His speech had grown rapid and the last few words had tapered to whispers, inaudible. Gulping air, he exhaled and put the turnover down. “I’m not out to slander anyone but…”

“Kristal wasn’t Malley’s kid,” said Milo. “Whoa.”

“It’s the only logical conclusion, Lieutenant. And that could be the source of Mr. Malley’s rage.”

“Kristal was nearly two,” said Milo. “You’d think Malley would’ve figured it out.”

“He struck me as an unsophisticated person. He worked rodeos or something like that.”

“Rodeos?”

“Riding, roping, or at least that’s what I heard,” said Daney. “From the defense.”

“Sounds like Ms. Weider did her background research.”

“You bet. She was extremely hardworking and thorough. I was glad when she got the case.”

“You were involved before she got the case?” I said. “I thought she brought you on as a support-person.”

“Just the opposite, actually,” said Daney. “I brought her on. Not officially, but I had a hand in it.”

“How so?”

“I knew Troy from working with him at 415 City. I also knew Ms. Weider from some other youth work I’d done. My seminary had a program, working with inner-city teens, trying to get them involved in summer activities. In the course of that, I developed some contacts with the Public Defender’s Office, because that’s where so many of our kids ended up. I knew several of the P.D.s, but thought Ms. Weider would be perfect for the boys. Because she was so thorough. I called her and asked if she could help out. She said there was a system in place but she’d see what she could do.”

“As a favor to you.”

“Partly,” said Daney. “To be honest, the case attracted her because it was high-profile. She was pretty ambitious.”

“And then she asked you to stay on for support,” said Milo.

“Exactly.”

“You ever tell her about the eye color thing?”

“No, like I said, I didn’t see the point.”

Milo exhaled. “Wow… that’s a bombshell, all right. Thank you, Rev.”

“I don’t like telling tales, but…”

“So you’re figuring Rand knew Kristal wasn’t Malley’s kid and mentioned it to Malley.”

“No, no,” said Daney. “I hadn’t taken it that far.”

“But it coulda happened that way.”

“No, I honestly don’t think so, Lieutenant. How would Rand know?”

“Same way you did. He noticed.”

Daney shook his head. “Rand just wasn’t that observant. But even if he did know, there’d be no reason to throw it in Malley’s face.”

“What, then?”

“What I’m getting at- and this is really out there- is maybe Barnett Malley wasn’t a total victim.”

Daney flinched, pushed the turnover away. “I feel like I’m… wading into something and I’m really not comfortable. Sorry.” Pushing up a corduroy sleeve, he peered at a black-faced sports watch. Milo placed a hand on his arm. Flashed that lupine smile. Daney stiffened for a second. Dropped his shoulders, shot us a look of misery.

“I’ve got that sinking feeling, guys, like when you’ve gone too far, you know?”

I said, “You’re saying Malley found out Lara had cheated on him, built up a whole lot of rage, and decided to act out against Kristal.”

“I don’t want to say more,” said Daney. “Because I’m scared and not ashamed to admit it.”

“Scared of Malley?” said Milo.

“A lot of people depend on me, Detective. That’s why I don’t skydive or ride a motorcycle or go mountain climbing.”

“Miss all that?”

“Not anymore,” said Daney. “Now, I really need to get going- ”

I said, “It’s a whole new way of looking at it, Milo.” To Daney: “Did Malley know Troy and Rand before the murder?”

“I wouldn’t know,” said Daney.

“Lara went to the mall frequently and so did the boys. So there’d be opportunity for Barnett to see them, as well.” I turned back to Milo: “They hung out at that arcade. Maybe Malley was into video games, too. Being an unsophisticated guy.”

Both of us stared at Daney.

He said, “It’s possible.”

Milo said, “Troy and Rand never mentioned knowing Malley? After they got arrested?”

“Troy definitely didn’t,” said Daney. “I wasn’t talking much to Rand, he was pretty nonverbal back then. Right, Doctor?”

“You bet,” I said. “But I always got the feeling he was holding back.”

“Defensive,” he said. “Yes, I sensed the same thing.”

“Frustrating.”

“I tried to open him up,” said Daney, “but not being a psychologist, I didn’t want to step into uncharted territory. In the end, it didn’t matter because the case got settled optimally. Or so I thought.”

“What do you mean?” said Milo.

“Look what happened to Troy. And to Rand.”

“I hear what you’re saying, Rev. About Rand not being perceptive. But if he really knew Malley had some culpability, would he hold on to it for eight years?”

“Maybe,” said Daney, “he was confused.” He stood quickly. “I’m sorry, this is getting way too complicated and there’s nothing more I can tell you. If it ends up helping you, great. But please keep my name out of it.”

He ran his hands over his shirt, as if brushing off dirt.

Milo got up and faced him, used his height to advantage. “Absolutely, sir. I wouldn’t lose too much sleep because, to be honest, I don’t see any way of pursuing any of this.”

Daney stared up at him.

Milo said, “Like you said, too speculative.”

Daney nodded. “Good luck.” He pivoted and began to walk away.

“I mean the only time it would ever be relevant,” said Milo, “is if we got solid, physical evidence on Malley and put him behind bars. Then we’d ask you to give a deposition.”

Daney stopped. Weak smile. “If that happened, Detective, I’d be happy to do my part.”

CHAPTER 37

Milo watched as the white Jeep drove away. “Wish there was a shower nearby.”

He took an evidence bag out of his attaché case, gloved up, sealed Daney’s coffee cup, and slipped it in. Into a second bag went the half-eaten pink doughnut.

I said, “He snarfed that right before he graced us with his reluctant insights on eye color. His appetite peaked because he was aroused by the game.”

“Letting us know the cowboy wasn’t Kristal’s daddy. Thinking he’s being subtle.”

“It was a dual thrill: He gets to be the hero of the story, granting you vital information. And he heightens the focus on Malley.”

“All that frighty-dighty about mean old Barnett, but right off he’s telling us Malley’s antisocial, covered his tracks.”

“That could’ve been more than a diversion strategy,” I said. “Attributing his own behavior to Malley, consciously or otherwise.”

“He’s covered some tracks of his own.”

“The lies didn’t start with his seminary application. The image he pushes is Fun Guy with a Sensitive, Spiritual Side. While you were ordering he told me he was a well-behaved kid, brought up in the church. Be interesting to know what his childhood was really like.”

He stashed the bags in the case. “Time for some serious digging. Be nice if it’s more productive than my research on Malley. Can’t find any insurance policies on Lara or Kristal, the cowboy seems to be using his real name and social security number, has no arrest record, no military record, no real estate ownership. I was able to trace his birth records to Alamogordo, New Mexico, but the local law doesn’t remember him and there are no Malleys living there now. Maybe I’m missing something, there are all these new computer tricks the department doesn’t have…”

He snatched his phone from the table, punched in a number, and asked for Sue Kramer.

Two seconds later: “Nancy Drew? It’s Joe Hardy. Listen, I don’t know what your schedule’s like but… did it? Excellent… listen, Sue, all those things you private hotshots can do that I can’t… the high-tech stuff… yeah, exactly, I need a couple guys looked into… him and also the spiritual adviser- Daney… let’s just say he’s become interesting… the usual and anything else you can think of… sooner’s better than later, I’ll pay you personally… no, no, send me a full bill… I mean it, Sue… okay, fine, but send something… thanks, have a nice day, hope the winds are good.”