you pig,” she told CJ on her way out. Then she stopped short in the hallway. The lighting was dim, but there was something familiar about the woman wrapped in the drapery.

“Aren’t you Elliott Stafford’s girlfriend?” she asked.

“Me? No. Who’s Elliott?”

Helena detected some nervousness in her response, and she was almost certain that she’d seen the young woman around the courthouse for the hearing. But she let it drop.

“Never mind.”

Helena hurried down the hallway, never looking back on her way to the front door, down the steps, and across the street to her car.

Chapter 36

Cy’s Place was buzzing with live jazz and happy customers on Saturday night. It was standing room only at the bar, and Theo was in mixologist mode. But Jack felt alone. His date night with Andie had turned into a therapy session on a bar stool. At the end of the musicians’ first set, Theo poured Jack a shot of tequila to give his beer something to chase.

“On the house,” he said.

“No way I’m doing shots tonight,” said Jack.

“Suit yourself.” Theo belted back his own pour and slammed down the empty shot glass. Then he leaned onto the bar and looked Jack in the eye.

“So, when you say, ‘Andie jumped all over me’—that’s a good thing, right?”

“No, wise-ass. I’m saying she picked a fight and called off our date night for no reason.”

“No reason?” he asked skeptically.

Jack had no idea how to explain to Theo that Andie’s problem wasTheo. “None whatsoever,” he said.

Jack’s cell phone vibrated. He hoped it was Andie calling to tell him that he was right, the red dress was the better choice, and their date was back on. He didn’t recognize the incoming number, but he was glad he took the call. It was Sheila, Elliott’s girlfriend from work.

“There’s something you should know,” she said. “The gun that was found at the Pollard house today has no serial number.”

Jack pressed the phone harder against one ear and covered the otherwith his hand to shut out the bar noise. Then he realized the background noise was coming from her end of the line.

“How do you know this?” he asked.

“I’m at a party at CJ’s house right now. I heard him and Helena talking.”

Jack was even more confused. “Helena is partying with CJ?”

“No, no. I can explain everything, but there’s something I need to show you if any of this is going to make sense to you. Can you meet me at the gun destruction plant where we met the last time?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. The weekend guard is cool. He’ll let me in, no questions asked.”