Blind Tiger

“You sister’s bedroom?”

“It was a mess, but it always is. The vanity stool was overturned, the mirror had been shattered. Glass was everywhere.”

“When you left for your errand, had you locked the front door?”

“Yes.”

“Was it locked when you returned?”

She had to think for a second, then said, “No.”

“Was the lock damaged?”

“I think I would have noticed if it had been broken.”

“Then it’s possible that Miss Blanchard knew her attacker and let him into the house.”

She bent her head down and massaged her forehead.

Bill cleared his throat. “Where is Mr. Kemp?”

“His name is Dennis. He’s in Colorado.”

“What’s he do there?”

“Sets dynamite. He blasts through mountains for railroad and highway construction.” She raised her head and gave Bill a baleful look. “Is this important?”

“When did you last hear from him?”

“Barking up that tree will be a waste of your time. Every two months I go to see him. He hasn’t come home since Norma moved in with us.”

“They didn’t get along?”

“Couldn’t stand each other. She called him a bore. He called her silly and conceited.” In a mumble, she added, “Among other things.”

“If there’s so much animosity between them, why did she come to live with you?”

She hesitated, looking resentful of the question. Finally she said, “Because the man she had been living with in Austin kicked her out for cheating on him. She had no money, no job, nowhere else to go.”

Bill asked her to write down the name of the company her husband worked for. She did. The sheriff tucked it into his breast pocket.

“What about the father of her son?”

She smoked, saying nothing.

Bill prompted. “Had Norma been asking him for money? Demanding that he marry her? Something like that?”

Having smoked her cigarette down, she ground it out. “I wouldn’t know, Sheriff Amos, because I don’t know who Arthur’s father is.”

She caught the skeptical look Thatcher and Bill exchanged. “You don’t believe that? It’s true. Swear to God, I don’t know.” She turned to Thatcher. “You’re young and good-looking. Were you acquainted with my sister?”

“No, ma’am. But I saw her once.”

“Did your eyes pop out of your head?”

He gave a shy smile, and she snuffled.

“Norma had that effect on men.” Turning back to the sheriff, her momentary mirth disappeared. “She used her looks to her advantage. She had a lot of men. But to be dragging her name through the dirt while her body is still warm just doesn’t sit right with me.”