"Broussard, John A - Kay Yoshinobu - Death On Watch" - читать интересную книгу автора (Broussard John A)

"So where to next?

"Back to Mark."

"And you'll have him tell his story ten times over to check for discrepancies."

"Something like that. The problem is that he's not the brightest person I've ever dealt with. Frankly, the fact that he made it as far through school as he did doesn't speak too well for our public school system. But I really want to see if he noticed anything, either when he drove in or when he left. If he tells the story enough times, maybe it will trigger an important memory."

"Assuming of course that he wasn't the one who shot the guard."

* * *

Mark was genuinely pleased to see his attorney again so soon. He had heard from his cellmates that court-appointed lawyers were worse than public defenders, and seldom spoke to their unwanted clients except for a few moments prior to court appearances.

His pleasure made him voluble, so Kay had little difficulty getting the details of the murder night.

"I did some garden work for Lofton about a month or so ago. He's a tight S.O.B. Kept his eye on me all the time I was working like he was scared I'd cheat him on my hours. And he wouldn't never think of tipping. Well, I got enough looks into his house to see some items I could move pretty easy. And what with the way a lot of the people there leave doors unlocked, I figured I could come in some night and clean him out."

Smiling at his own cleverness, Mark continued, "I checked out the guard station to make sure I could get in and out without the guard seeing me. I thought I had his schedule down pat; that's why I was so surprised when I seen his pickup there. He should have been out on patrol."

"His pickup?"

"Yeah. I figured he was probably slow in taking off, but he should have started out fifteen or twenty minutes before I got there. So I drove down the street a ways and watched the guardhouse. After about ten minutes I decided to take a chance. There didn't seem to be anyone in there, so I figured maybe he took another car on the tour, or something like that."

"Wait a minute. You say the guardhouse was empty?"

"I didn't see no one. I didn't stop to ask questions. Best part was that the gate was wide open. I didn't even have to use the card. Everything went smoother than I expected. I drove up to Lofton's. Parked outside his driveway. I figured no one would notice the car 'cause it's dark all through the subdivision, and there ain't many people around that time of night. Took me less than ten minutes to sneak in, fill a coffee sack, get out and drive back out past the guard station to the highway."

"And there was still no one at the guard station when you drove out?"

"Not that I could tell. And the pickup was still sitting right where it was when I drove in."

"Any idea what time you passed back through the gate?"

Mark grinned proudly. "You bet. I timed myself. Went in at two thirty-five, and was out on the highway by five after three. That was good time."

If everyone was reporting correctly, Kay decided, the killing had occurred sometime between ten after and thirty-five minutes after two - before Mark embarked on his ill-fated burglary.

* * *

Philip Solage was next on Kay's list. A tall, dark-haired man probably in his late forties, he obviously took his position as security manager seriously. His belt sported a pager, a radiotelephone, a cell phone, a handgun and some other gadget Kay couldn't quite make out.

"Could you fill me in on the nature of the guard's duties at Paradise Ranch?" Kay asked after introductions and an explanation of her interest in the case.

"Sure. As it happens, I was by there around ten, the evening before Ben was killed. Damn shame that, but security is always a risky business. Well, I make random checks, and I got there as one shift was ending and Ben's was beginning. There isn't much to do on his shift. Not much traffic. Only thing he was supposed to do that was different was that two o'clock patrol."

"How long does that usually take?"

"Shouldn't take more than an hour or so. But that's a pretty boring shift, and I know the guards stretch out the drive. So it might take an hour-and-a-half, maybe more if there are any problems. Junk on the road they'd have to clear away - that sort of stuff."