“Me killing him.”
Shay again studied the jury. “Since your first meeting with Ms. Waters at Fire by the Lake, how many times had she mentioned wanting her husband dead?”
“A lot. Almost every time we were together.”
“When did she mention you actually killing Dr. Waters?”
“After I worked on their boathouse the first time, she came down and talked to me. Dr. Waters was on call and had to go into the hospital to see a patient. We talked a little, and she gave me a blowjob.”
There was a rustling in the jury and out in the gallery, and Judge Conrad banged his gavel again for quiet.
“Oral sex?” Shay asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.
“When she was through, she asked me if I’d ever killed anyone before.” He hesitated. “During our first conversation, I’d told her I’d been to jail before for arson.”
“I see. We’ll get to that in a minute. What was your answer to the defendant’s question?”
“I told her I hadn’t killed anyone. Then she asked me if I would be willing to kill Dr. Waters. If the price was right.”
“What did you say?”
“I think I said something crude.”
“Which was?”
“Something like, ‘Are you going to keep’ . . . uh . . . you know . . .”
“Having sexual encounters with you?”
“I didn’t put it as nice as that, but yes,” Waylon said.
“Were you serious?”
“At first, I wasn’t sure. But by the time she came to me in Burns’s boat the week before the Fourth, I was ready.”
“Why?”
“Because my work in Guntersville had dried up, and the chance to make some extra money sounded pretty good.”
“Did you quibble any about the price?”
He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. “No. I probably should have in hindsight, but I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
He looked at Jana. “Ms. Waters was an incredible woman. Very persuasive. I had never been with a woman like her. Sexy. Smart. I probably would have killed Dr. Waters for free. I’d have done anything she asked me.”
“But you didn’t do it for free, did you?”
“No, ma’am.”
Shay walked to the jury railing so that Pike would have to look at the jurors when he answered the next question. Another deliberate break in the action. “Mr. Pike, please tell the jury what happened on the night of July 4.”
Waylon clasped his hands together and spoke slowly and clearly. “I went fishing off Highway 69. Jana told me she’d pick me up at the Laundromat in the strip mall a half mile from Fire by the Lake. She said she was going to have a drink at the bar and then meet me at nine o’clock sharp.”
“And did she?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“I got in her car, and she drove me up Buck Island Drive. She dropped me off at Burns’s house, and I walked the rest of the way.”
“Why’d she drive? Why didn’t you drive yourself?”
“She said she didn’t want my car to be seen. If her car was seen, it was no big deal. She lived there.”
“Why Burns’s house for the drop-off?”
“Because that was the last place I’d worked. If for some reason I was seen, I’d say I was there to pick up my toolbox.”
“This was the defendant’s plan?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Then what happened?”
“I walked up the street to the Waterses’ home and went around the back. Jana had given me a key to get inside, but then I heard music coming from the boathouse.” Waylon eyed the jurors. He could tell that they were all on the edge of their seats. “I walked down to the pier and saw Dr. Waters passed out on a lawn chair. From the looks of it—there was a tequila bottle and a pint glass next to the chair—he’d been doing some drinking. He’d also been hitting golf balls off his dock.”
“How could you tell that?”
“His golf bag was in the boathouse, and one of the clubs was laying on the floor.”
“What happened next?”
“There were still a lot of fireworks being set on the lake.” He stopped and peered at the jury. “I waited for the next big racket, and when there was . . . I shot him three times in the head.”
The hush that came over the courtroom sent shivers up Jason’s body, from his toes to his forehead. It was all he could do to keep his eyes on Waylon Pike and the jury and not steal a glance at his sister.