Page 68 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

“We’ve actually come up with a suspect for your aunt’s murder,” I said.

Belinda’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding. That quickly?”

“I know,” I said. “It’s surprising what people will reveal forty years later. We found out there was a boy who went to school with your mother. He’d been known to bully her. It started in elementary school and went all the way through high school.”

“Bullied her?” Magnolia said, her brow furrowing. “Who in their right mind would bully my mother? She was quick to tear down anyone who dared to cross her.”

“Maybe that was the woman you knew,” I said gently, “but that didn’t appear to be the Lila Brewer who lived in Sweet Briar. She was tough, but she didn’t fight back.”

A troubled look washed over Magnolia’s face. “No wonder she never went back there.”

“But I’m sure that only made your mother into the woman you knew,” Dixie added. “A person can only take so much before they decide they’re not takin’ crap anymore.”

I grabbed Dixie’s hand and squeezed. She knew from firsthand experience. My gesture was out of view of the camera, but I would have done the same thing even if it had been visible.

Magnolia was quiet for a moment. “I suppose that makes sense, but I still can’t imagine her as weak and helpless.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Who she was after she left is irrelevant to what happened to her sister. Tell us more about this childhood bully.”

“His name is Chuck Petty. Do you remember your mother ever mentioning him?”

“No,” Magnolia said. “But she never spoke about her past, and I’m sure she never mentioned him.”

“I never heard her mention him either,” Belinda said.

I rested a hand on my desk. “The reason we think Chuck Petty might be important is because he disappeared the same week Bethany was murdered.”

A puzzled look crossed Belinda’s face. “Disappeared? What do you mean by that?”

“He left town, and no one ever saw him again.”

“Wait,” Belinda said. “What?”

“We found out that after he left town, the sheriff looked into what he was doing that night, but for some reason, his name wasn’t mentioned in the police report. We think maybe he was left off because his father was the mayor of Sweet Briar at the time.Butthe sheriff’s department must’ve thought it suspicious that he took off around the same time because a friend of Chuck’s was questioned regarding Chuck’s whereabouts the night of the murder, and this friend claimed to have been with Chuck the whole evening, providing him an alibi. We spoke to Chuck’s alibi just a short bit ago and his story seemed very suspicious. When we tried to pin him down, he confessed that he’d been coerced into lying for Chuck by a girl named Rachel Swan, and insisted that she’s the one we really should be talking to.”

There was a moment of silence on the call as the women absorbed the new information. Magnolia seemed at a loss, leaving her sister-in-law to take the lead.

“Who’s Rachel Swan?” Belinda asked.

“Lila’s best friend at the time of her sister’s murder.”

Belinda was quick to respond. “So can you talk to Rachel Swan?”

“Actually, we already did this morning,” I said. “She wasn’t very helpful, but she seemed very close to your mother, Magnolia, which is why I’m calling.”

“So you’re not just calling with an update?” Magnolia asked.

“No,” I said, “I was hoping to have more information before I called you. In fact, I was hoping to have the whole thing solved. Obviously, we need to talk to Rachel again, but I’m worried that she won’t speak to me. Which is why I’m asking the favor.”

“What is it?” Magnolia asked in a wary tone.

I took a breath. “I want to tell her that you’re my client. We know that Lila and Rachel were very close…and it’s also obvious that Rachel has been keeping tabs on you.”

Magnolia’s face paled. “What does that mean?”

I continued, “When we showed up at her door, she asked if we were podcasters, and we assured her that we weren’t. I told her that those irresponsible podcasters Mo and Molly had done a couple of episodes on me, but she seemed to know that they were concentrating on you. And she doesn’t seem the type to listen to podcasts.”

“So what does that mean?” Magnolia asked.

“Well,” I said slowly, “this may be going out on a limb, but I suspect that she cared about Lila so much that she is keeping tabs on you because you’re Lila’s daughter. She knew details about your father and Tripp Tucker.”

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