Page 93 of Coveted Justice

26

Maddie and Tanner were finishing up dinner the next night when they heard a knock at the door. It wasn’t unheard of to get visitors in the evening or even in the middle of the night. She was a doctor and people had medical emergencies at all hours of the day.

“I’ll get it,” Tanner said, levering up from his seat. “Brian mentioned stopping by and talking about the next campaign appearance.”

To his surprise, it was Seth Reilly standing on the other side of the door.

“Come on in. Shit, now I’m worried. Did something happen?”

It wasn’t that it was unusual for Seth to stop by. It wasn’t. They saw each other a great deal. It was, however, unusual for him to stop by without calling or texting first. Which made Tanner wonder what the hell had happened. Was someone dead or injured?

“Nothing happened,” Seth said with a laugh. “Christ, you’re suspicious. I came by to talk to you. I have the ballistics results on the gun found in Abby’s trunk.”

That was news that Tanner wanted to hear. He stepped back to let his friend into the house.

“Why are you telling me? Why didn’t Sam call me?”

“I’m guessing because Sam doesn’t have the results yet. He probably won’t get it until the morning. I have a...friend in the state lab. He tipped me off.”

“I don’t even want to know how you did this, I’m just glad you have it. So spill it.”

Maddie had come out of the kitchen to see who their guest was and gave Seth a hug.

“If you’d come earlier, you could have joined us for dinner. I didn’t make it so it would have been safe to eat.”

Tanner had grilled some chicken and veggies along with a fruit salad. Maddie was on clean-up duty.

“Seth has the ballistics results,” Tanner said to his wife. “I’m guessing he came here in person because it’s the murder weapon.”

“You would be wrong,” Seth replied with a grin. “It’s not the murder weapon. The gun is registered to one Andrew Parnham. But it wasn’t used to kill his father. I came here to tell you because I was in the area when I got the call, and I thought it would be better to do it in person. I can leave if you want and call you from the truck.”

Maddie rolled her eyes and groaned.

“If I live a thousand years, I don’t think I will ever understand you men and your sense of humor. Of course, we’re glad you’re here. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’d love some water, thank you. I can’t stay too long. I’m supposed to meet Presley at my parents’ house for dinner. They’ll be leaving in a few days for their yearly trip to Graceland. This year they’re taking a side trip to Pigeon Forge and staying in a cabin there for a few weeks.”

Maddie disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Tanner alone with Seth to discuss this latest development in the investigation.

“Why on earth would Abby have her stepson’s gun in her trunk? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I don’t know,” Seth replied. “I’m sure there’s a normal, logical explanation for it. I’d like to ask Parnham if his father borrowed the gun. Was Marty afraid of someone? Did he feel threatened in any way?”

“That’s a good question,” Tanner replied grimly. “If Marty borrowed the gun, there had to be a reason. We know that Marty and Abby had a handgun registered to them already. But if he was afraid, why didn’t he just buy another firearm? He already owned one, so it wasn’t like he was against them.”

“What about Abby?” Seth suggested. “How is she about guns? Maybe she told Marty she didn’t want any more of them in the house.”

“We always had guns in the house when we were together, but she was never a fan of it. She might have given an ultimatum. I’ll have to talk to her about it. I doubt she’ll have any insight as to why Drew’s gun was in her trunk. She seemed genuinely shocked it was there.”

“So the murder weapon is still at large,” Seth remarked. “And the list of suspects doesn’t get any smaller. I have to say, I’m not a big fan of any of them. I don’t look at any of them and see a killer. Maybe I’m just getting mellow in my old age, though.”

“For me, the strongest suspect is still Drew Parnham. Especially now that we know it was his gun in his father’s trunk.”

Seth frowned, his brows pinched together.

“Okay, you’ve lost me. Why does that make him a stronger suspect in your eyes?”

“It just makes me more suspicious of him. I don’t have anything concrete to back me up. It’s just a weird coincidence that the gun belongs to Drew, and you know what we all say about coincidences.”

---