Page 59 of The Devil's Advocate

‘Eddie, what the hell are you doing?’ said Harry.

CHAPTER THIRTY

EDDIE

‘Eddie …’ said Harry.

I didn’t hear what he said next. I was on my feet. My arms wrapped tightly around him. My head on his shoulder.

‘I thought that was you in that driver’s seat,’ I said.

‘That car is grey. The SUV behind me is blue. It was so hot I couldn’t stand being in the car without the air conditioning on. The battery started to run down so I took it for a quick run. Thought I’d drive up and down the highway to check for cars coming this way. I’m sorry. I was only gone for fifteen minutes.’

I relaxed my grip, stepped back and held his shoulders.

‘I don’t care, I’m just so glad you’re alive.’

‘Of course, I’m al— What did you say?’

‘There’s a dead guy in that car down the lane.’

Harry looked beyond me to the SUV. Then his fingers moved to his shirt and he swore.

I’d managed to get most of the mud from my shirt onto his, and his suit pants.

We approached the vehicle slowly.

‘Watch where you step. There are tracks,’ said Harry. He took his keys from his pants pocket and activated a small key ring torch.

‘Get up on the grass at the side,’ he said.

I did what I was told. Harry went right, I went left, and we trudged along the side of the lane until we got back to the SUV. My hands were shaking, and I wasn’t taking anything in. Slowly, the adrenaline was giving way, but I wasn’t quite there yet.

Harry shone his torch inside while I bent over, gripped my knees, tried to get my breathing under control.

‘When you said there was a dead guy in this car, I think you meant deadpeople,’ said Harry.

‘What?’

‘There aretwobodies in this SUV. Jesus, it’s Betty Maguire. And the man beside her …’

‘It’s Cody Warren,’ I said.

THE FOURTH DAY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

LOMAX

‘Is that you?’ came a thin voice from upstairs.

It was just after midnight when Lomax kicked off his muddied boots in the hallway, and hollered, ‘Who else do you think it might be?’

‘Just checking it’s you. And not some crazed killer roaming these parts,’ said Lucy, lightly, the smile evident in her tone.

The joke bounced off Lomax, heavily. He shook his head, trying to clear the latest image from the front of his mind. Cops get good at this, given time. Most police officers will, at some stage in their career, see or experience something traumatic. It’s part of the job. For some, it happens once in their career. For others, it’s once a week. The trick was to compartmentalize – to leave that shit at the door, like a pair of mud-covered boots.

Korn had wanted a warning sent. Lomax had placed Cody Warren’s body in the lawyer’s SUV and driven it off road to Andy Dubois’ house, and left it there, as instructed. Korn had arranged to take care of the rest. It stood as a clear warning to Flynn and his people.