Chapter 6

Jarrod and Davison were in the sheriff's office in a matter of minutes, but Sheriff Madden didn't have an answer to their question. "I sent Dan for you, Sam, but he came back with Archer. I really don't know where he found him."

"Where is Dan?" Jarrod asked.

"I sent him to the post office to pick up the mail."

Sheriff Madden no sooner said that then his deputy came in, carrying the mail. When everyone stopped and looked up at him, Dan stopped and said, "What?"

Davison asked, "The other night when Mandy was killed, the sheriff sent you to get me, didn't he?"

Dan put the mail on the desk, saying, "Yeah, but I ran into Archer first, so I followed what we normally do and brought him instead. Shouldn't I have done that?"

Davison said, "No, it's fine, but where exactly did you run into him?"

Dan thought. "Wow, it was dark…"

"Think hard, Dan," Jarrod said. "It might be important."

"Well, it wasn't too far from Big Annie's," Dan said. "Yeah, maybe two or three blocks. I thought it was kind of funny, Archer being there, but then I figured he was working on a case or something."

Jarrod looked at Davison. Davison said, "I don't know if he was working on anything that would bring him to that part of town."

"What do you want to do about this?" Sheriff Madden asked.

"Better let me talk to him first," Davison said. "He might have an explanation."

"Dan," Jarrod said, "could you tell where Archer was coming from?"

"No, not really, he was just suddenly there," Dan said.

Davison and Jarrod both looked at the sheriff, who got the message. "Dan, keep all of this to yourself for the time being."

"Sure," Dan said. "Do you want me to take a walk?"

Sheriff Madden smiled. Dan knew where his place was and where it wasn't, and right now the sheriff was going to have a talk with Davison and Jarrod that Dan didn't belong in on. "Yeah, take about ten minutes," Sheriff Madden said, and Dan left.

Jarrod said, "Sam, this could get touchy."

"I know," Davison said, "but let's not get worried before I see if Phil had a good reason for being where he was."

"No, wait a minute," Jarrod said. "I've got an interest in checking on this, too, Sam. I'm happy to let you take first crack, but I have to ask questions of my own if I'm going to represent my client adequately."

Davison nodded. "Let me talk to Phil first. Then you and I can touch base and go from there."

"Fine," Jarrod said, "you talk to Phil first, but I'll follow up with him and talk to whomever else I have to."

Davison nodded. "I understand. Let me go find Phil and we'll have at it."

After Davison left, the sheriff cast a suspicious eye on his old friend Jarrod. "You can't honestly believe that Phil Archer had anything to do with this girl's murder."

Jarrod sighed. "Frankly, I don't know what I believe."

"Archer is a pill and a pain in your side, I know, but a murderer? I don't see it. I don't think the man would have the guts."

"It's not likely, I'll admit, but you know what a man can do in the heat of the moment. God knows, I do."

"Look, Jarrod, since your wife was killed and you went off the deep end, you've been ready to believe anybody could do it, but Archer? That's preposterous."

"I hope so but you're right," Jarrod admitted what was for him, a hard truth. "I believe anybody can turn to murder if the circumstances are right."

"And what circumstances would prompt a milquetoast like Archer to stab a woman, a prostitute? You know as well as I do he wouldn't go anywhere near a prostitute."

"I wouldn't think he would either, but it's not impossible. He is a man, after all."

"Well, I expect if he was with her and he did kill her, you're the man who'll find out."

"If Davison doesn't," Jarrod said, and he actually hoped it would be Davison who found out the truth, if that's what the truth was.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod went to his office to catch up on a couple things, and that's where he was when Davison found him. He came in without a word and sat down in the chair in front of Jarrod's desk. Jarrod put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "Well?" Jarrod said when Davison didn't speak.

"Archer says he was in that part of town because he was looking for a witness in one of his cases," Davison said. "He says he wasn't anywhere near Big Annie's before Dan came and got him."

"Did he tell you what witness he was looking for? What case?"

Davison sighed. "Yeah. I can't tell you who or what case, but I don't think it will matter much to you, because even I don't believe him."

Jarrod straightened. "Why not?"

"The case and the witness don't go together. I'm gonna go look for the man myself and see what he has to say, but I don't like this. I'm taking the Springer case over. I told Archer."

"How did he take it?"

"Uneasy. Not really surprised, but uneasy."

"Sam, I'm still gonna want to talk to Archer, and I'll want to talk to this witness he was looking for after you do, if it turns out he's pertinent to the Springer case."

Davison nodded. "I'll reveal him to you if it turns out he is. If it turns out Phil is lying, then we're going to have an entirely different situation on our hands."

"Did you ask Phil point blank if he had anything to do with Mandy's murder?"

"Not yet. I don't want him running scared if he is involved. I need more than we have right now for me to change my thinking. I still see Springer as our man."

"And I don't," Jarrod said. "Sam, you do whatever investigation you think you need to do, and I'll do mine. But the first thing I want to do is depose Phil."

"I thought you might want to do that. Tomorrow morning good enough?"

"Let's make it the day after," Jarrod said. "I want a little time to run down a few things."

Davison got up. "All right. Talk to whoever you want, except I want you to keep Phil to a deposition, at least for now. But if you find out anything major, I want to know. If Springer is the wrong guy, I don't want to bring him to trial. Things will be bad enough if it's Phil we're about to hang."

Jarrod had thought about that, but didn't say anything. If Phil Archer did kill Mandy, he would probably hang, and that would be a disaster for Stockton. To have a man who had been a prosecutor for years, executed for murdering a prostitute –

As Davison left and the door closed, Jarrod got up and paced to the window behind his desk. Whether it was Springer who killed the girl or Archer, it was going to be fodder for the press for weeks.

"Damn," Jarrod breathed, and watched Davison leave the building and head back to the courthouse.