Ed Lynskey - Isabel and Alma Trumbo 01 - Quiet Anchorage by Ed Lynskey Page B

the lawyer necessary?”
    “Don’t be disingenuous with us,” said Isabel.
    “You made our niece a convict, so what do you figure?” said Alma.
    “She’ll get her day in court,” said Sheriff Fox.
    “Have her day in court?” Alma jerked at the straps to her purse.
    “Naturally that’s where all this is headed,” said Sheriff Fox.
    Alma seethed. “Not if we have anything to say on it…”
    Isabel talked over her younger sister. “What did you find at Megan’s apartment?”
    “I can’t divulge that sensitive information,” replied Sheriff Fox.
    “Then what did you expect to find?” asked Isabel.
    “I can’t reveal what items for seizure the search warrant listed,” lied Sheriff Fox. Nagged by a thought, he switched gears. “The scuttlebutt says a newspaper reporter visited you. Is there any truth to that rumor?”
    “Scuttlebutt, hooey,” said Alma. “How do you know that unless your deputies are spying on us? Anyhow, we can’t divulge that sensitive information either. Next week you can buy a newspaper and read all about it.”
    Sheriff Fox leveled his eyes on them. “Touché, ladies. Okay, I’ll tell you nothing of evidentiary value surfaced in Megan’s apartment. We’re running the forensics on her car.”
    “What for? Of course Jake’s DNA will be inside of her car,” said Alma.
    “I’m just telling you,” said Sheriff Fox.
    “Then I’ll tell you that we told the reporter how our overzealous sheriff entrapped Megan,” said Alma.
    “You’ve distorted the truth,” said Sheriff Fox.
    “We didn’t tell the reporter anything not true about her arrest,” said Alma.
    “Now who’ll set her apartment in order?” asked Isabel.
    “Beats me. The taxpayers expect my people to run patrols, not to push vacuum cleaners,” replied Sheriff Fox.
    “Who owned the .44 handgun recovered at Jake’s shop?” asked Alma. “Is it stolen or registered? Did you run the serial number in your police computers?”
    “We’re processing that lead along with the others. In due course, we’ll comply with the law and turn over our evidence to your lawyer,” replied Sheriff Fox.
    “Alma, the sheriff is swamped with work, and so are we.” Isabel elevated from her chair.
    He raised his shoulders with a wondering expression. “You’re swamped with doing what work?”
    “We’re working around the clock focused like a laser on Megan’s case,” replied Alma.
    He put on an unpleasant face. “That’s just great.”
    “Release Megan and we can pool our resources to find Jake’s real murderer,” said Isabel.
    “Thanks, but I’ve already incarcerated the guilty party,” he said.
    “You’re committing a colossal blunder,” said Isabel.
    He switched to a different tactic to mollify them. “Put yourself in my shoes. A man gets murdered. His fiancée and he had a rocky past. It’s also common knowledge he liked to slip over to the cheating side of town. She hears of his latest escapade, and it’s the final straw. She goes planetary, finds the handgun, and shoots him dead. So, I’m forced to arrest her for his murder. It’s black-and-white case and a good, clean bust.”
    Isabel repeated herself. “You’re making a mistake, Sheriff Fox. Alma, shall we go?”
    * * * *
    Following their war of words with Sheriff Fox, Alma and Isabel made a beeline for home. Wanting reinforcements, Isabel placed a telephone call to Louise, the youngest of the six Trumbo sisters who resided in a different Virginia area code.
    She reacted to the news. “What’s going on in Quiet Anchorage?”
    “Get a grip and think back with me. Did Megan tell you if Jake quarreled with anybody at his shop?”
    “I can’t recall any such mention. Why?”
    “We think somebody killed him and then framed her for it.”
    “Then let Sheriff Fox do as he’s paid to investigate and catch this somebody.”
    “But he has no reason to investigate any further with Megan in prison.”
    “Ah, I follow your logic. Well, he did love