Page 97 of We Are All Guilty Here

“Oh, that’s Shelley. They got married last year. She’s expecting twins.”

“How wonderful.” Jude tried to infuse her voice with genuine feeling. “Are you close with your brother?”

“Reggie’s had some problems in the past, but he’s always been good to me and Paisley. He’s gonna make a great daddy. Already put together the crib and changing table in the nursery.”

Jude asked, “Does Reggie visit you often?”

“Not as much lately.” Her voice was lowered, as if to share a confidence. “He had some trouble a few years back, but that’s all behind him now.”

Jude could tell from the way Emmy tensed that she had more information about the trouble than Jude did. Jude crossed her arms, making it clear that Emmy could take over.

“Mrs. Walker,” Emmy said, “I just heard from one of my deputies that Reggie’s a few minutes away.”

“Oh, thank the Lord.” Carol looked visibly relieved. “Maybe he can talk to you. He’s much better at this kind of thing than I am.”

“Much better at what?” Emmy asked.

“Well—” Carol seemed flummoxed. “Talking to people, I guess.”

“To cops?” Emmy’s tone had shifted at just the exact right time. “Reggie is on probation, right? He got into some trouble at a football game.”

“That was just foolishness.” Carol addressed Nate. “Reggie got caught up in the excitement with some of his friends. He’s always been like that.”

Emmy asked, “Does Reggie spend much time with Paisley?”

“Not since the—” Carol shrugged. “Well, he wasn’t allowed to leave Mobile. Then he met Shelley, and he needed to focus on her for obvious reasons.”

“What are the obvious reasons?”

“Well—” Carol’s shoulders went up to her ears in another shrug. More remarkably, she seemed to be fighting the urge to turn toward Nate. “I mean, Shelley was pregnant when they got married. But that’s not why he married her. He loves her, obviously.”

“She’s young,” Emmy said. “She doesn’t look much older than Paisley.”

Carol’s smile was tight across her face. “She’s legally an adult.”

Jude let her gaze travel to Father Nate. His spine had stiffened, his lips were pursed. That was the prissy, disapproving scold she recognized from before.

Emmy asked, “How long has Shelley been pregnant?”

“I wouldn’t—” Carol’s fingers moved so quickly that the rosary beads clicked like teeth. “I don’t know.”

Nate shifted on the couch. “Carol, how old is she?”

Carol’s hand fluttered to her chest. “Seventeen, Father. She just turned seventeen.”

“Carol.” Nate’s voice was surprisingly firm. He was actually trying to help. “How old was Shelley when Reggie impregnated her?”

Carol’s eyes met Jude’s, but only because she couldn’t look at Nate.

“Carol,” Nate pressed. “Now is the time for complete honesty.”

The rosary beads clicked furiously. Carol looked down,watching them run through her fingers like water. “Fifteen the first time. But she lost the baby, and … and now she’s five months. It’s a blessing, isn’t it? Having children?”

Jude saw Emmy’s jaw clench. She knew what silent recriminations looked like. Emmy was chastising herself for not following up on the brother sooner. Understandable, but not productive. Jude started counting the seconds of prolonged silence. She was planning to take over when the number hit ten, but she was denied the intervention by a loud knock at the door.

“Carol?” a man’s voice called. “Open the door. It’s Reggie.”

Emmy nodded for Cole to back her up. She opened the door. Reggie stood with his hand raised to knock again. Emmy didn’t bother with introductions. She grabbed Reggie’s wrist and spun him around, then frogmarched him toward the street.

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