Read Online Classic Revenge by Mitzi Kelly - Free Book Online

probably one shot to
convince this hard-nosed lawman that there was some
merit to their belief that Sam had been set up.
    Pulling away from the door frame, she moved closer
to the desk, her arms imitating his as she crossed them
over her chest. She took a deep breath. "Chief Espinoza,"
she began, hoping a show of respect for his position
would change the bored expression on his face, "we believe firmly that Sam Wiley was either set up to make it
look like he killed his wife, or that someone was out to
just plain destroy him."
    "Oh, you do, do you?"
    Trish cleared her throat. "Yes, we do. There could be
a convincing argument made against any evidence you
think you have ..."
    "You don't even know what evidence I have."
    "That's true, we don't," Trish continued, not appreciating being interrupted one bit, "but I'm sure you've
wondered why there wasn't a broken window or a jimmied door, and-"
    Henry gave a small laugh, causing Trish to grit her
teeth. There he went again. Was it possible to get out a
full sentence around this man?
    "Outside of there having been no forced entry," Henry said pointedly, pinning Trish with an impatient
look, "there is also the fact that, according to his buddies, Sam was late for his golf game that morning-first
time ever. He claimed he had car trouble. Add to that the
fact that the radio found in the bathtub had never been
seen before by either Claire or, supposedly, Sam. What
did the killer do, carry around an electric radio just in
case Susan Wiley happened to be taking a bath? And, of
course, there is the usual motive for murder-money.
He was the beneficiary of her life insurance policy."

    "But that's not unusual between married couples,
Chief," Edna pointed out. "Joe and I are the beneficiaries of each other's life insurance policy."
    "I agree that it's not unusual. But neither one of you
has been murdered. Maybe Sam had the hots for his
housekeeper and wanted his wife out of the way."
    "That's a vulgar thought, Henry, even for you," Millie snapped.
    Trish opened her mouth and then closed it. Sam had
car trouble that fateful morning too? Did Chief Espinoza know that Claire had had car trouble that same
morning? He probably didn't, or he would have mentioned it ... gleefully. She opened her mouth to tell him
what they had learned when a thought stopped her:
How difficult would it have been for Sam to rig Claire's
car for trouble that morning? It would have guaranteed
that Claire would be away from the house longer than
usual. If Sam had, indeed, planned the murder of his
wife, which Trish didn't believe for one minute, then
the fact that both he and Claire had had car trouble on
the same morning could very possibly be construed as
premeditation in the eyes of the police.
    Trish closed her mouth. She decided it would be better not to mention Claire's car trouble. This information would be better analyzed by Sam's attorney, but
she had to get Edna and Millie out of there before they
innocently mentioned the strange coincidence. "Well, it
seems as if your mind is made up, Chief," she said in a
rush. "I still feel like you're barking up the wrong tree,
and I believe Sam's attorney will prove it."

    Henry ran his hand through his gray-streaked dark
hair and sighed, pushing himself up from his chair to
signal that the meeting was over. "Believe it or not, I
hope you're right. I've always liked Sam, but I can't ignore the evidence. Unless something else is discovered
that could prove his innocence, then I'm afraid we've
got the right guy"
    Trish's eyes narrowed as she looked at Henry. He
sounded sincere enough, but he had not let them present their suspicions at all. He must truly believe Sam
was guilty and just be paying them lip service.
    Millie evidently felt the same way. "Henry, you're
just afraid that we may be right." Abruptly, she got up
from the chair and glared at him. "You just remember,
when someone besides Sam Wiley is arrested and
found