The Lady Killer Read Free Page B

the desk key, but ruled out the Yale key belonging to a supply closet, which left them wondering what the key opened, and if it could possibly be any kind of clue.
    Back at the precinct, Laura ordered a readout for the victim’s cell and home phones. When she dialed Nancy’s number, she found that it was out of service. Byron, however, not only answered but raised suspicion by refusing to come in for questioning. After she threatened to send a patrol car to pick him up, he reluctantly agreed to come in.
    When she walked into the interrogation room, she observed a well dressed businessman with graying temples and a perturbed look on his face. “Byron, do you know why you’re here?”
    “No, Detective Peterson, I don’t have a clue. I’m a very busy man, and I don’t have all day to play Twenty Questions with you, so get to the point.”
    “You admitted to me on the phone that you knew Sheila Lawson, correct?”
    He gave her a look of indignation. “Yes, of course I know her, that’s obvious, since you found my number on her cell phone. Why?”
    She remained calmly cold and looked him directly in the eyes. “What was the nature of your relationship?”
    “That’s personal and private. If she wanted you to know, I’m sure she would have told you.”
    “That might be very difficult, since she’s dead.”
    The look on Byron’s face was of both shock and grief. He was either a very good actor, or he knew nothing about Sheila’s death. “She’s dead? My God, you just don’t blurt something like that out to a person! Have you no decency?”
    “I am sorry; my intent wasn’t to shock you. I’m investigating her murder.”
    He stood up and pounded his fist on the table. “Now you’re telling me that not only is she dead but also murdered?”
    “Yes, and please sit back down.”
    He collapsed back in the chair. “And you think that I had something to do with that? I loved her! I would never hurt her!”
    “If you loved her so much, then why didn’t you want to tell me the nature of your relationship to the victim?”
    Byron had a look of disdain on his face and almost spat out his answer to her. “Don’t you call her that! She’s a real person, not just a body somewhere in your morgue! Where’s your sense of compassion? How in the hell did this happen?”
    Laura was watching his reactions intently. “It happened last night. She is the latest victim in a string of serial murders.”
    Byron looked truly horrified. “Dear God, no, please tell me that she didn’t fall into the hands of that butcher!”
    “I’m sorry, Byron, but that is exactly what happened. I need to track her movements last night, so that I can have a chance of catching this guy before he strikes again. Were you with her, or do you know what she was doing?”
    Suddenly, his whole body relaxed, and he drastically changed his demeanor. “Detective, I’m sorry I’ve been so uncooperative with you. I know you’re just doing your job. The truth is that I’m married, and I’ve been having an affair with Sheila for over a year now. I was home with my family last night, so I couldn’t call her. She told me she was going to meet her friend Nancy for a drink after work and then head home for the evening. Are you going to have to contact my wife for an alibi?”
    Laura’s eyes narrowed, and she tried to hold back the contempt she felt for the cheating bastard. “No, not unless I find out that you’ve lied to me or are connected in some way to the other women in this case. You’re free to go now, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
    He looked sad. “Sorry for my loss? There are no words for what I have lost. She was a warm and wonderful person. I will miss her desperately!”
    With Byron cleared and Nancy’s phone being disconnected, Peterson was back to square one. She headed down to the forensics lab, to see if they had turned up anything else from the crime scene or Sheila’s purse. On the way there, she ran into Detective Burns.