Page 57 of Shadow of Hope
At the paling of Ava’s face and the way she was scanning the room as if looking for a way out, every defensive urge in Micha’s body sat up and took notice. Gone was any question of trusting God to take care of her. Micha had to do it. She felt threatened. Like an animal facing down a lethal predator. She needed him. Now and until this whole situation was resolved.
He took her hand. Her fingers were ice cold. She reallywasterrified. “What is it? What was used to kill him?”
“It’s a bocal.” She drew in air, panic lighting in her eyes. “Probably my bocal.”
He wanted to help her. To comfort her, but he had no idea what she was talking about and why it frightened her so badly. He needed details. “Your what?”
“A bassoon bocal. The end that holds the reed is what’s sticking out of his neck. If it’s mine, I might be charged with his murder.” She freed her hand and ran it through her hair, then tapped a nervous foot.
Colin held out his phone to Micha. “I Googled it. Here’s a picture.”
Micha took the phone and studied the diagram holding labeled parts of the instrument. The bocal was a slender silver tube with a crook in the metal. Looked a bit like a shepherd’s hook. A reed was affixed to one end, and the other end was mounted into the long cylindrical instrument with a vast assortment of silver keys.
He gave the phone to Dev to look at and focused on Ava. “You’re right. That’s what it is. Can you tell if it’s yours for sure?”
She shook her head. “There are various models and designs of bocals. Many manufacturers, too, but it looks like it could be one of mine. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s a basic design and loads of players own ones like this.”
“How would the killer have gotten a hold of it?” Colin asked.
She shook her head. “I have some at my house and a few in my case, which is in my cabin at your compound.”
“Let’s say Layne is our killer,” Colin said. “He was at your house the day you fled and could’ve taken one.”
She nodded. “But he would need to have known way back then that he was going to kill someone with it. Maybe me, I suppose.”
“You have security cameras on your house?” Micha asked.
“A doorbell one, but the battery died on it a few days after I left home.”
“Still, we could have caught Layne on it, right?”
“Yes, but if he came back, we have no proof.”
“Or Jamal could’ve taken one from your case before he left the compound and gave it to Layne,” Micha said.
“Not after they got back,” Dev said. “Reid said they escorted him and Buck to their cabins to pack and then directly to the gate. I suppose he could’ve taken it before you all left for the trip. Maybe left the note in your backpack at the same time.”
Ava sat staring, like her mind refused to believe what had occurred. “I think my house is more likely. I brought three with me and have them in a separate case made to carry bocals. So if you had someone take pictures of my case at the cabin, I can tell you if one is missing and which one.”
“On it.” Dev dug out his phone and marched out of the room.
Perfect. Micha’s teammates knew just when to step in and take care of matters, and he appreciated it. Not Ava, though. She was frozen. Micha had to handle this for her. “Your house is a different matter. We can’t have you going there, but if one of us took pictures, could you tell if anything’s missing?”
“Sure, if you take photos of the storage drawers in my music room. I admit I’m a bocal junkie. Always trying a new one. I have over twenty-five of them, so I had custom drawers built to store them and keep them from getting bent. But you can’t check them, right? Once the police figure out what was used to kill Jamal and that I play bassoon, they’ll be going there.”
“We’ll take care of it before we report the murder,” Micha said.
“And you’ll just leave Jamal lying there? Dead.” She clenched her hands together.
“We’ll have to.”
Holding his phone out, Dev came back into the room. “I’ve got Reid on a conference call. He’s had a chance to talk to Russ about our next moves and is ready to formulate a plan. I sent you the link if you want to open it on Colin’s laptop.”
“I got it.” Colin got up.
Micha slid over to make room for Colin, and he sat. He slid his finger over his trackpad, and Reid appeared on the screen. His eyes were tight with worry.
“Uh-oh,” Colin said. “You don’t look happy, boss man.”
