Page 68 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Hanna chuckled, feeling as if the bit of humor brightened the dark morning. “I’ll work on that.”

They sat on the top step and Jared put the extra cup of coffee between them.

“I had a bad feeling when we helped pull that barrel out,” Jared said. “But it does solve a mystery.”

“Maybe. Unfortunately for me, finding the remains raises more questions than it answers.” Hanna sighed.

“You mean because the story is wrong now?”

“Exactly. I have to dig back into the original investigation. The story most people know now is what Marcus wrote. Is it the truth? I don’t know if he had official details.”

“Where does Marcus say he got his information?”

Hanna gave a mirthless chuckle. “It was all a figment of his imagination, at least that’s what my mom always used to say. Though I know he included some things she’d told him in confidence. I remember her complaining about that. I need the report the original cops wrote.”

“I would have thought you’d have already read that by now.”

“I didn’t. All my life I’ve just wanted to move on from Joe, you know? It was a done deal. He confessed and went to prison, justice satisfied.” She held Jared’s gaze. “I made peace with the past.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I remember. What’s he like now? Repentant?”

She stared off across the lawn. “He claims he found faith, and he’s apologized some. But he’s weak, very weak. He won’t answer direct questions. And when he does talk, he loses steam quickly. He’s certainly not the big bad murderer Marcus or my mother always described.”

“Thirty-five years in prison and stage-four lung cancer would change anyone. Are you sorry you let him come here?”

Hanna jerked around to face Jared. He watched her with a neutral expression and a warmth grew inside her. She knew he didn’t ask the question with any judgment intended. He understood her and her struggle. For a second, they were fifteen again and he was encouraging her to ignore the bullies. She had to look away.

Turning back to look straight ahead, she sipped her coffee. “I don’t know. What am I supposed to feel? What I know about Joe came from my mother. I’ve been a cop long enough to know that there are two sides to every story. I—” Hanna stopped. Emotion bubbled up and her throat thickened.

“What?”

She swallowed and sniffled. “I find myself wishing my mother hadn’t kept us apart. Maybe I should have visited him over the years.” Back in control, she told him about the TV program she’d seen when she waited for Braden.

“A few days ago, I was in the waiting room at the hospital. A show was playing on the television. I don’t know what it was, but there was this kid whose dad was in prison. He didn’t think that his mother took him to visit often enough; the prison was a couple of hours from home. So, one day the kid skips school and takes a bus to visit his dad. His mom doesn’t find out until she goes to school to pick her son up. And then it’s the corrections officer calling to tell her where her son is.”

“Mom probably wasn’t happy.”

“No. The kid so wanted to see his dad. I don’t know what the guy was in for, but this boy, ten or twelve years old, I guess, is allowed to visit and he gives his dad a hug and they catch up on life. Even though the dad was in prison, he was still Dad. It kind of hit me. What if my mother had allowed visits? What if I’d been allowed to get to know him? I know it’s useless to ask such a question, but I might feel differently now.”

He leaned close, his voice lowered.

“Your mom pounded it into your head that Joe was a monster. That must cloud your thoughts and emotions. Try and get her out of your mind and look at Joe without blinders on.”

She met Jared’s gaze and kept her voice steady, aware that theemotions swirling inside her right now were stronger than anything she felt when she was with Nathan. “Easier said than done, I’m afraid.”

His crooked half smile shone back at her. “You’ll figure it out. Why were you headed to work so early?”

“I’m going to Sonora, to the sheriff’s department to dig up the old case file. I need to do it before the firestorm erupts over the bodies we found. And I want to be back in time to watch them pull that car up.”

“You have a busy morning. I’ll let you go then.” He stood.

About the same time, a car pulled up, a county car. Nathan. Hanna tensed. Where would he go with Jared being here?

He parked and walked toward them. “Good morning. I was worried.”

Hanna stood. “Worried? Why?”

He cast an appraising gaze toward Jared. “I’ve been trying to call, got no response.”

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