Page 99 of Coveted Justice

Sighing, Abby nodded her head, her hands folded together.

“I just wanted to say thank you for letting Tanner work on this investigation. It means a lot to me.”

This was the last thing Maddie had expected Abby to say.

“I would never stop Tanner from doing something that he felt strongly about. He thinks you’re innocent. I do, too.”

She would have sworn that Abby’s eyes were glistening with tears. Clearly, there was stress in the situation. Maddie had never been a suspect in a murder investigation, but she couldn’t imagine that it didn’t take its toll after awhile.

“Thank you.” Abby turned toward the door. “You’ll let Tanner know about the key?”

“Yes, I’ll call him right away. Thank you.”

Abby left, leaving Maddie holding the small key on the ring in the palm of her hand. It was silver, the type that opened file cabinets and desk drawers. It didn’t look like much, but it just might help find more clues in the investigation. She grabbed her phone from the kitchen counter and pressed a few buttons. Tanner answered immediately.

“Hi sweetheart, what’s going on?”

“Abby stopped by. She found the key to Marty’s desk.”

She heard Tanner speak softly to someone before returning to their call.

“That’s great news. I have some not-so-great news, however. It looks like Drew Parnham tried to kill himself. We found him in his car with the garage door down and the engine running. We’re at the hospital now. It looks like he’s going to be okay, but we’re hoping to talk to him.”

“Oh my god,” Maddie breathed. “Suicide? Are you sure?”

“There doesn’t seem to be any sign of foul play. No signs of a struggle. It appears that Parnham climbed into that car willingly and started the engine.”

“Did he leave a note?”

“Sam’s deputies are combing the scene but so far, no.”

“Do you think he did it out of guilt? Do you think he shot Marty? Or had someone shoot him?”

“It’s definitely a working theory,” Tanner conceded. “But we can’t be for sure. This might not have anything to do with Marty’s murder. We need to talk to Drew to find out. But I still want to search Marty’s desk. We might find something that could give more insight into his business dealings, specifically with his son’s startup business.”

“I can bring you the key,” Maddie offered. “So you don’t have to drive all the way back here. I can meet you at Abby and Marty’s house.”

“Then I’m going to take you up on the offer. I’ll meet you at the house. And thank you. The sooner I search the desk, the sooner I can get back here to the hospital.”

They ended the call and Maddie tucked her phone into her purse along with the keys that Abby had given her. This might all be for nothing. It might not even matter anymore.

Drew Parnham was looking mighty guilty right now.

Tanner’s car was in the driveway of Marty and Abby’s home when she pulled up and he was standing by his car, phone to his ear. He quickly ended his call and tucked it in his breast pocket as she approached.

“That was Sam. The doctor says that we’ll be able to speak to Drew in a few hours.”

“He’s going to be okay, then?”

“Yes, and he’s damn lucky. The doctor said that if we’d arrived much later it would have been a different story.”

“A tragic one.” She held out the key ring. “The desk key. And the house key. The house alarm is off.”

“Then let’s get this done,” he replied. “I’d like to get back to the hospital as soon as I can.”

She followed Tanner to the door which he unlocked, then stepped back so she could enter. The house seemed a bit stuffy as if the air hadn’t moved at all in a long while. No one had been staying there for several days.

Tanner made a beeline to the office and the massive oak desk by the windows. He ran his hand over the front of one of the drawers.

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