“I saw the Airweight under your pillow.”
“I have nightmares sometimes. It’s the way I am.”
“Did you meet a guy last night?”
“No.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I just did.”
“Then what is it?”
“I have to work some things out.”
He took off his hat and sat down at the table. She closed the laptop. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what it is,” he said.
“I used some bad judgment.”
“With a guy?”
“Not the kind you’re thinking about.”
“Who or what are we talking about?” he said.
“I’ll handle it, Clete.”
He put a hand on her arm and saw her flinch. “I’m getting a bad feeling here,” he said.
“So butt out
.”
“Is it those cops who wised off to you?”
“Stay out of it.”
“You went after them, didn’t you?”
“I acted like a fool. Everything that happened to me is my own fault.”
“What did they do to you?”
“I went to Bill Pepper’s house. I was going to tear him up. Then I saw a swing set in his yard and a basketball hoop over the porte cochere. When he opened the door, I saw pictures of him with his grandchildren on the wall. He pretended not to recognize me. He asked if I was a church lady.”
“A what?”
“He said this lady was going to enroll his granddaughter at Bible camp. He said he thought I was her. He’s a very convincing guy.”
Clete felt a shortness in his breath, a watery sensation in his heart. “Tell me what happened.”
“I think he put Rohypnol or maybe some sleeping pills in a glass of Pepsi he gave me.”
“Go on.”
“I don’t remember all of it. He put his hands on me first. Then he did some other things.”
Clete saw the blood go out of her cheeks, the blank stare in her eyes. “Get it all out at once,” he said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re going to deal with this together.”