Miranda put the barrel of his gun to his left forearm. “How long will my wound take to heal? Perhaps no more than a month. Too bad you won’t be able to bring me flowers to the hospital.”
“Hold on, Detective. You can’t do that. That’s against the law. You’re going to lose your job along with those two cops. And go to jail, too.”
“I think I should take a chance. For some reason, I’m feeling lucky. I’m generally a very lucky guy, you know.” Miranda smiled.
Kieffer heaved a deep sigh and covered his face with his hands. “All right, I’ll tell you what I know. But it won’t help you. She’s going to get away with this. She’ll figure something out.”
“Who will?”
“My cousin, Monica Staggs. It was all her idea.”
Miranda put the gun back on safety. Okay, he finally got confirmation that Monica Staggs was behind the hunt for Hackett.
“Why does she want to kill Hackett?”
“I don’t know. We never talked about it. She offered me a chance to make fifty thousand dollars, and I agreed. Most people would have agreed.”
“What do you think she’s after?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she just didn’t like him. She holds grudges forever. And she’s cunning, too. You’re not going to make her talk, you’ll see.”
Unfortunately, Kieffer was right. Taking into account that she would hire the best lawyers the money could buy, they needed solid direct evidence to put Staggs behind bars. Right now all they had was Kieffer’s word against Monica’s.
As Miranda drove back to Boston, she called Hackett and told him about the new development.
“Why would Monica want to kill me?” Hackett asked.
“I thought you might have some ideas on this,” Miranda said.
Hackett frowned. “I saw her a few times. She looks like a nice person,” he said. “Frankly, I have no clue why she would hate me so much. What does she gain from my death?”
“Maybe your half of Marshall’s inheritance? You are his only son after all.”
“They’re not married.”
“They may be planning to get married.”
Hackett shook the head. “After he divorced Mom, my dad said he’d never marry again. He’s kept his word so far.”
“People change their minds all the time, especially when it comes to marriage. Anyway, it’s clear that Monica Staggs is involved in this. Now we need to find out who’s helping her.”
Then Miranda dialed Dillon’s number and asked him if they could meet later today. Dillon agreed.
6.
“I’m sorry, Ms Murphy, I don’t have a lot of time,” Dillon said. “Therefore, you’ll have to cut to the chase.”
“Sure. What can you tell me about your friend Monica Staggs?”
“Monica? Why are interested in her?”
“I suspect she might be involved in the attempt on your son’s life.”
Dillon frowned and leaned back in his chair. “Why do you think she might be involved?”
“I recently came across evidence pointing to her involvement.”
“What evidence is it?”
“I can’t answer this question at the moment. I’d much appreciate it if you could share with me everything you know about Miss Staggs. You don’t have to do it today. Please take your time and think this over.”
“It seems to me you’re looking under the wrong rocks.”
“I have to follow every lead since there aren’t many. I thought you’d like my thoroughness.”
After a short silence, Dillon nodded. “Yes, you’re right. You should follow every lead.” He glanced at his watch. “Here’s the thing, Miranda. I doubt I can be objective to Monica. I’m not sure if any man can be objective to a young beautiful woman. Monica is very beautiful, I suppose you noticed that.”
“She certainly looks good.”
“I just can’t imagine why she would want to kill my son?”
“Are you going to marry her?”
Dillon shook his head. “I’ve already been married once. It was not a particularly entertaining experience to me. Besides, I believe that a woman marrying a rich guy
“Hold on, Detective. You can’t do that. That’s against the law. You’re going to lose your job along with those two cops. And go to jail, too.”
“I think I should take a chance. For some reason, I’m feeling lucky. I’m generally a very lucky guy, you know.” Miranda smiled.
Kieffer heaved a deep sigh and covered his face with his hands. “All right, I’ll tell you what I know. But it won’t help you. She’s going to get away with this. She’ll figure something out.”
“Who will?”
“My cousin, Monica Staggs. It was all her idea.”
Miranda put the gun back on safety. Okay, he finally got confirmation that Monica Staggs was behind the hunt for Hackett.
“Why does she want to kill Hackett?”
“I don’t know. We never talked about it. She offered me a chance to make fifty thousand dollars, and I agreed. Most people would have agreed.”
“What do you think she’s after?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she just didn’t like him. She holds grudges forever. And she’s cunning, too. You’re not going to make her talk, you’ll see.”
Unfortunately, Kieffer was right. Taking into account that she would hire the best lawyers the money could buy, they needed solid direct evidence to put Staggs behind bars. Right now all they had was Kieffer’s word against Monica’s.
As Miranda drove back to Boston, she called Hackett and told him about the new development.
“Why would Monica want to kill me?” Hackett asked.
“I thought you might have some ideas on this,” Miranda said.
Hackett frowned. “I saw her a few times. She looks like a nice person,” he said. “Frankly, I have no clue why she would hate me so much. What does she gain from my death?”
“Maybe your half of Marshall’s inheritance? You are his only son after all.”
“They’re not married.”
“They may be planning to get married.”
Hackett shook the head. “After he divorced Mom, my dad said he’d never marry again. He’s kept his word so far.”
“People change their minds all the time, especially when it comes to marriage. Anyway, it’s clear that Monica Staggs is involved in this. Now we need to find out who’s helping her.”
Then Miranda dialed Dillon’s number and asked him if they could meet later today. Dillon agreed.
6.
“I’m sorry, Ms Murphy, I don’t have a lot of time,” Dillon said. “Therefore, you’ll have to cut to the chase.”
“Sure. What can you tell me about your friend Monica Staggs?”
“Monica? Why are interested in her?”
“I suspect she might be involved in the attempt on your son’s life.”
Dillon frowned and leaned back in his chair. “Why do you think she might be involved?”
“I recently came across evidence pointing to her involvement.”
“What evidence is it?”
“I can’t answer this question at the moment. I’d much appreciate it if you could share with me everything you know about Miss Staggs. You don’t have to do it today. Please take your time and think this over.”
“It seems to me you’re looking under the wrong rocks.”
“I have to follow every lead since there aren’t many. I thought you’d like my thoroughness.”
After a short silence, Dillon nodded. “Yes, you’re right. You should follow every lead.” He glanced at his watch. “Here’s the thing, Miranda. I doubt I can be objective to Monica. I’m not sure if any man can be objective to a young beautiful woman. Monica is very beautiful, I suppose you noticed that.”
“She certainly looks good.”
“I just can’t imagine why she would want to kill my son?”
“Are you going to marry her?”
Dillon shook his head. “I’ve already been married once. It was not a particularly entertaining experience to me. Besides, I believe that a woman marrying a rich guy
Similar Books
