“She says you’re like Dog the Bounty Hunter. Only you have better hair.”
I rub my eyes.
“She actually said you cut your hair very close. She said your beard stubble was longer than—”
“Well...anyways,” I say. “Do you have a clue where your sister might be?”
“None. I’m sure Mom has told you Delilah flew by the seat of her pants everywhere. She’s a scatterbrain who runs from the minutest form of responsibility like it was the plague.”
“Can you name any of her friends?”
“None since high school.”
“Go ahead with them, please.”
“Well, Juliette Marsden would pass for her best friend. Candace Bolivia, Jennifer Blades and Tracy something were other gals she hung out with.”
“Boyfriends?”
“She wouldn’t commit to anyone. She dated a lot, and to be honest, Mom and I never met half of them, let alone knew their names. She talked a lot about various guys: Eric, Patrick, Randy, Edmond, Paul, Sterling, Travis. We never knew them. Any. By the time she got into high school I was in the Naval Academy anyways.”
“Ever hear her mention a Pierce White or a James Dobbins?”
“She spoke of Pierce for a few weeks. I think she was really into him but whatever they had, it didn’t last long. I know they got fired together.”
“James Dobbins?”
“No. Who was he?”
“He was the boyfriend she got fired with at the next job.”
“Really? I know she lost her job—she told me she was fired—but she didn’t mention any new boyfriend.”
“Huh. Well, it was the same scenario. Different gig, different beau. Same outcome.”
“What now then?”
“She called your mom a few days ago saying she was pregnant and scared. Pierce White has been murdered, James Dobbins found dead—although that appears unrelated. He was a doper. Got caught up in doper stuff.”
“Do you think Delilah murdered Pierce?”
“I have no idea. The way he was killed would indicate someone with whom he was intimate. Doesn’t look right for a stranger murder.”
“Oh...”
“Ms. Boothe, do you think your sister could kill a man?”
“Delilah...I don’t think so. Murder is committing to something.”
“Really? She can’t commit to anything to the point where she’d put off murder for the simple fact that once it’s done, it’s done? No turning back?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm...”
“Mom told me about the fires.”
“Yes. And I’ve spoken to the arson investigators and all three of them are centering their investigations on three separate people—one of them your father—and no one seems to think they are connected.”