T?HANK GOD FOR MOTHERS,” SAIDWhite as she settled in her plane seat next to Decker. “Especially on short notice.”
“She takes care of the kids while you’re traveling?”
“Yep. Otherwise, I couldn’t do it. Childcare is outrageously expensive, even when you can find it. Lucky she was a young mother. Still got a lot of energy.”
“Five kids will age you fast.”
“She worked, too, as the assistant principal at the school where we all went. My dad was a cop in Philly. Never made that much money.”
“Is he retired?”
“He died in the line of duty.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“My mother got a big settlement from the city.”
“Why was that?” he said curiously.
“Because the dude that shot my father was also a cop, who didn’t like the color of my dad’s skin. And then the department tried to cover it up and make it look like an accident. This was twenty years ago, I was still in high school.”
“Civilizations don’t always progress, they sometimes regress.”
“Didn’t expect that from you.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“I don’t know, to tell the truth.”
After the jet lifted into the air, White said, “You read the email they sent about what happened in Florida?”
Decker nodded.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t think anything. Somebody else’s version of the facts in an email doesn’t mean anything to me. I need to see it for myself.”
“Well, what I got from it was this was an inside job, or at least the killer knew things he shouldn’t have.”
“You’re making assumptions that aren’t justified yet.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“That it was only one killer. And that it was male.”
“I was just speaking generally.”
“I like specifics much better. So explain why you think that,” he said.
“The person orpersonsknew the judge’s routine. No forced entry. Her personal security was killed without him fighting back. That tells me that he didn’t perceive what was happening as a threat. The judge was killed and there was no sign of a struggle. She didn’t try to call for help.”
“So she might have known whoever it was who killed her. The guard too.”
“But why let someone in if they just killed your protection?” White asked.
“She either didn’t know that had happened, or something even more devious was going on. She’s divorced. Ex lives in the area.”
“Right. So the ex-hubby’s a possible suspect.”