Bullet in the Night Read Free Page B

six...”
    “If Kirk had intended to shoot Lenora the evening of their appointment, he’d be foolish not to have a better alibi,” Nick said.
    “Exactly.” I spoke the word with such vehemence my face flushed. I hated to think Lenora’s protégé would have turned on her.
    Tucker shook his head. “The police pieced together a logical scenario. Kirk and she argued about the job, he stomped outside, drove away, but stopped at the road that borders the hill behind our property. He pulled a rifle from his trunk, entered the woods, climbed up, and shot her from a spot behind the house where he had visibility.”
    “Why all the back and forth?” Nick probably knew the answer but wanted to hear the police theory.
    “His intent in all this was to make it look like he wasn’t involved. This guy, Kirk, was known to have a bad temper and carry grudges.”
    “Not good.” Nick looked at me.
    “Why try to save Lenora afterwards?” I brushed a piece of lint from the tabletop.
    Tucker shrugged. “Remorse can be a powerful emotion as well.”
    Nick stared at me. “We’re talking about a crime fueled by passion...anger...committed by an irate man. Jennifer, isn’t it unlikely he’d have the self-control to enter the woods and wait patiently for a good shot?”
    I nodded in response. “And ridiculous to think guilt could set in that fast when someone is upset enough to attempt murder. And Tucker, Kirk’s story is...?”
    “Says he arrived around nine and found Lenora passed out in a pool of blood. He called 9-1-1. The police arrived within minutes after he reported the shooting and found Kirk hovering over her bloody body holding a towel against her wound.”
    “Where was she exactly?” Nick asked.
    “Still at her desk. They immediately took Kirk to the station for questioning.”
    I closed my eyes to block out the vision of Lenora covered with blood.
    Tucker continued. “Kirk claims he wanted to call to tell her he’d be late due to a flat tire but had forgotten his phone. When he arrived, the door was unlocked. He walked in because Lenora was expecting him. He used her desk phone to call the police...that part was true.”
    “Which undoubtedly saved her life,” I interrupted. “Kirk waited for the rescue squad at Lenora’s side. How noble and tragic as well.” My voice caught.
    Tucker crossed his arms. “Or an attempt to throw off suspicion. My wife is a wonderful woman. Anger is a terrible motivator.”
    “What evidence do the police have?” Nick focused on facts; emotion was my territory.
    Tucker appeared to pull his words from a point of pain I could only imagine. “No gun residue on his hands, so he was smart enough to wear gloves, although his fingerprints were in the study and the kitchen. The police checked for footprints, but the ground was too dry. From the angle of the shot, they determined where he stood in the woods.”
    The image of Lenora stripped of her cozy idyllic existence infuriated me. “Have you been to look at the spot yet?”
    “I can’t bring myself to. The police combed the area but found nothing.”
    “Then evidence is circumstantial so far,” Nick commented more to himself than us.
    “But all pointing to Kirk.” Tucker clenched and unclenched his fist.
    “Tucker, you sound confident he’ll be convicted, but,” Nick clarified, “circumstantial won’t do it, not for attempted murder.”
    Tucker shook his head in disagreement. “All I know is the police sergeant told me they have what they need to put him away.”
    “Fresh out of prison, where would Kirk get a rifle?” I asked out of curiosity.
    “An ex-con?” Nick shrugged. “With their network of contacts, guns or drugs are no problem. Kirk could have had a rifle stashed somewhere before he went in, possibly even in these woods.”
    Tucker snarled. “Of course, he denies he had one.”
    “Tucker, you said earlier today you didn’t think Lenora’s shooting could have happened during a robbery? Are you still