Page 61 of I'm Watching You

‘What about the daughter? What can you tell me about her?’ Zack said.

‘Lindsay.’ A sad smile played at the corners of Graves’s mouth. ‘She was a lifeguard at my grandkids’ pool. She saved a child from drowning that summer. The youngest Thompson kid, a four-year-old, had gotten out of the baby pool and fallen into the deep end of the main pool. TheHerald-Progressdid a story on her. Both her folks seemed proud. And all the boys wanted to date her, but she kept them at arm’s distance. My grandson, Joel, worked with her as a lifeguard at the pool. He always figured she was playing hard to get. Of course, none of us really knew what was going on at home. Her mother never reported any abuse and Lindsay never said a word.’

Zack wondered what kind of hell Lindsay had witnessed in her home.

Warwick tented his fingers. ‘What happened to Frank Hines?’

Zack knew the short answer to that question but wanted to hear the deputy’s version. He realized now how much Lindsay had downplayed the problems in her past.

‘After he killed his wife, he fled the scene. Went to a local motel, downed a bottle of Jack Daniels, and then killed himself.’ Graves flipped through the file. ‘He left a suicide note for Lindsay. I never showed it to her.’ He found the note in the file and handed it to Zack.

Zack read it. TypicalMOfor a wife beater. ‘Shit.’

Graves nodded. ‘There was no sense dumping that kind of crap on a kid. She had enough to deal with.’

Zack handed the note to Warwick. ‘He blames his wifeand Lindsay for his problems. Said if they’d been a better wife and child he’d have been fine.’

‘What a piece of work,’ Warwick muttered.

‘You think you know a guy,’ Graves said.

Zack thought about the hell he’d put Lindsay through when his drinking had gotten so heavy. No wonder she’d tossed him out.

Graves dropped his gaze to the file. ‘We did receive a 911 call from the Hines’ house about three months before Frank and Deb died. Before the caller could speak the line went dead. According to the report, the dispatcher called the house back. Frank answered. He said it was a mistake.’

‘Only the one call?’ Zack asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Anything unusual happen recently to remind you of this case?’ Zack said.

‘Nope. Of course, I saw that article a couple of months ago about Lindsay. I recognized her the very instant I saw her. She’s the spitting image of her mama. It did my heart good to see she’s done so well for herself.’

‘That article didn’t prompt any talk about the murders in town?’ Warwick asked.

‘Well, of course it did. We all remembered it. I talked about it with Joel at Sunday supper after the article came out. But nothing out of the ordinary came up. Why all these questions about a twelve-year-old murder?’

‘Just following up on a lead,’ Zack said. ‘Lindsay have any relatives?’

‘No one came forward after her parents’ deaths.’ Gravesshook his head. ‘There was no one to take custody of her, so the state stepped in. She was sent to a foster home.’

‘But she ran away,’ Zack muttered.

‘Right,’ said Graves. ‘This got something to do with the murder at Sanctuary yesterday?’ When they hesitated, he smiled. ‘I wasn’t born yesterday, boys. You think that murder’s tied to Lindsay’s past?’

‘We don’t know,’ Zack said honestly. ‘Can you tell us where the Hines house was?’

‘I can draw you a map to the lot. The house burned to the ground not one month after the murders. Fire department said it was arson, but we never did figure out who set it.’

‘Was Lindsay a suspect?’ Zack said.

‘No. She’d run off by then.’

‘We’ll take a look at the lot then.’

‘Sure.’ The deputy drew a map, clipped it to a copy of the file, and slid it across the desk.

Five minutes later, Zack and Warwick left the building armed with the hand-drawn map and the Hines file.

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