Page 37 of Every Deadly Suspicion

“Have you thought any more about Joe?” he asked.

“I talked to Mandy about him.”

“What did she say?”

“She wants me to say yes, she wants to talk to Joe, see if he’ll finally come clean about where her parents are.”

“It’s not just her parents,” Nathan said. “People will want to know about Gilly as well.”

“He was never rigidly tied to that case.”

“While that may be true, Gilly was investigating Joe and targeting meth labs. Joe might still have helpful information. He has nothing to lose now. It’s time to come completely clean about what happened back then.”

Manny arrived with a lab tech.

“I’ll let you get back to work,” Hanna said. “We’ll catch up Monday morning. Doesn’t look like you’ll make it to church tomorrow.”

“Probably not. I’ll update you as soon as I can.”

Hanna left with Gizmo. She took his bowl and food, and he curled up in a cute ball on the front seat. How on earth was she going to give him to Mandy?

CHAPTER 18

JARED WAS READY FOR RELIEFfrom the fire when it came. By Saturday afternoon, the winds had shifted, pushing the conflagration away from populated areas and into dense forest, where it was impossible to fight on the ground. Air tankers and helicopters with water drops were the only weapons that would be of any use now.

When they broke for lunch, Jared and his team were cut loose for thirty-six hours off the line. Cal Fire could handle things for a bit. He was glad for the break and eager for his own shower and his own bed. He was certain he could sleep straight through the entire thirty-six.

Hopping into his pickup, he pulled away from the command post and headed home, yawning as he drove. The strong, bitter cup of coffee he’d grabbed from the mess hall was half empty. He traveled back roads to Dry Oaks. Some were dirt, some partially paved. When he’d returned to the little hamlet after so many years away, he’d been happy that while there was growth, development had not destroyed all that he remembered. His path skirted private property and took him past the trailhead that led up to where Beecher’s Mine cabin had stood. You couldn’t see it from the road, but a rough trail wound up the hillside to the site.

Growing up in Dry Oaks, kids in town told obligatory ghoststories about the place. The Carsons were said to wander through the trees, weary for rest. As a teen, Jared had acted on a dare and spent the night up there. Or most of the night. Buckley had security watching the site, and they chased him off the mountain at around three in the morning. He and Hanna had hiked up there one time as well. He thought of that odd night, when they hid behind a tree trunk, and a drunken Chase broke bottles and cursed the moon. No security ran them off that night.

Was it still a draw for kids in the area? And did Buckley still pay security to patrol? Jared let his eyes wander, peering into the trees as his truck rumbled and jerked over the bumpy road. For a second, he thought he saw movement in the tree line and he slowed.

No, just his imagination. He shook his head and accelerated. Thinking of the murders brought Hanna to mind. Would interest in the grisly murders ever wane? He hoped so for her sake. Though she’d obviously overcome the stigma; the town had elected her to be chief. For some reason that made Jared immensely proud.

One of the fondest memories he had of the time before he left was when Hanna won an award as a police explorer. She’d just finished her shift and was on her way home from Sonora when she passed a house that looked as if it was on fire. She stopped, got out, and saved a family of four and their pets. Hanna was fearless. It was something that distinguished her from all other women Jared had known.

And something that made it difficult for him to get over her.

Shifting from back roads to paved highway, Jared made it home in no time. Saturdays were laid-back sleepy days in the town. Most of the traffic would be downtown for the farmer’s market. His cousin Clay had a booth there. Jared’s father had willed his property to Clay, and Jared was fine with that. Clay loved farming, and since organic and cage-free were much more popular now, Clay and the farm were thriving.

As a result, Jared rented a small house on his uncle Gary’s property. A tiny two-bedroom with a full bath, but comfortable, with a new kitchen. Jared traveled light, he wasn’t home much, and he didn’t need much room. The only problem was the structure was close to the next-door neighbor, Jude Carver.

Since the day in junior high when he punched Jude out for teasing Hanna, they had been adversaries. Jude hadn’t changed a bit. Once a bully, always a bully. It made Jared laugh when he thought, in one of life’s ironies, Hanna became the boss of the guy who’d been the boss of the bullies who had tormented her when she was a kid.

When Carver left Dry Oaks, he’d traveled to San Francisco to be a police officer. He laterally transferred to Dry Oaks a few years ago. From what Jared heard, he had to learn to be a small-town officer and had a hard time with it. Stokes had told him that Chief Barnes was a nice guy, but the closer he got to retirement, the less he was engaged. He never confronted Jude about the complaints directed his way.

Hanna inherited the Carver problem. And Carver didn’t like Hanna, which immediately bothered Jared. She dealt with the problem head-on and fired the guy. Hanna was on top of things. Now, unemployed, Carver had a habit of staying up late, drinking and playing loud music.

Carver must have come home drunk this morning. He’d run his SUV into the mailbox. The box was under the front tire and the front fender was smashed. Jared maneuvered his pickup around the listing vehicle. At least the guy would be quiet this morning.

He was wrong. He parked his truck and climbed out. Carver was on his porch with a bottle in his hand. He glared at Jared.

“Good morning,” Jared said amiably.

Carver responded with a rude hand gesture.

Yes,Jared thought as he unlocked his door. Firing was what this guy deserved.

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