Page 67 of Every Deadly Suspicion

WHENHANNA GOT HOME,her intent was to shower, make some super-strong coffee, and go back to work. But the light was on in Joe’s room. One of the caregivers told her that though Joe tired out quickly, he often had difficulty sleeping. She poked her head in. The caregiver sat in the corner reading a book. Joe was in bed reading the Bible. He looked up. His expression brightened. “Hanna.”

“Joe. Do you feel up to answering some questions?”

“Will answering them help you?” Each word was slow and halting.

“Yes. If you tell me the truth.”

“I’ll tell you what I can.”

“We found two bodies in Buckley Lake. They were in oil drums. They’d been there a long time. Thirty-five years, we think.”

Joe blinked, then swallowed. Hanna saw his Adam’s apple move. An odd expression rolled over his eyes; the look there became far away.

“So much excitement... when your mother told me... she was pregnant. Wanted to be a dad... was ready... and I was going to... straighten up and... fly right to provide for you.” So many words seemed to take a toll on him. His chest heaved,the Bible closed, and he gripped the top sheet tightly, closing his eyes for a moment.

Hanna stood next to the bed. He was deflecting her. She needed to redirect him, but she also wanted to hear more. For as long as she could remember, she wondered if Joe ever wanted to be a father. If he was happy not to have any responsibility for her. If he thought of her, if he missed her. She was too tired to put up all the walls that kept her from melting into the little girl who wanted her daddy.

“Joe, we found Blake and Sophia. You put them in oil drums and dropped them in the lake.”

His head slowly went side to side. “No.”

Hanna squeezed the bridge of her nose, not sure where to go now.

“You believe, don’t you?” He croaked out the question while tapping on the Bible.

“What?” At first, she was going to say no, she didn’t believe, that she thought he was lying, but then she realized that wasn’t what he meant.

“Yes, I believe. I’m a Christian. What does that have to do with your answering my questions?”

“Warms my heart.”

“Joe, I want to talk to you about Blake and Sophia.”

He put both hands on the Bible.

“Amanda was wrong. I do have... something to lose. Truth will come out... It always wants to come out. You’re smart. You will find it.”

He started to cough, a hacking cough where he couldn’t catch his breath. The caregiver got up and began to prepare the nebulizer. “Probably enough for today.”

Frustrated and exhausted, Hanna left the two of them andwent into the kitchen. Part of her felt that Joe was sandbagging, that he had more energy than he let on. But leaning on his weakness kept him from answering the important questions. She started coffee so it would be ready when she got out of the shower.

Hanna had never looked through Joe’s arrest report and the accompanying crime report. He’d never been a part of her life, and she’d never wanted to dig that deep into his. Something was off here. She’d have to go get the file and look over everything.

After the shower, she ran her fingers through her hair, then untangled it with a comb. It was short enough to air-dry. It was getting light outside. The sun was beginning to rise on Friday morning. She filled her travel mug and headed out her front door and almost ran into Jared.

“What are you doing here?”

He had two cups of coffee in his hands. “I just got off work. I was hoping to have a cup of coffee with you and talk about that find yesterday. Have you gotten any sleep?”

Hanna shook her head. Though she’d been laser focused on getting to work, she was glad to see Jared. Maybe he could help her sort the myriad emotions running rampant inside.

“All afternoon into the early morning hours, I was with the coroner.”

“Was it Blake and Sophia?”

She nodded. “That’s preliminary. Do you mind sitting on the porch steps? I don’t want to go into the house and wake Joe.”

He grinned. “Not at all. My porch or yours, we can talk anywhere. You’ll need to get yourself some chairs if we make it a habit.”

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