adored her with the blind passion of a child who had grown
up without parents. She constantly worked toward being as
good at everything as Celina had been, not only so she would
be a worthy daughter, but in the desperate hope of earning
her grandmother's love and approval. So it came as a stunning
blow to hear from her dying grandmother's lips that she was
responsible for Celina's murder.
The doctor had tentatively suggested that she might want
to have Mrs. Graham taken off the life support systems.
"There's nothing we can do for her now, Ms. Gaither."
"Oh, yes, there is," Alex had said with a ferocity that
shocked him. "You can keep her alive. I'll be in constant
touch."
Immediately upon her return to Austin, she began to research
the murder case of Celina Graham Gaither. She spent
many sleepless nights studying transcripts and court documents
before approaching her boss, the district attorney of
Travis County.
Greg Harper had shifted the smoking cigarette from one
corner of his lips to the other. In the courtroom, Greg was
the bane of guilty defendants, lying witnesses, and orderly
judges. He talked too loud, smoked too much, drank in abundance,
and wore five-hundred-dollar pinstriped suits with lizard
boots that cost twice that much.
To say that he was flashy and egomaniacal would be gross
understatements. He was shrewd, ambitious, ruthless, relentless,
and profane, and would therefore probably carve
out quite a niche for himself in state politics, which was
his driving ambition. He believed in the reward system
and appreciated raw talent. That's why Alex was on his
staff.
"You want to reopen a twenty-five-year-old murder case?"
he asked her when she stated the purpose of the conference
she'd requested. "Got a reason?"
"Because the victim was my mother."
For the first time since she'd known him, Greg had asked
a question he didn't already know the answer to--or at least
have a fairly good guess. "Jesus, Alex, I'm sorry. I didn't
know that."
She gave a slight, dismissive shrug. "Well, it's not something
one advertises, is it?"
"When was this? How old were you?"
"An infant. I don't remember her. She was only eighteen
when she was killed."
He ran his long, bony hand down his even longer, bonier
face.' 'The case remains on the books as officially unsolved?''
"Not exactly. There was a suspect arrested and charged,
but the case was dismissed without ever going to trial."
"Fill me in, and make it short. I'm having lunch with the
state attorney general today," he said. "You've got ten minutes.
Shoot."
When she finished, Greg frowned and lit a cigarette from
the smoldering tip of one he'd smoked down to the filter.
"Goddamn, Alex, you didn't say that the Mintons were involved.
Your granny really believes that one of them iced
your mother?"
"Or their friend, Reede Lambert."
"By any chance, did she provide them with a motive?"
"Not specifically," Alex said evasively, loath to tell him
that Merle had cited her, Alex, as the motive. "Apparently,
Celina was close friends with them."
"Then why would one of them kill her?"
"That's what I want to find out."
"On the state's time?"
"It's a viable case, Greg," she said tightly.
"All you've got is a hunch."
"It's stronger than a hunch."
He gave a noncommittal grunt. "Are you sure this isn't
just a personal grudge?"
"Of course not." Alex took umbrage. "I'm pursuing this
from a strictly legal viewpoint. If Buddy Hicks had gone on
trial and been convicted by a jury, I wouldn't put so much
stock in what Grandma told me. But it's there in the public
records."