The Gatekeeper's Sons

Chapter 13

Carol looked up from the couch where she had been working on her laptop as soon as Therese and Clifford entered the house. "Oh, good. You're home. Hungry?"

Carol must have assumed one of the Holts had given her a ride, and Therese didn't say otherwise. "Not yet."

"Well, the lieutenant is coming by for a bit, so I guess we can wait till after his visit to have lunch."

Therese plopped onto the couch beside Carol and then winced. She kept forgetting about her neck. It felt good most of the time, but plopping on couches reminded her that her neck was still a little sore, and today's exercise probably made it a little more so. "Why is he coming?"

"He said he had some news and wanted to discuss it with us. He'll be here in about twenty minutes or so."

"I'll go shower and change."

Later, Therese opened the door and let the lieutenant inside. He was sweating again, and she wondered if he had a health problem.

"Did that man kill my parents?" she asked.

"Sweetheart, let the lieutenant come in and sit down."

"I don't blame her," Lieutenant Hobson said as he crossed the room. "I'd want answers, too, if I were her." He took the seat Carol offered him beside the fireplace.

"Can I get you something to drink? Iced tea? Lemonade?" Carol asked.

"Iced tea sounds nice. No sugar, please. I'm diabetic."

Therese sat on the sofa across from the lieutenant and waited until Carol returned with his drink. Once Carol was beside her on the couch, Therese asked, "What news do you have for us?"

"Well, I've established a couple of possible motives. Your father's most recent novel was based on a crime committed by a felon released a month ago from the federal prison in Three Rivers, Texas. My team has been tracking this man's whereabouts, and, as soon as we've located him, we'll bring him in for questioning."

"What about the man in the line up?" Therese asked.

"Another motive involves your mother's work. She was being honored at the university for her role in leading a team of students close to finding an antidote for the mutated anthrax toxin C. Maybe there are folks out there who wanted to slow down its discovery."

Therese's mouth dropped open. Her head started spinning and she closed her eyes.

"We've questioned a lot of people from the university and have pretty much ruled out disgruntled students and colleagues."

Therese opened her eyes. "What about the man in the lineup?" she said again.

"Sweetheart, be patient," Carol said. "He's getting to that."

"Yes. He's confessed to the shooting."

"Oh my gosh!" Therese cried. "He really did it!" She couldn't believe she had seen the killer before he committed his gruesome deed. Maybe if she had gotten her parents to see him, maybe she could have somehow prevented, maybe..." She broke into tears. She felt panicky and so alone. She wanted her mother and father!

"The shooter claims he was working for someone else," the lieutenant said, "and that's as far as we've gotten. We don't know who this other person is or why he was after your parents. But we know we've got the shooter, and we're in the process of offering him a deal to talk." The lieutenant finished his tea and set the glass down on the end table beside the chair. "That's all I have for now, but I wanted to tell you in person. I'll call as soon as we break this guy."

Therese shuddered. That man had killed her parents. She couldn't get his deranged face out of her mind. She shuddered again as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'm going upstairs," she said, before the lieutenant had left.