the flashlight to Benderschmidt for an exam. He cannot do his work here because he has an extensive lab at VCU.”
McCutcheon says, “And if the blood on the flashlight matches the blood on the clothing, then Quincy is linked to the crime, right?”
“Possibly, but that won’t happen. The flashlight was a plant by Pfitzner and was not at the scene of the crime. I guarantee it.”
Glenn needs to insert himself. He says to McCutcheon, “Well, the way I see it, we have two issues. The first is exoneration, the second is the prosecution of the real killer. The first is pressing, the second may never happen. Sure, Pfitzner is in jail, but linking him to the actual murder still looks like a long shot. You agree, Post?”
“Yes, and I’m not concerned with that right now. He gave us a gift and he’s locked away for a long time. I want Quincy Miller out of prison as soon as humanly possible, and I want your help. I’ve been down this road before, and when the district attorney cooperates things go much faster.”
“Come on, Patrick,” Glenn scolds. “The writing is on the wall. This boy got screwed by this county twenty-three years ago. It’s time to make things right.”
Sheriff Castle smiles and says, “I’m listening. We’ll reopen as soon as you get the test results.”
I would like to lunge across the table and hug him.
McCutcheon says, “It’s a deal. I only ask that everything is photographed, videoed, and preserved. I may need it for another trial one day.”
“Of course,” I say.
Castle says, “Now, about those other two boxes.”
Glenn sticks his cane into the floor, jumps to his feet, says, “Let’s have a look. There might be some dirt on me in there.”
We laugh nervously and get to our feet. Frankie clears his throat and says, “Hey boss, don’t forget about that closet.”
I had forgotten. I look at the sheriff and say, “Sorry to complicate matters, Sheriff, but we stumbled across something else in the Taft house, in a closet upstairs. I’m not sure you can call it a dead body or a corpse because it’s nothing but a skeleton. All bones. Probably been there for years.”
Castle frowns and says, “Great. Just what I need.”
“We didn’t touch it, but we didn’t notice any bullet holes in the skull. Could be just another suicide.”
“I like the way you think, Post.”
“And there was no clothing at all. Anyway, we didn’t tell the Tafts, so it’s all yours.”
“Thanks for nothing.”
44
Glenn invites Frankie and me to another round of Chinese food on the porch, but we beg off. I leave Seabrook late in the afternoon, with Frankie close on my tail as if to help guard my valuable cargo. It’s on the seat next to me where I can keep an eye on it. One little box with the flashlight, yet to be touched for the first time in decades, and one plastic bag holding a bloody shirt. We drive nonstop for three hours and get to Savannah just after dark. I lock the evidence in my apartment for the night so I can sleep beside it. Vicki is roasting a chicken, and Frankie and I are starving.
Over dinner, we debate driving versus flying to Richmond. I don’t want to fly because I don’t like the idea of subjecting our evidence to airport security. A bored agent could have a blast with our bloody shirt. The idea of another one fiddling with the flashlight is terrifying.
So we leave at five in the morning, in Frankie’s roomy and much more reliable pickup, with him behind the wheel and me trying to nap for the first leg. He starts nodding off just over the state line in South Carolina and I take the wheel. We pick up an R&B station out of Florence and sing along with Marvin Gaye. For breakfast we get biscuits and coffee at a fast-food drive-in window and eat on the road. We can’t help but laugh about where we were exactly twenty-four hours earlier. In the attic, terrified and expecting to be attacked by evil spirits. When Frankie recalls my violent vomiting when the skeleton almost jumped out of the closet, he laughs so hard he cannot eat. I remind him that he practically fainted. He admits he took a knee and actually grabbed for his Glock.
It’s almost 4:00 p.m. when we arrive in downtown Richmond. Kyle Benderschmidt has cleared the deck and his team is waiting. We follow him to