Page 109 of Death on Gallows Path

“And it gets us dessert. Ice cream?”

Ice cream cheered us both up. Enough that when I said, “We never finished talking suspects and their motives,” she immediately offered a suggestion.

“William Alsup.”

“Motive, for sure. In fact we have our choice — his family business and/or knowing about his wife and Damon.”

She nodded. “Means is the same for everybody — Damon’s gun — so that’s covered.”

“Except what we said before about Damon being alert if a guy shows up and starts taking the gun out of his truck. He’d fight back or run away or something. But from the description from Ruby, Damon was shot where he stood. Like he was taken by surprise.”

“Unless he and the other guy were partners.”

My eyebrows climbed. “That would be interesting.”

“But unlikely,” she said morosely.

“Why do you say that? You raised the idea and we haven’t asked—”

“We can ask, but what do you think the chances are that nobody would have mentioned the possibility by now? Not Rich Chafford, not Urban, not Glenn Selka, not Gundy Vance, not Ruby, and—” Her tone announced her next words would be the clincher. “—the ladies. One of them would have known.”

I had to agree. In fact, I’d bet all of them would know.

“I wish,” Clara continued, “Blanche was a stronger suspect, but, honestly, do you see her having the brains or the guts to do this? Run somebody over in the street because she’s putting makeup on while she’s driving, yeah, but to take Damon’s gun . . . Unless I’m underestimating her because of the cat shirt and her bad line manners.”

“Don’t think the shirt and her bad line manners are leading you astray on her potential competence at murder. Unless she’s a great actress . . .”

“She’d have to be the best actress. I keep coming back to Zoley. If Pammy’s motive is being a woman scorned, Zoley was scorned more recently, not to mention her temperament compared to Pammy’s, so I still say she’s the strongest suspect of all of them.”

“All of them?”

She caught my caveat, which made her cautious as she said, “Yeah.”

“What about Oscar and Willow?”

“I don’t want it to be Oscar, but I do see he could have a motive. Same argument as for William about why would they be meeting, except that no way was Oscar in cahoots with Damon. Also same argument as for William about Damon reacting to him going into the truck at all, much less coming out with the gun.

“If Damon had the gun — I can’t imagine Oscar could have taken it away. William maybe, but not Oscar.”

No arguing with any of that, so I didn’t.

“As for Willow—”

I interrupted Clara. “Damon would have met her if he thought she’d have sex with him. And—”

“Why on earth would she let him think she’d have sex with him?”

“To protect Oscar, somehow. Maybe to get the money back. Damon wouldn’t react if she went in the truck. Plus, being around the Swindells’ house, she’d have had opportunities to know about the gun being in the truck.”

“But she’s a kid.”

“Doesn’t rule her out.” Neither did Willow loving dogs rule her out, which I believed was lurking in Clara’s subconscious. “Have you heard of moral injury?”

“Heard of it, yeah. Know a lot about it, no.”

I told her what I’d learned from Kit, ending with, “This could apply to Willow. As close as she was to Jean and is to Oscar, she could be feeling the injury of what was done to them and that they didn’t get the trip, didn’t get their money back, didn’t get justice.”

“But why now? That’s a favorite question of yours and it applies to Willow, too.”