conscience? He helps the guy get in the building, Dockery ends up going berserk and killing Tolliver, and Kingman comes in to help clean up the mess.”
“So you think Roy actually believes Dockery is guilty?”
“Most people accused of a crime are guilty, Mace, you know that.”
“Well, you know something, big sister?”
“What?”
“I wasn’t guilty.”
CHAPTER 80
CAN I SMOKE in here?” asked the Captain.
“No, nonsmoking building,” said Roy as he wrote some notes down.
“Hey, is it time to eat?”
“Soon.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I know. Okay, so you got in on Friday a little after six. Hid in the closet by the stairs on the main floor. Then around eight you went up to the fourth floor and settled in for the weekend. What time did you leave on Monday morning?”
“Can’t remember.”
“You have to try, Lou.”
The Captain seemed confused by the use of his real name. Roy noted this and said, “Lawyer-client thing, I need to start using your real name.”
“But I tell you what, those damn Twinkies were stale anyway. What’s the fuss?”
Roy ran a hand through his hair and wondered why it wasn’t falling out with all the stress he was under. “The fuss is they’re not charging you with stealing Twinkies, they’re charging you with murder.” He pointed his pen at the Captain. “If you get no other concept down, Lou, please get that one.”
“I didn’t kill nobody. I would’ve remembered something like that.”
“Please don’t make that sort of statement to anyone ever again. And the evidence says otherwise, namely that you did rape and kill her.”
“Why I got you. Two hundred bucks. You send me a bill.”
I will, to whatever prison you’ll be spending the rest of your life in.
“Them cheapskates anyway.”
“Who?”
“Twinkie people. Only time I heard church bells.”
Roy put his pen down and stared helplessly at the man opposite him. It seemed like the Captain was finally really losing all touch with reality. “Church bells?”
“Yep. Why’d they have to lock up that refrigerator anyway?”
“Lock what refrigerator?”
“The one where I was staying. They didn’t lock up the toilet. Or the Twinkies. And they ain’t never had much in there anyway so why lock it up?”
“Lock it up how?”
The Captain made a circling motion with his hands. “Big old chain.”
Roy had a momentary vision of Mace holding a “big old chain” as a weapon on the fourth floor the previous night when unknown people were coming after them.
“Did they wrap it around the fridge to keep it closed?”
“Why else? Big old padlock. Tried to pick it with my knife. No way, no how. Bet they had Pepsi in there. I like Pepsi better’n Coke.”
“Was the chain on there when you got to the fourth floor?”
The Captain thought about this. “Don’t know. I think I went to sleep. But it was on there when I woke up.”
“Well, that makes sense, Lou, if they thought someone was stealing the food from inside it. They’d lock it up after hours.”
“Oh, right. Didn’t think of that. You smart, Roy. Glad you’re my lawyer.”
“Okay, what about the church bells?”
“Yeah, nothing to eat. Ain’t staying there. So’s I left to look for some food.”
“Church bells? You mean you left on Sunday?”
“You sure I can’t get me a smoke?”
“I’m sure. You were talking church bells?”
With a vacuous expression the Captain said, “Don’t they still have church on Sunday or did they pick another day?”
“No, it’s still on Sunday.” Roy thought quickly. There were several churches whose bells could be heard at his building. He’d experienced their pealing himself when he’d worked weekends. “So you didn’t actually stay in the building all weekend. You left on Sunday?”
“Well, yeah, didn’t I already tell you that?”
“No, you didn’t!” Roy snapped. “Before you said you left on Monday morning.” He drew a calming breath and reminded himself that while his client was nearly sixty, his mental ability was closer to that of a young child. He said in a regular tone, “We’ve been going through the timeline for an hour now and you never mentioned that, Lou.”
The Captain held up Roy’s watch. “’Cause this ain’t my watch, Roy. I can’t tell no good time with yours.”
Under different circumstances Roy might’ve laughed. “Okay, but once you left, did you come back?”
“No, sir. For what? No food is no food. I got me some grub.”
“Did you buy it or find it?”
“I got two hundred dollars. I bought it.”
“Where?”
“Little grocery store. Man I fought in ’Nam against, he runs it. Only he likes me now. Ain’t never once run me off like some other folks.”