Leigh gave a little nod. “So far, so good. Of course, you have questions for me, questions are everywhere, aren’t they, bubbling around in my brain. But maybe I can answer yours.”
Savich said, “Leigh, you said you saw me on TV Monday. Do you remember I asked anyone who could identify the Star of David belt buckle to call our hotline?”
“Yes, I remember, and I did call eventually. But that didn’t end well, did it? I believe I managed to tell the man on the hotline it was Mr. Henry’s belt buckle and it was a secret, but I don’t know if it was of any real help. And help with what exactly, I’d like to know?”
“Let’s stop there a moment,” Sherlock said. “Please think back, Leigh. You were speaking on the hotline. Did you hear anything? A voice? Breathing? Did you smell anything, an aftershave, a cologne?”
Leigh shook her head. The door in her mind remained firmly closed. “I’m sorry, Agents, but all I can tell you for sure is that I was speaking and then I felt a horrible pain on my head, and I was gone. I woke up here to see Danny standing over me.”
Savich said, “Not a problem. The agent on the hotline said you identified the belt buckle as belonging to Mr. Henry.”
She nodded. “That’s right. It’s strange I’d be the one to see it and no one else. Why didn’t he show it to other people, too?”
Lulie said, “We don’t know why, Leigh, but you seem to be the only one who ever saw the Star of David belt buckle. Chief Christie said you were the only one who called in about it.”
Leigh thought about this a moment. “How odd Mr. Henry never showed Mrs. Chamberlain his precious belt buckle, and here they were lovers for years. I guess because I was only a twenty-watt bulb, he thought it was safe to show me. But why would it be such a big mystery?”
Sherlock leaned close. “You’re going to help us find out. Leigh, when did you first see the belt buckle?”
“I saw it only one time, not long before Mr. Henry died—well, he was brutally murdered, wasn’t he?” She stopped when she heard her mother’s indrawn breath. “Mom, of course I knew about it, no one talked about anything else for weeks. I wasn’t a total moron. I listened and heard everything.” She shook her head. “Poor Mr. Henry, it’s hard to believe some monster would do that to him. My godfather—that’s Chief Masters—he took a lot of grief when he couldn’t find the murderer. He still feels guilty, bless him. Everyone seemed to like Mr. Henry so much, but obviously that wasn’t the case. Someone wanted to make him suffer. What had he done? It must have been really bad.” She paused, lightly touched her fingertips to the bandage again, and seemed to pump herself up, forcing herself to continue. “You wonder where I saw the belt buckle. That, I remember. I’d gone to his big house to take him a chocolate cake Mom had made for his birthday. His name was in cursive in thick red frosting all across the top. He’d given her another loan for new equipment for the bakery, and she wanted to thank him.
“Mrs. Boilou, his housekeeper, told me he was in his study, and she took me there. She said he’d be really pleased to get that cake, since he had a real sweet tooth. She said she’d bring plates and forks and he could enjoy it right away.
“Mr. Henry was seated at his big mahogany desk and he was polishing something. He looked up, and I saw he was startled at the sight of me. Then he smiled when I held out the cake for him to see. He smiled and laughed, told me he couldn’t wait. Mrs. Boilou came in, and Mr. Henry cut us all pieces of cake. She left, and he and I ate ours together.
“When he finished, he tapped his stomach and sighed. Then he told me to come over to him. He showed me an odd-looking belt buckle. It shined gold, like it was from heaven. He told me I was the only one he’d shown it to, the only one who’d ever seen it before. He said it was unique. ‘Just imagine, it’s a Star of David.’ He laughed, said he wasn’t even Jewish, but it didn’t matter, it was his pride and joy.
“He held it out to me, and I took it. It was heavy, and I asked him if it was pure gold. He said yes it was, and he polished it every single week, made it shine bright as the sun. He said it brought back wonderful memories, precious memories he’d cherish forever. He told me sometimes he would hold the belt buckle and remember how incredible he’d felt when he took it. It was his now, and it would always be his. Then he brought his face close to mine—I remember his breath smelled like sugar and Mama’s cake—and he whispered the belt buckle was to be a secret between him and me and that meant I wasn’t to tell anyone about it. Before I left, he made me promise again not to tell anybody about seeing it, even my mama. It was our secret, only ours. I never told a soul, until—”
“—until Chief Christie found the belt buckle at the bottom of Lake Massey along with dozens of bones,” Sherlock said. “Your memory of all of that is incredible, Leigh.”
Lulie said, “It was five years ago, Leigh. How could you remember everything in such detail?”
Leigh looked briefly baffled, then she smiled. “It surprised me, too, Mom. All I did was think about that afternoon, and it was crystal clear, the words he spoke, everything that happened, the expression on his face.”
She looked up to see Agent Porto and Chief Christie come into the cubicle. It was a tight fit.
Sala said, “You’re looking good, Leigh. Chief Christie and I were standing outside the cubicle. I hope you don’t mind we were listening. Mr. Henry said he took the belt buckle. Do you know what he meant? Did he say who he took it from?”
Leigh said, “No, sorry, but I’m sure that’s what he said. Do you think he might have stolen it?”
“We don’t know yet,” Ty said. “How do you feel?”
“Better than I did yesterday.” She smiled at them both, then said to Ty, “You were looking for that poor woman’s body, and you found this, too.”
Ty nodded. “Indeed we did.”
“You’ve met my father?”
Sala nodded. “We met Congressman Mellon last night.”
“My mom says I might as well vote for him now. As far as she knows, he’s one of the honest politicians on Capitol Hill.”
Andrew laughed, amused by his daughter’s insult. “Your mom’s right, kiddo. I’m sure you can see my brain’s working a mile a minute to come up with ways to seduce you into voting for me.”
“Keep my mom happy and keep your promises. But then again, maybe what you said was spin, and that would make you a very good politician.”
Lulie stared at the poised young woman, still trying to come to grips with the fact that she was Gunny.
“Thank you, Leigh. A deal like that is a good start.”
Sala said, “Do you remember speaking to Mrs. Chamberlain?”
Leigh shook her head. “Poor Mrs. Chamberlain, she always tried to be kind and patient, even when I see now she wanted me to go home and never darken her door again. When I told her about the belt buckle, she didn’t believe me about seeing it, very understandable, of course, given who and what I was. Then I left.”
Savich said, “Can you tell us what you did then, Leigh?”
“I remember walking, trying to decide who to tell or if I should tell anyone at all. I mean, Mr. Henry was long dead. Then I remembered the hotline and knew I had to call. I remember I turned into the alley next to Kim’s Dry Cleaners. I had my cell phone in my hand, I called the hotline, then nothing. The door’s still closed.”
“How did you know the number?” Sherlock asked.
She shrugged. “I guess I must have memorized it. Sorry, I can’t remember anything else, even now that I don’t seem to be Gunny anymore.”
Savich said, “What do you mean, you no longer seem to be Gunny?”
The air seemed to go out of the room. No one made a sound, all eyes were on Leigh.
51
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