Vendetta Stone Read Online Free PDF Page A

wheeled his white Cadillac into the parking lot. Detective James Williams, the lead investigator since Angela disappeared, greeted them. So far, Williams failed to impress Jackson. His cool demeanor didn’t fit Jackson’s stereotypical mental image of a hard-boiled detective. He expected Shaft, and instead got the shaft. A thirty-five-year-old black man, Williams stood about five-foot-eleven and weighed right at two hundred pounds. A pencil-thin mustache seemed too small for his moon face, but his dark, intense eyes revealed a keen intelligence. A sharp dresser, Williams spoke with an easy-going drawl that exuded the same laid-back confidence of a sax player down at one of the jazz clubs in the Printer’s Alley entertainment district.
    Williams, a member of the Nashville force for thirteen years, proved good at his job. A thorough check into Jackson and Angela’s backgrounds revealed no hint of dirt or scandal, no financial or marital problems, no cheating by either spouse.
    Williams had checked the airlines and Jackson’s business connections in Charlotte to verify every statement Jackson made in those first few days of the investigation. There were no discrepancies, no hints that Jackson had hired a hit-man in order to collect an insurance payoff. Angela’s modeling career had allowed her to amass a sizable bank account, but her will specified that unless it involved a personal injury settlement, seventy-five percent of her estate would go to various local charities, designating most, but allowing Jackson to select two charities. Word for word, codicil for codicil, their wills matched. The couple agreed the surviving spouse could take care of him/herself and wanted their earnings to be put to work after they were gone.
    But instincts told Williams he missed something. He’d seen some good actors and always saw through it. Jackson might be telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, but doubtful. He might be the bereaved, grieving husband, yet still hiding something. But what?
    “So, Mister Stone, everything seems to be in order, and I guess we’re done,” Williams said. “We’ll be in touch, but rest assured we’re doing everything we can to find your wife’s killer.” The detective paused as Jackson returned a firm handshake. A grimace replaced the smile.
    “So, one last time. Is there anything else you can tell us, something that can shed some light on what happened to your wife?”
    Anxious to meet the press, Jackson let his anger spike and introduced the cops to a very different Jackson Stone.
    “What happened to my wife is that whoever did this is still out there,” he said, “and you guys are clueless. You’ve spent a week wasting time looking at me instead of tracking the butcher who killed her.”
    Williams’ eyes widened at the verbal assault as Allenby pressed hard on Jackson’s shoulder and told him to get hold of himself. Precinct Commander Mark Reynolds emerged from an adjoining room to defuse the situation, adding, “I’m sure you understand we look at everyone and everything in every case that comes our way. Detective Williams thoroughly checked out other leads and details. We’ll share them with you at the appropriate time, but today we’re going to let the world know, while we are still looking at anyone and everyone, you are no longer being considered as the primary suspect.”
    The lawyer answered before Jackson popped off again, but Jackson’s stare said plenty.
    “That’s fine. We look forward to regular updates on how the case is proceeding and hope your hunt comes to a swift, satisfying conclusion. Please forgive Jackson’s outburst.”
    Reynolds’ plan to just release a statement changed when he was informed that the media awaited in the briefing room. The commander felt the public nature of the case warranted an assurance that his department undertook a pro-active approach in the search. Allenby didn’t know Jackson had alerted the media.
    “Are you