Page 56 of Alibi for Murder
Hamilton Road
Woodstock, 12:30 a.m.
Allie had a bad feeling something was going on with Rivero.
First, she had been stunned that he’d left his house to come to hers. Her impression was that he never left the house. Granted, maybe he was like her in that he preferred to stay home but wasn’t a true recluse or agoraphobic.
The fact that he’d driven fast but competently and continued to speak fairly reasonably had assuaged her concerns. Still, she’d wanted to text or call Steve, but she’d lost her phone, and Rivero insisted he’d forgotten his in his haste to get to her house. The driving around in all sorts of directions for half an hour or so had seemed reasonable to ensure they weren’t followed.
All that aside, it was when their frantic journey ended on the road to Thomas Madison’s house that alarm bells were triggered.
“Why are we here?”
He pulled deep into the driveway, past the house and right up to the detached garage as if he’d been here before. She imagined he had. He’d been following this story for thirty years. Why wouldn’t he have tracked down the Madisons and tried speaking with one or both.
“This is where it all came apart.” He shut off the engine and turned to her.
The interior lights of his vehicle dimmed until they went completely dark. An exterior light on the detached garage provided some illumination—enough for her to see his face. He appeared calm now.
“I don’t know what you mean.” She worked on achieving her own state of calm. He didn’t appear to have any sort of weapon. He hadn’t threatened her. No reason to be concerned. She hoped.
He reached for his door handle. “Come on. We’ll go inside, and I’ll explain.”
She climbed out and followed him toward the back of the house. “Do you think they had anyone watching my house who might have seen you pick me up? Should we be worried about our safety?”
At the back door, he hesitated. Swatted at the bugs swarming around the light next to it. “We’re safe. I’m guessing whoever they hired to set your house on fire split as soon as the flames were going well enough to be confident the job was done.”
“The job,” she repeated, then swallowed with effort. “You mean eliminating me?”
He made a sound that wasn’t quite a laugh, more a grunt. “What else? These guys are ruthless. I thought you got that part already.”
“I suppose it’s my eternal assumption that people are good that makes me seem naïve.”
He shot her a look before opening the door. “Time to leave the gullibility behind. There’s no room for ignorant bliss in this situation.”
She supposed he was right about that. There was no more deniability. Ledwell did bad things, and people, including her parents, had been murdered to protect their secrets.
Allie had lost everything.
Ledwell had taken it all from her.
They entered the house through a mudroom. Rivero flipped on lights as if he came here all the time. In the kitchen, he did the same, turning on the overhead light, which was one switch in a panel of six.
How had he known exactly which one to flip?
Tension worked its way through her, but she asked no questions. No need to give him a heads-up that she was suspicious again. If she was lucky, since the power was still on, maybe there was a landline in the house. She’d gotten rid of the landline at her house long ago, but some people preferred to keep them even with cell phones.
He turned to her. She jumped, just a little. She prayed he didn’t notice.
The smile that appeared when she jumped was the oddest expression.
Oh yes, he had noticed.
“Let me show you around. There’s something I think you should see.”
She nodded. Summoned a smile. “Sure.” Damn. That was not what he would expect her to say. She was in the home of Thomas Madison—her father’s former friend and colleague. “I hope you found something that will help me prove Ledwell murdered my parents.”
He glanced back at her as he strode toward the staircase. “Oh, I think you’ll find this most interesting, and it will confirm everything you already think you know.”
