The Innocent Woman

everything he knows, it won’t be that hard to fame her. He’ll find another way.”
    “Like what?”
    Steve shrugged. “I imagine that’s why he hung onto the gun.”
    “You mean to plant in her apartment?”
    “Exactly,” Steve said. “If he’d had her keys, I’m sure that’s what he’d have done. Failing that, he’d want to come up with a place where it would look like she’d ditched it.”
    “Where would that be?”
    “Actually, it wouldn’t really matter. Practically anywhere would do, but probably near her apartment. He’d stash the gun somewhere, then phone in an anonymous tip saying he’d seen a woman of her description hiding a gun.”
    “So why didn’t he?” Taylor said.
    “He didn’t have to. The drawer worked. The cops nailed her on it.”
    “Right.”
    “Which he learned when he visited her in jail,” Tracy said.
    “Exactly,” Steve said. “Plus the cops got the tape from the answering machine. A bit of luck there. The message wasn’t saved. If another call had come in, it would have been erased.”
    “Right,” Taylor said. “So why didn’t Cunningham save it? I mean again, after Amy went down there?”
    Steve shrugged. “It was a two-edged sword. If the light’s blinking, it looks like Amy never got the message—you’ll recall Dirkson’s strongest argument was the light was steady.”
    “Yeah, maybe,” Taylor said.
    “Plus, I’m not sure it works that way.”
    “Huh?”
    “The message wasn’t saved,” Steve said. “So if Cunningham called the machine to try to play it and save it, would that work, or would his call erase Fletcher’s message? See what I mean?”
    “Would it?”
    “I don’t know. Tracy?”
    “I think it could be done,” Tracy said. She shrugged. “Whether Cunningham could do it is another matter.”
    “Why, just because he’s a man?” Steve said. “Well, I sure know I couldn’t.” He shook his head. “This technical stuff. I probably could have figured this case out long ago if I didn’t have a blind spot for it.” He turned to Tracy. “And I haven’t really been thinking straight since you got involved.”
    “Sorry,” Tracy said.
    “No need to apologize,” Taylor said. “It’s contagious. Just hang around with him long enough and before you know it, you’re spiriting witnesses away, suppressing evidence, and planting clues.” He shook his head. “It’s practically part of the job.”
    “Don’t take it so hard, Mark,” Steve said. “You realize in this whole case, the cops and the D.A. never made a pass at you?”
    “Sure, ’cause you and Tracy were such good targets. But if they nailed you, you wanna bet they would have got to me?”
    Tracy held up her hand. “Hey, lay off, Mark. This is my fault. I brought him the case, I forced him to take it.”
    “Let’s not go overboard,” Steve said. “I’m a big boy, I’m responsible for my own actions.” He waggled his finger and smiled. “Just don’t do it again.”
    “Bring you a client?” Tracy said. “You gotta be kidding.”
    “Oh, you can bring me clients,” Steve said. “Just no more innocent ones. They’re entirely too much trouble.”
    “That’s for sure.”
    “So let that be a lesson,” Steve said.
    “Whaddya mean?”
    “Next client you bring me damn well better be guilty.”

Books by Parnell Hall
    Stanley Hastings private eye mysteries
    Detective
    Murder
    Favor
    Strangler
    Client
    Juror
    Shot
    Actor
    Blackmail
    Movie
    The Innocent Woman
    Scam
    Suspense
    Cozy
    Manslaughter
    Hitman
    Caper
    Stakeout (2012)
    Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries
    A Clue For The Puzzle Lady
    Last Puzzle & Testament
    Puzzled To Death
    A Puzzle In A Pear Tree
    With This Puzzle I Thee Kill
    And A Puzzle To Die On
    Stalking The Puzzle Lady
    You Have The Right To Remain Puzzled
    The Sudoku Puzzle Murders
    Dead Man’s Puzzle
    The Puzzle Lady vs. The Sudoku Lady
    The KenKen Killings
    $10,000 In Small Unmarked Puzzles (2012)
    Steve Winslow courtroom dramas
    The Baxter Trust
    Then Anonymous Client
    The Underground Man
    The Naked Typist
    The Wrong Gun
    The Innocent Woman