Fatal Flaw Read Free Page B

to call 911. Then I took a black raincoat from the hall closet, went back out with Guy, covered him as best I could. I waited out there with him.”
    “When you were up in the room, did you see a gun or shells or anything?”
    “No.”
    “Did you smell anything, anything funny?”
    “Other than the gunpowder and the smell of the blood? No.”
    “It must have been a shock for him to see her dead like that,” said Breger.
    “I suppose so.”
    “Why, then, do you think he called a lawyer?” asked Breger, his head still in the file. “Of all the people he could call when he saw what he saw, why do you think he called a lawyer? I don’t think I would call a lawyer. A doctor, the police, my mother maybe, but not a lawyer.”
    “He burned a lot of bridges when he left his family and his job to move in with Hailey. We had stayed in contact. He had introduced me to Hailey months ago. Maybe there was no one else for him to call.”
    “You say Guy left his wife for her?” asked Stone. “What is the wife’s name?”
    “Leila,” I said. “Leila Forrest. They weren’t yet divorced.”
    “Do you have an address?”
    I gave it to her.
    “That’s Berwyn.”
    “Yes it is.”
    “Nice place, Berwyn. Any idea who might have wanted to kill Ms. Prouix other than this Leila Forrest?”
    “I never said Leila wanted to kill her. And I don’t know of anyone else.”
    “What was she like, the victim?”
    “I don’t know, Hailey was…special. Sweet, in her own way. Pretty. A nice girl. This thing is just tragic.”
    “Any problems between Mr. Forrest and Ms. Prouix?”
    “They were in love, madly in love. Sick in love. Anything else?”
    “You want to get him out of here, don’t you?” said Breger. “You want to take him someplace where the body of his fiancée isn’t lying dead on a mattress upstairs.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Good idea. We’ll see you and Mr. Forrest tomorrow. Is nine too early?”
    “It’s going to be a tough night,” I said. “Let’s shoot for ten.”
    Breger and Stone glanced at each other. Maybe it was my unfortunate choice of verb.
    “Ten it is,” said Stone. “You didn’t by any chance have an umbrella or something?”
    “No, why?”
    “Thank you for your help,” said Breger, his gaze back in the file. “See you tomorrow at ten.”
    I left the two of them huddling in quiet conversation and went back to Guy in the dining room. I spoke to him softly. I helped him stand. I helped him put on the raincoat. I took hold of his gym bag. Gripping his arm, I helped him toward the door before Detective Breger dropped his meaty hand on Guy’s shoulder.
    “Mr. Carl,” he said, while looking not at me but at Guy, “we won’t ask Mr. Forrest any questions, because you asked us not to, but could we perform one small test, just for our peace of mind?”
    “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” I said.
    “Just one test,” said Breger. “It won’t take but a minute. Just a precaution really. Shirley, come here please. Shirley is one of our best Forensic Unit technicians. Shirley, could you do what you have to do with Mr. Forrest’s hands?”
    “I really should get him out. Why don’t we leave this for tomorrow?”
    “This won’t take but a minute,” said Breger. “The strips are already prepared, which makes it go really quickly. And it could really help us move the investigation forward.”
    “Hold out your hands, Mr. Forrest,” said Stone in a quiet but commanding voice that left no possibility of refusal. Guy did as he was told.
    Shirley took wide strips of clear adhesive and pressed them on the back of each of Guy’s hands, concentrating on the web of flesh between the thumb and the forefinger. With a flourish she ripped the strips off, one at a time, and carefully put them on a fresh backing. Then she did the same to each palm.
    “What do you think?” said Breger.
    “His hands seem too clean,” said Shirley. “How long was he out in the rain?”
    Breger turned to