Execution of Innocence by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page A

before sunrise. They got stopped once more before they made it back to Mary. Deputy Howard was on the line. He had exciting news. He found the murder weapon, he believed, in the snow in the woods out by the Crossroads. It was a .357, he said. Sharp was pleased with the news but Riles looked worried. Sharp wanted to know why and Riles gestured in the direction of Mary’s interrogation room.
    “Do you really want to go home tonight knowing that that girl murdered two young men?” he asked.
    Sharp shook his head. “Why two? Are you listening to that Linda? She was a clown. Charlie’s still our main suspect.”
    Riles sighed. “I’m beginning to believe he could be dead.”
    “There you go again. I don’t get you. Charlie’s dead just because his dad’s gun may or may not have been found? We don't even know it was his gun.”
    Riles spoke as if from experience. “A guy is a lot less likely to throw away a gun than a girl. That may sound sexist, and it probably is, but it’s true. Charlie wouldn't have just tossed the gun in the woods not far from the body. If it is his gun.”
    “He might have panicked.”
    “After he killed Dick?”
    “Yes,” Sharp said. “He must have known that to be caught with the gun would be overwhelmingly incriminating. I say he shot Dick and threw the gun and ran.”
    Riles gestured in the direction of Mary. “We'll see. I want to talk to her before we all go out to the spot.”
    “You want Hannah and Mary to come with us?”
    “Yes,” Riles said.
    “But why?”
    Riles spoke firmly. “I want to see their faces when we get there. When we show them the spot the gun was found. I want to see what they saw—earlier. If they were there.”
    “How will we get them out past Spelling?” Sharp wanted to know.
    “The back way,” Riles answered and winked.
    They returned to Mary, to the interrogation room. She jumped up as they entered and studied their faces. There was no mistaking the scrutiny.
    “You were gone a long time,” she said.
    “A lot has happened since we talked,” Riles said. “We think we may have found the murder weapon. We're going out to where it was found right now. We'd like you and Hannah to come with us.”
    “To the Crossroads?” Mary asked.
    Riles glanced at Sharp and nodded.
    “How did you know the gun was at the Crossroads?” Sharp asked.
    Mary paused. Then she shrugged. “That's where you found the body. I assumed the gun would be there as well.” She hesitated. “Do I have to come?”
    “You're under no legal obligation,” Sharp said. “But we think it would be a good idea.”
    He didn't say it, but he almost added, “ Now. ”
    Now that Mary admitted she knew where the gun had been left.
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    The Spelling house was not only large but was beautifully designed as well. Set in the woods on a ridge that offered a view all the way to Mt. Shasta in California, the house was constructed with exposed beams of cedar wood. There were four levels, each sparsely furnished. Mr. Spelling had opted for an open feeling. But each piece of furniture was tasteful and expensive. While waiting to see the important man, Mary sat on a ten thousand-dollar couch beside a table holding an antique Chinese vase. Curiously enough, neither Dick nor Hannah was at home. Mary tried reading a magazine while waiting for Mr. Spelling, but found herself stuck on the first paragraph. She was more than nervous because she realized, as Dick had said, that the rest of her life could depend on this meeting.
    Finally Mr. Spelling called her into his office. One wall was entirely glass, and framed a view out into the trees. The others were decorated with award plaques she couldn’t easily read. Mr. Spelling sat behind a desk as massive as himself. Neither of his children took after him, physically at least. He was a bull of a man, with a swollen red neck and intense blue eyes that looked as if they could melt wax if he got mad enough. She had heard about his temper,