“Delia.” He spoke her name and blankly looked off in the distance—Isabel imagined he was seeing Delia in his mind, perhaps as a happy little girl running into his arms.
“So, I’ll ask you again, did you kill David Gerard?”
He paused and stared at her with laser intensity, as if his glare could bore right through her. “Yes, Isabel.” His words were slow and calculated. “I killed David Gerard. I went to his office and shot him for what he did to my daughter.”
“Tell me exactly, step by step, what happened the night David Gerard died.” Isabel stood motionless at the foot of his bed, capturing the entire confession on video.
After drawing in a deep breath, Jerry took her through each action, how he set David up, how he shot him, and why.
“What’s going on in here?” Delia burst through the door.
“Your father has just confessed to murdering David Gerard. You knew him as Evan Parker.”
“Oh, Dad, no!” Her head shook violently as tears sprang to her eyes.
“I’m afraid so, Princess.” His eyes were brimming with tears, as well, and he reached out to his daughter. She rushed to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand, leaning over to rest her head on his chest. He stroked her long, dark hair.
Colin and Emily silently slipped just inside the door. Isabel turned away from Jerry and Delia and stepped over to her friends. She bent her head down toward the brooch and whispered, “I’m turning it off for now, Buzz, but stand by. I’ll be back on in a few.” She raised her head and looked to Colin. “You’re up.”
He moved closer to Jerry’s bedside. “Delia, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to my office in time to meet with you, but I—”
“You asked me to come to your office so Isabel could get in here and talk to my father, didn’t you?” Her normally refined manner had melted under pressure, exposing the raw anger seething below it. “I want you all out of here! Now!”
“Whoa, lady. You’re not in a position to be giving orders. I still need to talk with you, preferably down at the station.” Colin rolled his wrist and read his watch. “Let’s say in one hour?”
“I have nothing to say.” She spoke slowly, through clenched teeth, looking Colin in the eye.
“Then why so defensive, Delia?” Emily crossed her arms and glared at the woman whom she had once considered a friend. Now she was more of an enemy combatant.
“My father is dying and I don’t want to leave him.” A knot seemed to catch in her throat and she swallowed hard.
“Delia, go with the man,” her father encouraged. “I’ll be fine.”
“No, I don’t want to leave you.”
“It’s okay, go.”
“Should I bring an attorney?” Delia asked.
“Only if you have something to hide,” Colin replied.
Delia glared at Colin, then her eyes narrowed as she pinched her lips together. “All right, Dad, I’ll go,” she said, turning her gaze back to her ailing father. “But I’m coming back just as soon as we’re done. Okay?”
“Okay, sweetheart.” Jerry closed his eyes. “Now, if you all don’t mind, I’d like to get some shuteye.”
Delia stalked out of the room first and stomped down the hallway as Isabel stood with Colin and Emily in the hall, right outside the door.
“Where’s she off to in such a hurry?” Colin asked.
“She probably didn’t want to get stuck in the elevator with the rest of us.” Emily remarked. “I’ve never seen her so ruffled.”
“That’s a good thing,” Colin remarked. “She’ll be more likely to blurt out the truth under pressure. I’m going to give ADA Laraway a call and bring her up to speed on what’s happening.”
“Give her my regards,” Emily muttered with a hint of sarcasm as Colin pulled his phone out and walked down the hall. The polished blonde with a take-no-prisoners attitude had all but thrown herself at Colin when he’d first arrived in Paradise Valley.
“Time for me to head back in.” Isabel twisted the daisy stem and turned her brooch back on. “Buzz, I’m back on. After I’m finished this time, I’ll need a copy of this entire recording asap.” She raised her head and grinned at Emily. “I’m not through with Jerry yet. You guys may want to stick around for the show.”
CHAPTER 23
Isabel breezed back into Jerry’s room. “Knock, knock.”
Colin and Emily waited out in the hall as Isabel let the door swing silently behind her. She hoped Jerry didn’t notice the lack of sound