Read Online Life Without Parole: A Kate Conway Mystery by Clare O'Donohue - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Clare O'Donohue
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nine and…” Tim looked back toward the guard. “How old is Gail?”
“Four,” Russell answered.
Tim nodded. “That’s right. She just had a birthday.”
“That she did,” Russell said. “Tim has a great memory.”
I looked from one to the other. “Must be hard to work in a place like this. On one hand wanting to relate to each other as people, and on the other hand having to keep order.”
Russell shifted his weight and shrugged. “Tim here is no trouble. We have some bad guys here, but Tim isn’t one of them.” He stopped, seemed to consider his words. “It’s different once people are inside. What they did…well, no one is in Dugan for parking tickets.”
“You don’t think about their crimes?” I asked.
“I don’t,” he said. “What they did doesn’t bother me as much as what they’re capable of doing.”
Tim smiled. “And Russell knows I’m not interested in picking any fights.”
“So what if someone picks a fight with you?” I asked.
Tim seemed to consider the question, before quietly answering. “I guess it’ll last long enough for him to stick me in the belly.”
Thirteen
T ell me about the night your wife died,” I said once the mic had been fixed. I usually prefer to ease into a situation as delicate as that, but I was looking to throw Tim off his game and get him to stop staring at me. Unlike Brick’s attempt at seduction, Tim’s steady gaze had no sexual intent. At least none that I could see.
He shifted in his chair. “It was bad. Jenny, that was my wife, she and I had been talking to my neighbor Cody.” He stopped. Cleared his throat. “He wasn’t just our neighbor. He was also our dealer. Meth was pretty new in my circles back then. Been around a couple of years, but it was getting popular and we were into it. I can’t exactly say what happened that night, or really why it happened, but when the police come to the door because of some neighbors who heard screams, I had a knife in my hand and Jenny was dead. Long streaks of her blood were on the linoleum, like she’d been crawling away and just didn’t make it. It took me a while to realize why. My knife had blood on it. Her blood.”
“You stabbed her eighteen times.”
“That’s what the police said, ma’am.” He breathed deep. “Sorry. That’s what the police said, Kate. She was stabbed eighteen times, all over her body. At my trial, Cody said that I was screaming at her and I picked up a knife off the kitchen counter and just started cutting into her. Six stab wounds in her stomach, eight in her chest, and the others were in her arms and face.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I don’t recall doing it.”
“You murdered your wife and you don’t remember it?”
He let out a long breath. “Have you ever done drugs, Kate?”
Before I could answer he shook his head.
“No, you probably haven’t,” he said. “You look like you got some sense. Drugs cloud things, make you remember things differently than they actually occurred. My actions led me here, so regardless, I’m responsible.”
“Did Jenny say anything while this was going on?”
“Not that I recall. But after she tried to get away from me, Cody said I stabbed her a couple more times. The ones that did the most damage. She stopped moving and she ended up lying in the corner of the kitchen. That’s where she died. But I do remember that she put her hand out like this.” He reached an arm out toward me, and then let it drop to his lap.
“Was she trying to touch you or shield herself from you?”
His eyes got wet but he blinked away the tears before they could fall. “I’ve asked myself that many times. Either way, I failed her.”
“But you loved her?”
“I met Jenny when we were kids, in the fourth grade, Mrs. Tressel’s class. She had long brown hair and a real pretty smile. We didn’t become friends or nothing for a while. She gave me my first cigarette when I was twelve.” He smiled. “It was my first step on
“Four,” Russell answered.
Tim nodded. “That’s right. She just had a birthday.”
“That she did,” Russell said. “Tim has a great memory.”
I looked from one to the other. “Must be hard to work in a place like this. On one hand wanting to relate to each other as people, and on the other hand having to keep order.”
Russell shifted his weight and shrugged. “Tim here is no trouble. We have some bad guys here, but Tim isn’t one of them.” He stopped, seemed to consider his words. “It’s different once people are inside. What they did…well, no one is in Dugan for parking tickets.”
“You don’t think about their crimes?” I asked.
“I don’t,” he said. “What they did doesn’t bother me as much as what they’re capable of doing.”
Tim smiled. “And Russell knows I’m not interested in picking any fights.”
“So what if someone picks a fight with you?” I asked.
Tim seemed to consider the question, before quietly answering. “I guess it’ll last long enough for him to stick me in the belly.”
Thirteen
T ell me about the night your wife died,” I said once the mic had been fixed. I usually prefer to ease into a situation as delicate as that, but I was looking to throw Tim off his game and get him to stop staring at me. Unlike Brick’s attempt at seduction, Tim’s steady gaze had no sexual intent. At least none that I could see.
He shifted in his chair. “It was bad. Jenny, that was my wife, she and I had been talking to my neighbor Cody.” He stopped. Cleared his throat. “He wasn’t just our neighbor. He was also our dealer. Meth was pretty new in my circles back then. Been around a couple of years, but it was getting popular and we were into it. I can’t exactly say what happened that night, or really why it happened, but when the police come to the door because of some neighbors who heard screams, I had a knife in my hand and Jenny was dead. Long streaks of her blood were on the linoleum, like she’d been crawling away and just didn’t make it. It took me a while to realize why. My knife had blood on it. Her blood.”
“You stabbed her eighteen times.”
“That’s what the police said, ma’am.” He breathed deep. “Sorry. That’s what the police said, Kate. She was stabbed eighteen times, all over her body. At my trial, Cody said that I was screaming at her and I picked up a knife off the kitchen counter and just started cutting into her. Six stab wounds in her stomach, eight in her chest, and the others were in her arms and face.”
“Why did you do it?”
“I don’t recall doing it.”
“You murdered your wife and you don’t remember it?”
He let out a long breath. “Have you ever done drugs, Kate?”
Before I could answer he shook his head.
“No, you probably haven’t,” he said. “You look like you got some sense. Drugs cloud things, make you remember things differently than they actually occurred. My actions led me here, so regardless, I’m responsible.”
“Did Jenny say anything while this was going on?”
“Not that I recall. But after she tried to get away from me, Cody said I stabbed her a couple more times. The ones that did the most damage. She stopped moving and she ended up lying in the corner of the kitchen. That’s where she died. But I do remember that she put her hand out like this.” He reached an arm out toward me, and then let it drop to his lap.
“Was she trying to touch you or shield herself from you?”
His eyes got wet but he blinked away the tears before they could fall. “I’ve asked myself that many times. Either way, I failed her.”
“But you loved her?”
“I met Jenny when we were kids, in the fourth grade, Mrs. Tressel’s class. She had long brown hair and a real pretty smile. We didn’t become friends or nothing for a while. She gave me my first cigarette when I was twelve.” He smiled. “It was my first step on
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