Page 25 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Though sweaty and gritty, Hanna wanted to follow up on Braden. Dry Oaks had an urgent care but no trauma center. Since his injuries were not life-threatening, Braden was transported to the Dry Oaks facility, not to Sonora. Hanna arrived at the medical center at the same time Everett Buckley pulled up in his large SUV.

When he climbed out, Hanna couldn’t help but notice that the eighty-year-old multimillionaire was surprisingly spry. Scott’s death had also forced him out of retirement. He did have Chase and his nephews to help with the Buckley empire, but from what Hanna had heard and read, Everett was the big boss.

Before the crash, Hanna would have said that Everett didn’t look a day over sixty-five. Not so today. His craggy, worry-lined face revealed his age. No surprise considering his life of tragedy.

Seeing Everett always brought her mother to mind.

“Such a good man, Everett Buckley, the last of a good generation, and he raised Scott right,”Paula used to say, always lamenting that Everett was too old for her and Scott was too much of a martyr tobe a good boyfriend. She never had anything good to say about Chase, or Devon for that matter, who was two years older than Hanna.

Scott never had children. All of Hanna’s life she heard from her mother about how Scott had sacrificed his own personal life to take care of Chase and Devon. Devon’s mother, Ellen, and Chase never married.

Born the day Chase was injured, Hanna knew little about him. He’d never been much of a father to Devon before being maimed, and being maimed didn’t help matters. For a time after the murders, he stayed in San Francisco while his burns healed, and he went through physical therapy for his injuries.

Ellen was a drug addict, and she was never very stable. Around the time Marcus Marshall published his book about the Beecher’s Mine murders, Ellen had disappeared. Scott and Everett had raised Devon. Everett groomed him to take over a part of his vast business holdings.

But it was not to be. Devon had been racing his motorcycle on a rainy night. He missed a curve, hit a tree, and died instantly. Braden’s mother, Kelly, was another flighty woman. Paula used to go on and on about the Buckley inclination to hook up with flighty women. Three years ago, Kelly left Braden with Everett and moved to Hollywood, wanting to be a movie star. Hanna didn’t think that was going too well. Gossip in town said that Kelly did Zoom calls with Braden from time to time, but that was it.

Hattie, Everett’s wife and the mother of the boys, had died. Rumor had it that Dry Oaks’s mayor, Evelyn Milton, had the hots for him.

Now, his face screwed up with concern, and maybe fear, as he approached Hanna at a brisk jog.

“I got here as fast as I could,” he explained, breathless. Talland thin, with a full head of white hair, Everett reminded Hanna of old-time movie actor Andy Griffith. He just didn’t talk with a southern drawl. “I was out at the fire line. How is Braden?”

“From what I saw, his arm is broken, and he’s scraped up a bit, but other than that, I think he’s fine.”

Relief eased his worry wrinkles some. “Do you know what happened?”

“Pancho chased a squirrel and Braden chased him. My guess is that he and Pancho got too close to the ledge and fell.”

Hands on his hips, Everett sighed. “I’m too old for this.”

“Boys will be boys. Aren’t broken arms to be expected?”

He frowned. “I expected Cassidy to be a better babysitter.”

“Don’t be too hard on her. She called for help right away. By the way, Asa has Pancho in the car. What do you want me to do with him?”

“Hang on to him for a bit. I’ll have Grover swing by and pick him up. I think we dodged a bullet as far as the Crest Fire goes. The wind shifted, eased a bit. They’re getting a handle on it. The next forty-eight hours will be crucial.”

“I thought the smell of smoke had eased.”

“We’ve got the manpower now to work the blaze. I’m optimistic.”

“Good news about the fire. Let’s get you to your boy.”

CHAPTER 13

TOGETHERHANNA ANDEVERETT WALKEDinto urgent care. The admit nurse met them immediately and asked them to wait a few minutes before she could take Everett back.

Standing with Everett, two things ran through Hanna’s mind: Scott’s murder investigation and the pressing need to get Everett and Chase in for interviews, and the request from state parole. She didn’t know why Everett kept brushing off interview requests, but it was time to step up and be chief. It was difficult for Hanna where Everett was concerned—she’d been too close to him her whole life, first through her mom, then later as he helped her with her career aspirations. His support had helped get her elected, and he’d never asked for special treatment—yet his delay in sitting down to speak with her about Scott gave her the feeling that special treatment was exactly what he expected.

She had to press him about the interview. Then she would bring up the letter. It would likely blindside him like it had her. Was now the time?

“Everett, I had a couple things to let you know. If Braden hadn’t fallen, I would have been up to see you.”

“Hmmm, I know you want to talk about Scott. I can’t. I’m not there yet. It is so very raw.”

“We need to get it over with. Don’t you want to know who poisoned Scott?”

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