The Final Detail
Page 103
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was going on? It worked beautifully. Not only did it destroy Clu, but it also diverted any attention from you. Who would ever suspect you, especially since the test seemingly hurt you too? But you didn't care about any of that. The Yankees meant nothing to you except as a vehicle to destroy Clu Haid."
"So true," Sophie said.
"Don't," Jared said.
She shook her head and patted her son's arm. "It's okay."
"Clu had no idea the girl he buried in the woods was your daughter. But after you bombarded him with the calls and the diskette and especially after he failed the drug test, he put it together. But what could he do about it? He certainly couldn't say the drug test was fixed because he'd killed Lucy Mayor. He was trapped. He tried to figure out how you'd learned the truth. He thought maybe it was Barbara Cromwell."
"Who?"
"Barbara Cromwell. She's Sheriff Lemmon's daughter."
"How did she know?"
"Because as quiet as you tried to keep the investigation, Wilston is a small town. The sheriff was tipped off about the discovery. He was dying. He had no money. His family was poor. So he told his daughter about what had really happened that night. She could never get in trouble for it-it was his crime, not hers. And they could use the information to blackmail Clu Haid. Which they did. On several occasions. Clu figured Barbara had been the one who opened her mouth. When he called her to find out if she'd told anyone, Barbara played coy. She demanded more money. So Clu drove up to Wilston a few days later. He refused to pay her. He said it was over."
Sophie nodded. "So that's how you put it together."
"It was the final piece, yes," Myron said. "When I realized that Clu had visited Lemmon's daughter, it all fell into place. But I'm still surprised, Sophie."
"Surprised about what?"
"That you killed him. That you let Clu out of his misery."
Jared's arm dropped off his mother. "What are you talking about?" he said.
"Let him speak," Sophie said. "Go on, Myron."
"What more is there?"
"For starters," she said, "how about your part in all this?"
A lead block formed in his chest. He said nothing.
"You're not going to claim that you were blameless in all this, are you, Myron?"
His voice was soft. "No."
In the distance, out beyond center field, a janitor started cleaning off the memorials to the Yankees' greats. He sprayed and wiped, working, Myron knew from past stadium visits, on Lou Gehrig's stone. The Iron Horse. Such bravery in the face of so awful a death.
"You've done this too, haven't you?" Sophie said.
Myron kept his eyes on the janitor. "Done what?" But he knew.
"I've looked into your past," she said. "You and your business associate often take the law into your own hands, am I right? You play judge and jury."
Myron said nothing.
"That's all I did. For the sake of my daughter's memory."
The blurry line between fair and foul again. "So you decided to frame me for Clu's murder."
"Yes."
"The perfect way to wreak vengeance on me for bribing the officers."
"I thought so at the time."
"But you messed up, Sophie. You ended up framing the wrong person."
"That was an accident."
Myron shook his head. "I should have seen it," he said. "Even Billy Lee Palms said it, but I didn't pay attention. And Hester Crimstein said it to me the first time I met her."
"Said what?"
"They both pointed out that the blood was found in my car, the gun in my office. Maybe I killed Clu, they said. A logical deduction except for one thing. I was out of the country. You didn't know that, Sophie. You didn't know that Esperanza and Big Cyndi were playing a shell game with everybody, pretending I was still around. That's why you were so upset with me when you found out I'd been away. I messed up your plan. You also didn't know that Clu had an altercation with Esperanza. So all the evidence that was supposed to point to me-"
"Pointed instead to your associate, Miss Diaz," Sophie said.
"Exactly," Myron said. "But there's one other thing I want to clear up."
"More than one thing," Sophie corrected.
"What?"
"There's more than one thing you'll want to clear up," Sophie said. "But please go ahead. What would you like to know?"
"You were the one who had me followed," he said. "The guy I spotted outside the Lock-Home building. He was yours."
"Yes. I knew Clu had tried to hook up with you. I hoped the same might
"So true," Sophie said.
"Don't," Jared said.
She shook her head and patted her son's arm. "It's okay."
"Clu had no idea the girl he buried in the woods was your daughter. But after you bombarded him with the calls and the diskette and especially after he failed the drug test, he put it together. But what could he do about it? He certainly couldn't say the drug test was fixed because he'd killed Lucy Mayor. He was trapped. He tried to figure out how you'd learned the truth. He thought maybe it was Barbara Cromwell."
"Who?"
"Barbara Cromwell. She's Sheriff Lemmon's daughter."
"How did she know?"
"Because as quiet as you tried to keep the investigation, Wilston is a small town. The sheriff was tipped off about the discovery. He was dying. He had no money. His family was poor. So he told his daughter about what had really happened that night. She could never get in trouble for it-it was his crime, not hers. And they could use the information to blackmail Clu Haid. Which they did. On several occasions. Clu figured Barbara had been the one who opened her mouth. When he called her to find out if she'd told anyone, Barbara played coy. She demanded more money. So Clu drove up to Wilston a few days later. He refused to pay her. He said it was over."
Sophie nodded. "So that's how you put it together."
"It was the final piece, yes," Myron said. "When I realized that Clu had visited Lemmon's daughter, it all fell into place. But I'm still surprised, Sophie."
"Surprised about what?"
"That you killed him. That you let Clu out of his misery."
Jared's arm dropped off his mother. "What are you talking about?" he said.
"Let him speak," Sophie said. "Go on, Myron."
"What more is there?"
"For starters," she said, "how about your part in all this?"
A lead block formed in his chest. He said nothing.
"You're not going to claim that you were blameless in all this, are you, Myron?"
His voice was soft. "No."
In the distance, out beyond center field, a janitor started cleaning off the memorials to the Yankees' greats. He sprayed and wiped, working, Myron knew from past stadium visits, on Lou Gehrig's stone. The Iron Horse. Such bravery in the face of so awful a death.
"You've done this too, haven't you?" Sophie said.
Myron kept his eyes on the janitor. "Done what?" But he knew.
"I've looked into your past," she said. "You and your business associate often take the law into your own hands, am I right? You play judge and jury."
Myron said nothing.
"That's all I did. For the sake of my daughter's memory."
The blurry line between fair and foul again. "So you decided to frame me for Clu's murder."
"Yes."
"The perfect way to wreak vengeance on me for bribing the officers."
"I thought so at the time."
"But you messed up, Sophie. You ended up framing the wrong person."
"That was an accident."
Myron shook his head. "I should have seen it," he said. "Even Billy Lee Palms said it, but I didn't pay attention. And Hester Crimstein said it to me the first time I met her."
"Said what?"
"They both pointed out that the blood was found in my car, the gun in my office. Maybe I killed Clu, they said. A logical deduction except for one thing. I was out of the country. You didn't know that, Sophie. You didn't know that Esperanza and Big Cyndi were playing a shell game with everybody, pretending I was still around. That's why you were so upset with me when you found out I'd been away. I messed up your plan. You also didn't know that Clu had an altercation with Esperanza. So all the evidence that was supposed to point to me-"
"Pointed instead to your associate, Miss Diaz," Sophie said.
"Exactly," Myron said. "But there's one other thing I want to clear up."
"More than one thing," Sophie corrected.
"What?"
"There's more than one thing you'll want to clear up," Sophie said. "But please go ahead. What would you like to know?"
"You were the one who had me followed," he said. "The guy I spotted outside the Lock-Home building. He was yours."
"Yes. I knew Clu had tried to hook up with you. I hoped the same might
