Page 30 of Bone Echo

Charlie was five years older than Dudley. Through the years he had been both brother and parent to him, clumsily changing his diaper while their mother lay drunk on the sofa; smearing peanut butter on crackers, the only food in the house; washing what few clothes they had; patching the soles of their worn-out shoes with paper bags from the liquor store.

Jack’s hand on Dudley’s shoulder saidI’m here for you,no words necessary. Their partnership had always been like that. They always had each other’s backs, no matter what.

“Have you ever seen Charlie’s wife mad at him?”

“No. But I wasn’t around them much, and Charlie wouldn’t have told me. He was private that way.”

“I’ll see what I can find out. We’ll get whoever did this.” Jack squeezed his shoulder and then walked off toward the interrogation room.

When he entered, Laura barely reacted, just nodded and kept her hands folded in her lap. He straddled the chair on the opposite side of the table and quietly explained the procedure to her. She would be recorded. She could have an attorney present if she chose. She was simply giving a formal statement that might reveal details she had forgotten in the immediate aftermath of the events that took place in her garage.

“Walk me through the exact timeline,” Jack said. “What time did you leave the house?”

“After lunch.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“It was around two because the TV was on in the kitchen and my favorite soap opera had just started airing,Beyond the Sunset Skies.”

“Where was Charlie when you left?”

“In his workshop.”

“Was anyone besides your husband in the house?”

“No. Just Charlie. He went in there after we ate, like always.”

“Was he expecting anyone?” She shook her head. “A client, perhaps. Someone to pick up furniture or place a new order?”

“Not that I know of. I fix hair, he makes furniture. It’s just the way we live. We don’t discuss each other’s business.”

“How long were you gone?”

“I told you. Four hours?”

“Actually, you told us two.”

She pushed her hair off her face. “I… I was upset. It was closer to four.”

“It takes you that long to get groceries?”

“I… had to get gas. And… I stopped to pick up the dry cleaning.”

“Where?” Jack asked, and Laura shook her head. “Do you have receipts?” She shook her head again.

“I.. don’t know. I’ll have to look.”

Watching through the one-way mirror, Dudley felt his stomach clench. Until they processed the evidence from the garage and heard back from the team left behind to question the neighbors and search the property for clues, they were going to have very little to work with. So far, Laura’s information surrounding Charlie’s last moments was as sparse as the information about the life she’d lived before she came to Memphis.

Jack walked her through the usual routine. Had there been any suspicious phone calls? Strange persons or cars inthe neighborhood? Was Charlie worried about anything? Had anyone threatened him? Or her? Did Charlie owe money to anybody, perhaps have some gambling debts?

Laura’s string of monosyllabicno’shad Dudley wanting to ram his fist into the wall.

How could a woman who lived a picture-perfect life in a blissfully peaceful marriage suddenly find her garage covered with blood and her husband missing? He had to restrain himself from racing into the interrogation room and screaming at his sister-in-law. He forced himself to pay attention to every detail beyond the one-way mirror.

Jack’s impatience with the scarce information and Laura’s total lack of emotion showed in the way he tightened his jaw and sat more erect in his chair, every muscle in his body tensed for action, as if, suddenly, Laura might snap and lunge across the table at him screaming,I did it. I did it!

Suddenly Jack leaned across the table. “Mrs. Stephens, did you kill your husband?”

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