from Atlanta and said to tell you everything’s set up. Wouldn’t leave a name. That mean anything to you?”
“Yes,” Jeffrey said, checking the folder he held in his hand to make sure the printout was still there. He stared at the picture again, even though he had practically memorized the blurred photo. He brushed past Marla into the hallway. “I’m leaving for Atlanta after this. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Frank will be in charge.”
Jeffrey didn’t give her time to respond. He opened the door to the interview room and walked in.
Buddy took on a righteous tone. “We’ve been here ten minutes.”
“And we’re only going to be here another ten more if your client decides to cooperate,” Jeffrey said, taking the chair across from Buddy.
The only thing Jeffrey knew with any certainty was that he wanted to kill Jack Allen Wright. He had never been a violent man off the football field, but Jeffrey wanted so badly to kill the man who had raped Sara that his teeth ached.
“We ready to start?” Buddy asked, tapping his hand on the table.
Jeffrey glanced out the small window in the door. “We need to wait for Frank,” he said, wondering where the man was. Jeffrey hoped he was checking on Lena.
The door opened and Frank entered the room. He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night. His shirt was un-tucked at the side, and a coffee stain was on his tie. Jeffrey gave a pointed glance at his watch.
“Sorry,” Frank said, taking the chair beside Jeffrey.
“Right,” Jeffrey said. “We’ve got some questions we need to ask Gordon. In exchange for his being forthcoming, we’ll drop the pending charges on the drug bust.”
“Fuck that,” Gordon snarled. “I told you those weren’t my pants.”
Jeffrey exchanged a look with Buddy. “I don’t have time for this. We’ll just send him up to the Atlanta pen and cut our losses.”
“What kind of questions?” Buddy asked.
Jeffrey dropped the bomb. Buddy had been expecting a simple plead on yet another drug charge against one of the kids from the college. Jeffrey kept his tone even when he said, “About the death of Sibyl Adams and the rape of Julia Matthews.”
Buddy seemed to register a little shock. His face turned white, making his black eye patch stand out even more against his pale face. He asked Gordon, “Do you know anything about this?”
Frank answered for him. “He was the last person to see Julia Matthews in the library. He was her boyfriend.”
Gordon piped up, “I told you, they weren’t my pants. Get me the fuck out of here.”
Buddy gave Gordon the eye. “You’d best be telling them what happened or you’re gonna be writing your mama letters from jail.”
Gordon crossed his arms, obviously angry. “You’re supposed to be my lawyer.”
“You’re supposed to be a human being,” Buddy countered, picking up his briefcase. “Those girls were beaten and killed, son. You’re looking at walking on a felony possession by simply doing what you should be doing in the first place. If you got a problem with that, you need to get yourself another lawyer.”
Buddy stood, but Gordon stopped him. “She was in the library, okay?”
Buddy sat back down, but he kept his briefcase in his lap.
“On campus?” Frank asked.
“Yeah, on campus,” Gordon snapped. “I just ran into her, okay?”
“Okay,” Jeffrey answered.
“So, I started talking to her, you know. She wanted me back. I could tell that.”
Jeffrey nodded, though he imagined Julia Matthews had been very upset to see Gordon in the library.
“Anyway, we talked, got a little lip action going, if you know what I mean.” He nudged Buddy, who moved away. “Made some plans to see each other later on.”
“Then what?” Jeffrey asked.
“Then, you know, she left. That’s what I’m saying, she just left. Got her books and all, said she would meet me later, then she was out of there.”
Frank asked, “Did you see anyone following her? Anyone suspicious?”
“Naw,” he answered. “She was alone. I would’ve noticed if anyone was watching her, you know? She was my girl. I kept an eye on her.”
Jeffrey said, “You can’t think of anyone she might know, not just a stranger, who was making her uncomfortable? Maybe she was dating somebody after y’all broke up?”
Gordon gave him the same look he would give a stupid dog. “She wasn’t seeing anybody. She was in love with me.”
“You don’t remember seeing any strange cars on campus?” Jeffrey asked. “Or vans?”
Gordon shook his head. “I didn’t see anything, okay?”
Frank asked, “Let’s go back