The silence in the autopsy room, after Bo’s announcement, was deafening. John handed the paper to Todd and Blair. Todd grabbed the paper from Blair’s hand, his eyes reading the damning evidence. Rage flooded through him. He crumbled it into a small ball and threw it with all his might at the body on the table screaming.
“THE BASTARD! He’s been lying to all of us. Saint Tomas, Tea’s oh-so-good brother, was there. He touched the body. Hell, he probably placed it in the house for Tea to find.”
“Hold it, Todd, that’s a pretty big accusation,” Bo said. He wasn’t happy with the fax, but he wasn’t ready to believe the worst.
“Come on, Bo, how else did his fingerprints get on the body? The man has been running around town looking to find evidence against me. He’s determined to prove I killed Victor.”
“You need to calm down. We’re all curious as to how his prints ended up on the body, but you need to stay out of it and let us handle it.”
“I know how you handle things. You go after the most likely suspect, and in your book that’s me. “
Bo bristled at the suggestion and then swallowed the angry words he had been about to speak, as it suddenly struck him that Todd was right. From the moment Todd had resurfaced, he had been waiting for the guy to do something wrong. Bo thought back to another time he had jumped the gun and accused Todd of something. He had ridden Todd hard over the hospital rapes and Todd had let the police force down easy when it turned out to be Powell Lord.
“You have a right to be angry, but you don’t make it easy for us, Manning. After all, you did kill your mother. Tomas was even going to take that rap for you. How do you explain that?”
“Easy, he knew I had killed her in self-defense. He played the percentages and figured I’d step forward since I was ready to let you guys take me on the dock right after it happened. I only ran because he said he would handle it. I had no idea he was going to plead guilty. Besides, it made him look good in Blair’s eyes.” It still hit him in the gut when he thought about the friendship between Blair and Tomas, especially when she knew what Tomas did to him.
Blair heard the bitterness in Todd’s voice and realized in that moment how deeply she had hurt him when she had backed Tomas in the courthouse. She slipped a hand into his and refused to let go when he tried to pull free. Moving close to him, she reached up and turned to his face, meeting his angry eyes. “I’m sorry, forgive me. I was a fool,” she whispered.
Todd’s anger fizzled as he saw the truth behind her words and the unshed tears in her eyes. “Yeah, you were. But that’s behind us, right?” After what had occurred earlier, she’d better still be in his corner.
Blair smiled tremulously. “Right.” She kissed him softly and then turned to Bo. “I think Tomas owes all of us an explanation and now I want proof of his activities the night Victor supposedly died.”
Bo had to concede that because of Tomas’ connections to the CIA, the LPD had taken his word, and the word of Calmar, that he had been on assignment. Now it was clear there was more to the story. “I can certainly agree with that. John, you talked to Tomas after the murder. Didn’t you say his story was backed up by his handler?”
“Yes, supposedly Tomas had a meeting with him and then was delayed getting home because of a flat tire.” replied John.
Blair began tugging on Todd’s sleeve. She leaned close to his ear. “Todd, Tomas’ handler is French. It’s a man by the name of Calmar.”
Todd grinned following Blair’s thoughts. The Frenchman Victor had talked about. Could it be? He put his fingers to his lips indicating Blair should be quiet and while John was occupied with Bo, he quietly led Blair out of the room. As soon as he was certain John wasn’t following, they headed to his car where he retrieved his extra keys and they headed back to Llanview.
Blair turned to him as the car pulled away. “What about John?”
“What about him? "
“How’s he getting back to Llanview?”
“He can ride with Bo or thumb a ride, I don’t care. I want to get back to my office and see what I can find out about Calmar.”
“Todd, it’s just a hunch. We still have nothing for certain.”
“Not true, Blair. Thanks to you we found out Victor’s not in the grave and we know Tomas was near that body or thing resembling him. You were with me when Victor was telling me the conversation he overheard. I know you only heard my half of the conversation, but I swear to you, I never even heard or knew about this Calmar until a few minutes ago.” He glanced over at her. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes, I do. Finding that thing in the grave was definitely an eye-opener. Do you think you can reach Victor?”
“I don’t know. Even if I can’t, I can still work on finding Calmar. This night is just getting longer. I’m going to take you home and I’ll call you when I find out anything.”
“Oh no, you don’t, we started this evening digging up that grave. We’re partners, remember? I’m going back to the office with you. I know about Calmar. He’s the one who got me in touch with Tomas, to begin with. You need me.” She settled her hand atop his on the gear shift and Todd’s fingers moved apart so hers could drop between. She smiled in the dark and sat back as his fingers squeezed shut.
“Whatever you say, Blair.” The feel of her hand entwined with his felt right. His One True Babe was back where she belonged.
