Page 18 of The Killing Plains

“You knew Denny?”

“A little. The woman who cleans our office is his aunt. When Denny got into trouble last year, Carmen asked for my advice. I offered our services to handle his therapy. But I had a sense he’d open up better to a woman, so Brenda took the case.”

Colly turned to her sister-in-law. “Did he?”

Brenda glanced uneasily at Niall, who nodded. “I think therapist-client privilege has to be relaxed somewhat in this situation,” he said.

Brenda turned back to Colly. “Denny divulged some, but he was guarded.” She sighed. “He had the deck stacked against him—learning disabilities, a tough home life. Maybe if he’d gotten help earlier, or if I’d been more experienced...”

“You did your best with a difficult case,” Niall said gently.

“Walk us through the last time you saw him,” Colly said.

Brenda nodded. “It was a Friday noon appointment.”

“I thought you didn’t schedule noon clients.”

“He usually came Thursday afternoons, but his mother said he had a conflict. The dentist or something. So I worked him in. He rode his bike here, and—”

“Wasn’t he in school?”

Brenda shook her head. “Expelled last spring. He was attending an alternative program for kids who can’t be mainstreamed, but it doesn’t meet on Fridays.”

“Did he usually ride his bike?” Avery cut in abruptly.

“His mother works nights, so normally she drove him. But that Friday, she was covering a coworker’s day shift or something.”

“What about the stepdad?” Colly asked.

“Their relationship wasn’t good. Denny fended for himself a lot.”

“If he wasn’t coming from school, why’d he have a backpack? Did that seem odd?”

“I don’t remember thinking about it.”

“Do you know what he was carrying?”

“The Rangers asked that, too. Denny mentioned something about returning library books, so he must’ve had those. Not sure what else.”

Beside her, Colly felt Avery stir. “Random question—do you know if Denny had foot problems?”

Brenda’s eyebrows rose. “No, why?”

“What about his folks?”

“Not that I know of.”

Colly and Avery exchanged a look.

Brenda was curious. “What’s this about?”

Nosiness—an occupational hazard of therapists, Colly thought.And cops, too, I suppose.She ignored the question. “Was Denny here on time?”

Brenda looked mildly disappointed, but she nodded. “He was sweaty from riding. I got him a coke from the fridge and gave him a protein bar because he hadn’t eaten lunch. Then we talked.”

“Wait, walk me through the scene.” Colly stood.

Brenda hesitated, but Niall pushed out of his armchair. “Come on, everyone. You heard the detective.”

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