Page 46 of The Dollmaker

“You know the family well.”

“Know them well enough to say hi. Henry has the maintenance contract with the cemetery, and I see him often. The guy works hard, and I know he was proud of his cousin’s football career.”

“What about Jimmy Dillon? Do you know much about him?”

“He’s been in prison for at least nine or ten years. I think his last conviction was related to drugs. He was in prison when his wife, Terrance’s mother, died.”

“Did Terrance have any contact with his father?”

“I did see Jimmy at Terrance’s football game a couple of weeks ago. He was off to the side, I think, trying to go unnoticed.”

“Why do you say that?”

Intelligence burned in DeLuca’s stare. “He stayed close to the bleachers and close to the exit. Thirteen years of running funerals and you get a knack for reading people.”

“Why were you there?”

“DeLuca’s was a sponsor. We were being recognized that night by the boosters.”

Ellie reappeared with a large brown bag stapled closed with a ticket on it.

“Thanks, honey.”

The waitress grinned as she ripped off the ticket and rang up the order. “You’re not working too hard, are you, Norm?”

He smiled, his face warming. “No.”

She winked at him. “See you tonight.”

“Count on it.” He paid her a twenty, collected his change, and winked back at her before she moved around the counter to wait on another patron.

Sharp tapped his finger on the side of his cup. “Was there any talk in town about the boy using or dealing drugs?”

“No. Never.”

“What about the people he was hanging out with?”

“One of his teammates was arrested last year for dealing, but I couldn’t say how close Terrance was to the boy.”

Sharp pulled out a notebook from his pocket. “Does that kid have a name?”

“Jake Wheeler.”

He scribbled down the name. “Thanks.”

DeLuca checked his watch and pulled a card from his pocket. “I’ve got a family coming by in a half hour. But if you need anything, call me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Appreciate that.”

DeLuca picked up his order. “Good luck to you.”

“I’ll take all I can get.”

After Sharp ate his meal, he made a call and discovered Jake Wheeler was still incarcerated. His next call was to the maintenance company that had hired Terrance last summer. “This is Agent Dakota Sharp with the Virginia State Police. I’m looking for the owner of Dobbins Maintenance.”

“You found him. I’m Ralph Dobbins,” the man said. “You’ve called me a couple of times. Sorry I haven’t been able to get back to you. It’s been crazy.”

“Yes, sir.”

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