Page 56 of Homecoming

“It’s true, though. I know him a little bit. He’s got a reputation for being the guy you call when your plumbing craps out, no pun intended, and you can’t afford a plumber. He can fix anything, and he’s willing to help anyone who needs it. A lot of people who wouldn’t be able to afford repairs otherwise rely on him.”

“I’ve heard he has some redeeming qualities.”

“He has a lot of them, but he comes across rough around the edges, and the booze situation has gotten worse in recent years.”

“The police report stated the victim, Tanya Sorenson, was found on a beach near town, beaten and strangled.”

“That’s the info I received as well. A local guy named Horace Gordon fishes off that beach every morning. He’s the one who spotted her and called it in around eleven the next morning. From what I’ve heard, he’s pretty broken up about it. Has a granddaughter around the same age and is taking it hard. The 911 call came in about five minutes after the cops got a call from the women she’d been with the night before, reporting that she hadn’t come home.”

“How soon after that did they pick up Keith and Kirby?”

“Two hours later.”

“Which means they didn’t do any kind of real investigation before they arrested them and charged them with murder.”

“That’s my take as well. They had a few people tell them she’d been seen with Keith, had video of her walking in town with him after last call and an eyewitness that put Keith with her near the beach, and Kirby’s truck there as well.”

“It sure as hell sounds like they jumped the gun arresting them.”

“Since he’d been reportedly ‘all over her’ in the bar, they felt they had probable cause to arrest and charge Keith, which is a huge stretch. Kirby was an even bigger stretch.”

“I’d like to start with the women she was with and go from there,” Dan said.

“That’d be my first move, as well. But here’s the thing, man… And don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you should let me work on my own. Mainers are weird about outsiders poking around in their business, especially the fancy, made-for-Hollywood sort of outsider.”

“Ouch,” Dan said, grinning.

Carter shrugged. “Just calling it like I see it, but don’t take that as an insult. I’m wildly impressed by the work you’ve done to free unjustly incarcerated people.”

“Thank you, and I understand where you’re coming from. I brought you in to get your advice on how to go forward, so I’ll let you do your thing.”

“I think that’s for the best. I’ll get right on it and keep you informed of every development.”

“That works for me. If you bill me weekly, I’ll get it taken care of right away.”

“It’s going to add up fast.”

“Believe me,” Dan said, “I know.”

After Carter leftto get to work, Dan called his father-in-law.

“Hey, Dan, how’s it going?”

“I’ve hired a private investigator, a friend of Hugo’s named Carter Smith. He’ll dig into the case and see what he can find that’ll help.”

“I’ll pay for that.”

Dan had hoped he’d say that. Not that he couldn’t or wouldn’t foot the bill if he had no other choice, but he preferred that Chuck paid the expenses.

“What do you know about a man named Jonah Brown?”

“How do you know of him?”

“He’s the eyewitness who ID’d your sons with the victim the night she was murdered.”

“Are you shitting me?”

“Nope.”

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