The Distant Echo Page 0,186

eyes, steepling his fingers in his lap. "What about Ziggy and Mondo? What's happening about that?"

"Not so good, I'm afraid. In spite of the fact that Lawson's singing like the proverbial bird, they've got no corroborative evidence that ties Lawson into Mondo's murder. He was very, very careful. He's got no alibi, but he claims he was up at his caravan that night, so even if they can find a neighbor to confirm his car wasn't at his house, he's covered."

"He's going to get away with it, isn't he?"

"It looks that way. Under Scots law, a confession has to be corroborated before a prosecution can succeed. But the cops in Glasgow are giving He'd and Jackie a wide berth, which is a result of sorts."

Weird slammed the flat of his hand against the rock in frustration. "What about Ziggy? Have the Seattle police done any better?"

"A little. But not much. We know Lawson was in the U.S. the week before Ziggy died. He was supposedly on a game-fishing trip in Southern California. But here's the thing. When he took his rental car back, it had about two and a half thousand miles more on the clock than you'd get from local driving."

Weird kicked out at the rock beneath his feet. "And that's a round trip from Southern California to Seattle, right?"

"Right. But again, there's no direct evidence. Lawson's too smart to have used his credit card anywhere other than where he was supposed to be. Karen says the Seattle police have been showing his photo around hardware stores and motels, but no luck so far."

"I can't believe he's going to get away with murder again," Weird said.

"I thought you believed in a judgment more powerful than humans can provide?"

"God's judgment doesn't absolve us from the duty to operate in a moral universe," Weird said seriously. "One of the ways we show love for our fellow human beings is to protect them from their own worst impulses. Sending criminals to jail is just an extreme example of that."

"I'm sure they feel loved," Alex said sardonically. "Karen did have one other piece of news. They've finally decided not to charge Lawson with attempted murder for his attack on you."

"Why the heck not? I told them back then that I was willing to come back and testify."

Alex sat up. "Without Macfadyen, there's no direct evidence that it was Lawson who did you over."

Weird sighed. "Oh well. At least he's not going to be able to wriggle off the hook over Rosie. I guess it doesn't much matter whether he faces charges over what he tried to do to me. You know, I've always prided myself on being streetwise," he mused. "But I walked out of your house that night full of bravado. I wonder if I'd have been so brave or stupid if I'd known there was not just one person but two on my tail."

"Be grateful for that. If Macfadyen hadn't been spying on us, we'd never have been able to place Lawson and his car at the scene."

"I still can't believe he didn't intervene when Lawson started beating me to a pulp," Weird said bitterly.

"Maybe he was forestalled by Eric Hamilton appearing on the scene." Alex sighed. "I suppose we'll never know."

"I guess what matters most is that we finally got the answer to who took Rosie's life," Weird said. "It's been a thorn in our flesh for twenty-five years, and now we can put it to rest. Thanks to you, we managed to neutralize the poison that infected the four of us."

Alex gave him a curious look. "Did you ever wonder?"

"If it really was one of us?"

Alex nodded.

Weird considered. "I knew it couldn't have been Ziggy. He had no interest in women, and even back then, he didn't want to be cured. Mondo wouldn't have had the nerve to keep his mouth shut if it had been him. And you, Alex?Well, let's just say I couldn't figure out how you would have got her up to Hallow Hill. You never had the Land Rover keys."

Alex was shocked. "That's the only reason you decided it couldn't have been me?"

Weird smiled. "You were strong enough to have kept your own counsel. You've got the capacity for tremendous coolness under pressure, but when you blow, you blow like a volcano. You were taken with the lassie?I'll be honest. It did cross my mind. But as soon as they told us she'd been attacked somewhere else and dumped on the hill, I knew it couldn't be you. You were saved by the logistics."

"Thanks for your confidence," Alex said, wounded.

"You did ask. And you? Who did you suspect?"

Alex had the grace to look embarrassed. "You did cross my mind. Especially when you got God. It seemed like the sort of thing a guilty man might have done." He gazed out over the treetops to the distant horizon where mountains folded into each other in a blue haze. "I often wonder how different my life would have been if Rosie had accepted my invitation and come to the party that night. She'd still be alive. So would Mondo and Ziggy. Our friendship would have survived in much better nick. And we'd have lived without guilt."

"You might have ended up marrying Rosie instead of Lynn," Weird commented wryly.

"No." Alex frowned. "That would never have happened."

"How not? Don't underestimate how slender are the threads that bind us to the life we have. You fancied her."

"It would have worn off. And she would never have settled for a boy like me. She was far too grown up. Besides, I think I knew even then that Lynn was the one who would save me."

"Save you from what?"

Alex smiled, a small, private smile. "From anything and everything." He stared down toward the cabin and the clearing where his heart was held hostage. For the first time in twenty-five years, he had a future, not just the millstone of a past. And it felt like a gift that he'd finally earned.