“Killers sometime overthink things, Decker. They make simple complicated. They get too cute.”
“Yes, they do. But Baron does not strike me as that kind of a man. What this looks like to me is someone trying to frame the guy and doing a crappy job of it.”
“Well, I’ve arrested people on a lot less, and proved my case.”
“And Babbot?”
“He might have found something up on the Baron estate that made Baron nervous. And I think I might know what that is. And you should too since you found the connection before we did.”
“What?” asked Decker.
“Swanson was a drug dealer. What if he and Baron were in it together? Baron desperately needed money, and I doubt he would care where it came from. But then Swanson wants a bigger cut or maybe gets cold feet and is going to rat Baron out. So Swanson has to die, and so does Babbot if he knew about it. In fact, Babbot might have been buying drugs from them.”
“That’s all speculation,” observed Decker.
“Which is why we’re going to search the property,” said Lassiter. “To get the evidence to prove the speculation is actually true. You in or out?”
“We’re in,” replied Decker, while Jamison looked on worriedly.
*
Decker and Jamison followed Lassiter and two police vans up the hill to Baron’s property. It was only seven o’clock in the morning and it was clear that Lassiter wanted to take Baron by surprise.
Decker said, “Baron lied to me. Again. He flat-out told me he didn’t know Costa.”
“Well, maybe they never met. It could have all been through letters or emails.”
“That doesn’t matter. The guy was going to foreclose. That’s a motive for murder and you know it. And he kept that from me.”
“Do you really think Baron was selling drugs with Swanson?”
“I don’t know. A guy lies to me, that taints everything.”
“But you don’t think he really is the killer?”
“I don’t know that he isn’t.”
“But he just seems too…”
“Too what? Nice? Eccentric? Good with magic tricks? That doesn’t cut it, Alex, and you know it.”
Jamison sighed resignedly. “Lassiter looked really happy.”
“Considering her father died in prison because of what she believes the Baron family did to him, she would be.”
“So, nailing the last surviving Baron would be quite the prize for her?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” said Decker.
Chapter 52
WELL, THIS IS impressive,” Baron said after he opened his front door, looking over the police officers massed behind Lassiter. He was dressed in an old robe and was barefoot.
He glanced at Decker and Jamison, who were off to the side, but didn’t say anything to them.
Lassiter held up a piece of paper. “Search warrant for the house, outbuildings, and grounds. I want you to sit down out here while we do it.”
“Can I at least have a drink first?” said Baron pleasantly.
Lassiter ignored this and said to an officer standing immediately behind her, “Dawes, I want you to stay here and make sure he doesn’t move. I don’t want him to have any chance to hide any evidence, or make a run for it.”
Baron smiled and said, “Well, I don’t run as fast as I used to. And without a drink to bolster me, sitting right here and perhaps falling asleep in the process definitely holds appeal.”
Lassiter gave him a look of granite and was about to say something back when Decker moved forward and said, “We’ll do the honors, Detective. It’s a big place, and you’ll need all the manpower you have to search it.”
Lassiter gazed at Decker for a longer moment than was probably needed before nodding. “Okay. But when I say I don’t want him to move, I mean exactly that.”
“Couldn’t be clearer,” replied Decker.
Lassiter passed out orders to her men; some followed her into the house, while others headed toward the outbuildings and grounds.
Baron sat down on the front porch and stretched. “If any money is found I will make a claim. I can use the cash, as you’re well aware.”
Decker put a foot up on one of the steps and stared down at him.
“You lied to me about Costa. He holds the mortgage on this place and you knew it.”
“Well, technically, the bank does. He just worked there.”
“You know that distinction doesn’t pass the smell test. How many times did you talk to him? Exchange correspondence? You wanted to renegotiate the deal but the bank said no. Costa said no.”
“Banks often say no to people like me. I didn’t take it personally.”
“But you admit that you knew Costa?”
“It was only business.”
“Which means you did lie.”
“People lie all the time.”
“And they get caught in those lies,” rejoined Decker. “Just like now. So, Costa stiffs you on your request. Which gives you a prime motive for murdering him.”
“Only I didn’t. And if I killed everyone who was mean to me, I’d be deemed the world’s most prolific serial killer, because I’d have to murder pretty much everybody in this town.”
“And Lassiter knows about Swanson being up here. And she also knows about your ties to Tanner. And she dug up an old trespassing charge you made out against Toby Babbot. That means she knows that you have ties to all four victims. That puts you in pretty rarefied company, and also vaults you to the top of the suspect list.”
Jamison added, “And Lassiter has theories about how your relationships with all of them could have led to motives for murdering them. It does not look good at all, John.”
Baron took all this in and shrugged. “Well, it is what it is, I guess. It’s not like I can change any of it.”
Decker said, “But why did you lie about Costa? And now Babbot? You didn’t think the police would put it all together?”
“Maybe I didn’t,” conceded Baron. “This town has a police force, but I really thought in name only. They certainly couldn’t solve the murders of my parents, so why should I think they could competently solve anything else?”
“Lassiter has a hard-on for you because of her old man. When she was a little girl he lost his job at the textile mill, lost his house to the bank, and burned down the home of a banker while the man was still in it. He went to prison and never came out alive. So how much do you think she loves the Baron family?”
“Excuse me, but why should she be different from anyone else here?” retorted Baron.
Jamison stepped forward. “John, you are in deep trouble. Lassiter is building a case against you for four murders. We’re just trying to make you understand the gravity of the situation.”
“I’ve been in deep trouble for most of my life.”
“Not this deep,” said Decker. “You could get the death penalty.”
“I’ve actually had that ever since I was born here. It’s just a matter of time.”
“You really need to take this seriously,” snapped Jamison.
Baron stood. “And how exactly should I take it seriously?” he said, his eyes flashing dangerously in a way that neither of them had seen before. “If people have a hard-on for me like your friend said, then what does it matter what I do or what I don’t do? The result is inevitable. So now maybe you see why I drink so much.”
“Did you kill those people?” asked Decker.
Baron held Jamison’s gaze for a beat longer and then looked at Decker. “Well, if I had, it’s doubtful I would confess my guilt to the FBI.” He looked back at Jamison. “Do you think I killed them?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. It matters what can be proved.”
“That’s such a pat response. Frankly, I expected better from you, Alex.”
Decker said, “Did you clear Swanson’s things out of the potting shed?”
Baron glanced at him.
Decker said, “We told you we found evidence of Swanson staying in the potting shed. And the drug paraphernalia there. Did you get rid of it?”
“I’m not sure I should answer that.”
“You’re going to have to at some point.”
“I think I’ll defer for now.”
“They’re going to search every inch of this place. Odds are very good they’re going to find something, including anything that you might have rehidden.”
“Do I need a lawyer?”
Lassiter had stepped into the front doorway right at that moment.