Page 47 of Wild Wolf
“No. Not at all. When I got there, she was dead. Just laying there in a pool of blood. The back door was ajar. I stepped inside the kitchen and rushed to her without thinking. Just a reflex. When you see someone hurt, you give aid. Even if it is your ex-wife who’s suing you for more money.”
My skeptical gaze persisted.
“I felt for a pulse, but she was long gone. She’d been stabbed so many times. The pumpkin was smashed on the tile. The blood,” he said, in a trance, recalling the horrible scene. “I remember the smell so vividly.”
“You expect me to believe this?”
“I swear. I’m telling you the truth. I was in the kitchen, and I panicked. I heard the kids coming down the stairs, and I knew if they found me there, they’d think I killed their mother. We’d gotten into some pretty brutal arguments in the past. They knew how contentious the divorce was, even though we tried to keep that aspect from them. I just took off and ran. I hated that they were the ones to find their mother like that, but I just freaked.”
I wasn’t sold.
“You gotta believe me!” he cried, fear soaking his eyes. “I must have stepped in some blood. I didn’t think about it. I’m not a killer. I don’t know how to plan these things out.”
“If this wasn’t premeditated, why was your phone off the grid?”
His face wrinkled. “My phone died.”
I took everything he said with a grain of salt. “Did you get any blood on your hands?”
“Not that I recall.”
I stared him down for a long moment.
He said nothing.
“That’s a pretty convenient story.”
“It’s the truth!”
A fluorescent light buzzed and flickered for an instant.
“Do you have a murder weapon?” Grant continued. “Do you have anything solid to prove I did this?”
“The bloody shoes look pretty bad. I’ve seen guys convicted on less.”
Grant swallowed hard.
“I’m not the one who did this. I think you’re overlooking the obvious.”
I squinted. “Obvious?”
"Carolyn. She hated Hannah. Hannah was always the one who got everything. She was better looking, more social, her life was easy. But the real drama started when their mother died.”
"How so?”
"Carolyn got cut out of the will. She had a falling out with their mother. All of a sudden, Hannah shows up with a handwritten codicil, leaving everything to her. Everything. As I'm sure you know, handwritten codicils are valid in this state if they are signed in the presence of two witnesses. Wouldn't you know it, two of Hannah's friends happened to witness the codicil.” He shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I find that a little suspicious.”
"How does Carolyn benefit from killing her sister?” I asked.
"Besides satisfaction?”
"She's not going to be too satisfied sitting in a jail cell for the rest of her life.”
"Carolyn contested the will. Obviously, the codicil was forged. I have no doubt Hannah went to great lengths to study her mother's handwriting. She'd been forging notes from her mother since high school.”
"Is that where you two met?”
Grant nodded, then leaned in with a grin. "This is where it gets interesting. All of a sudden, Carolyn decides not to contest the will. Hannah promised up and down she would give some of the estate to Carolyn, but that was never going to happen. You tell me why Carolyn backed off. We’re talking a lot of money. Money that Carolyn needs.”
