Page 87 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Hanna pulled herself out of the car, longing for a shower and bed. The caregiver met her at the door.

“Chief, you look exhausted.”

“I am, Arthur. It’s been a long night.”

“I’m sorry to make it worse. Joe passed about ten minutes ago.”

Hanna stared. “He...” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

“His body just gave out.” He held out the writing pad. “Joe finished writing this, and he wanted to make sure you kept his boxof letters. They are all addressed to you. I called for the funeral home. Not sure when they will arrive.”

He was still talking when Hanna walked past him to the guest room. The oxygen machine was silent. Joe looked as if he were sleeping. It was as quiet as death. She sat next to the bed and looked at the piece of paper in her hand. No neat block writing; it was difficult to read. Made more difficult by the tears that clouded her eyes.

I had to take the deal. No choice. Big Al said they had holes to drop you and your mom in that were so deep, no one would ever find you. Don’t cry for me, Hanna. I’m not sure the man I was then would have been able to take care of you, raise you right. I think I took care of you better than I ever could by going to prison, finding Jesus, and praying for you every minute of every day. I took the path God had for me. It seems wrong and sad and hard, but God chose to be with me through it, not take me out of it. Please continue to be happy and live good. Your father loves you, and he is so very proud of you.

Hanna wept.

CHAPTER 46

“MY FATHER IS DEAD,”Hanna told Everett. It was Sunday afternoon, and she was the first person he agreed to see after his surgery, while he recovered in the hospital. Everett was so pale. For the first time since Hanna could remember, he looked every bit his age and then some.

He looked away. “Sorry for your loss.”

“I don’t think that you really are. I want to clear his name.”

Everett fiddled with the pulse monitor on his finger. “What does it matter?”

“It matters to me.”

“You don’t know the whole story.”

“I know enough. You can fill in the blanks. Chase killed the Carsons. Did he kill Gilly as well?”

Everett closed his eyes and leaned back in bed. “I honestly don’t know about Gilly. It was so very long ago. None of it was my idea. I’ve been afraid of Chase since he was ten years old. My father could control him, so could Scott. But I couldn’t.”

He swallowed and paused. “That night we found him at the cabin, acid-burned face and leg, I thought he would die. When he survived, I hoped he’d become more manageable. But he didn’t. Hewas less mobile, but he was still Chase.” Everett held up a hand. “The Carsons were not at the cabin when I found Chase. I never knew they were in the lake until you found them.”

“If you didn’t help dispose of their bodies, it had to be Scott.”

“No. It had to be my dad, not Scott.”

Hanna considered that answer. It was easy to blame the dead guy. “Did Chase kill Scott?”

“I told you, I don’t know for sure. Scott controlled Chase, but he was tired of it. He warned me that Chase might be into bad things. I didn’t want to hear it. There have been many times in the last few months when Chase took off and no one knew where he was.”

“He was more mobile with the prosthesis.”

Everett gave a slight nod. “Scott planned to marry Valerie and take Braden and raise him in Corte Madera. He wanted the boy to grow up right, away from his crazy grandfather. I tried to find a way to deal with Chase, figuring for the day Scott would move, then...” His voice trailed off.

“You don’t have to deal with him anymore, not if you tell the truth. He shot you, tried to kill you, and he did kill Grover. If you add the other murders my father confessed to, Chase will never see the light of day.”

“Your dad wasn’t innocent. He cooked meth.”

“He didn’t murder anyone in cold blood.”

Everett went quiet. After a minute he said, “Where’s Braden?”

“With his mom. Kelly flew back to town last night.” Hanna let him think about that for a few seconds. “Agent Gilly was down in the hole. And he wasn’t alone. They found the remains of two other people down there. Who else did Chase murder?”

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