“Are you afraid we might find out that Roy actually did kill them?”
“That’s one of my worries. He really was a piece of work. He was jealous of Jack from the day he was born and—” Sara qu
it talking and looked away.
“Is there any chance that Jack was driving the truck when Evan was killed?”
“No!” Sara said immediately. But then, after a quiet moment, she went on, “They didn’t put on their seat belts, and they were tossed around so much...” She looked at Kate. “The truth? It could have been either of them driving. No one saw them get into the truck.”
“So it’s just Jack’s word.”
“Yes,” Sara said. “I want to thank you for what you did for him, for us, the night we found the bodies. His mother said that no one has been able to get Jack to talk about what happened. There was only four years age difference between him and Evan, but Jack was always the big brother. He protected him from Roy. But then, Evan handled their father better.”
“Without the temper the sheriff spoke of?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sara said. “To see Jack and Roy go at each other was a scary sight. Like two wild animals, all teeth and claws. No ground rules, nothing held back. The things they said to each other made me sick to my stomach.”
“Sounds like Roy could have murdered people.”
“I think so. But that’s never been the question. That he didn’t brag about it is what makes me doubt. Kate?”
“Yes?”
“I wonder if maybe you should go home for a while. Just until this settles down. If your mother knew that I let you become involved in what may be a murder investigation, she’d be, uh, less than pleasant about it.”
“Are you kidding? If my mother knew I was part of this, she’d call the FBI. No! Worse. She’d send the uncles after you.”
Instantly, Sara’s face turned as pale as an opal.
Kate leaned forward. “When I was growing up, the only relatives I had were the uncles, their holier-than-thou wives and their creepy kids. My mother is a martyr to the memory of her late husband. These last days have been the most... I don’t know how to describe them. Interesting? Exciting? Maybe fulfilling is the right word. I feel like I’m doing something real and worthwhile. That poor girl! She had such dreams, but they were taken from her.”
Sara was smiling. “And the mother?”
Kate glanced at the other tables. “Between you and me, I think there are more important things in a woman’s life than what she does with her genitalia.”
Sara laughed so loud the other customers turned to look at her. “Oh, Kate,” she said, “you and I are going to get along fine. The only question left is how much we should tell Jack of what the sheriff said.”
“Every word of it,” Kate said. “Only, let me tell him. You’ll be so sad that Jack might go after the sheriff with his crutches.” She started to get up but Sara took her arm.
“Someone murdered them and was cold enough to plant a tree over the top of them. Are you sure you want to look into that?”
“The person who planted that damn tree interests me less than clearing the names of the innocent. Cheryl wasn’t a pedophile; Verna wasn’t pimping her daughter; Jack didn’t drive drunk. I want everyone to know the truth about them. That is my goal. What about you?”
“I agree,” Sara said. “Has anyone ever told you that you are a truly remarkable human being?”
“Other than my mother, no one.” Kate got up and started toward the car.
“And you’re as fearless as my lying, thieving skunk of a brother,” Sara muttered as she followed Kate. “If I had any sense, I’d lock you up now.”
NINE
Sara and Kate returned to find the guards had been sent away and the house was a zone of controlled chaos. The big dining table seemed to be the command center, with people seated with laptops. The curtains were closed against the sunlight. The kitchen counter had half a dozen plastic-wrapped casseroles and three coffeepots going. There were a dozen people wandering around, most of them talking on their cell phones.
“Do you know these people?” Kate asked.
“Only one of them.” Sara was grimacing.
“Here you are!” A tall, slim, pretty woman stopped in front of them, her eyes on Kate. Sara might as well have been invisible.