Marco nodded.
I told him about seeing Ricky at the church. “He was the one who set up my meetings with Michelle and Cassie.”
“You gained that kid’s confidence,” he said with a frown, and I wondered if he was thinking about the kid he’d been trying to help.
“Cassie said Hank didn’t want Mary to hire Louise, and Mary was pretty upset after Louise was arrested. She was also upset that Louise had been having an affair with Bruce Abernathy.”
He did a double take. “Say what?”
“You heard right. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Bruce supposedly hung himself a few days after his arrest.” I took a breath. “If Louise really did steal Hank’s fortune, it makes me wonder if she coerced Bruce into helping her. Then maybe someone higher up found out and staged his death to look like a suicide.”
“It’s not that preposterous of a thought.”
“Yeah,” I said, staring out at the green landscape of South Carolina. “Isn’t it funny that I’ve been telling everyone that I’m from Atlanta, but I thought it would be faster to get there driving through Tennessee?”
His gaze swung toward me. “Other than Greeneville and Ewing, you’ve pretty much been holed up in Drum for half a year. After we talk to Tiffany—”
I held up a hand. “I’m not getting my hopes up. If she had a way to pin my mother’s death on my father, don’t you think she would have already done it?”
Marco tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. “If she and your mom were really close, she might remember something we can look into. Anything is helpful at this point.”
I nodded.
“Tell me more about Bingham. Did he just show up or had you arranged to meet him?”
“He’s having Louise followed, so he knew about our meeting at the laundromat. He showed up to let me know he was pissed that I hadn’t told him.”
Marco’s body stiffened. “You’re not one of his employees. You don’t owe that man shit.”
I sighed. “Obviously he doesn’t see it that way. I did actually stop by to see Lula on the way to work, but I’m not sure she told him. I couldn’t tell.”
I went on to tell him what she’d said about the toolbox.
“Back to Bingham,” he said, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. “Is he pissed at you?”
“Well, he’s not happy.”
“Does he plan to retaliate?”
“Not for the Louise thing. He’s still pretty annoyed that I ran out on him the day of Jerry’s hit-and-run. Doesn’t care why I did it.” I paused. “I told him about the toolbox but not what Lula said to me.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“It seemed like it was worth the risk. I was hoping he’d give me something in return.”
“Did he?”
“He said Hank’s business wasn’t worth much when he bought it. He was under the impression it was run-down because Mary was sick.”
“But you think it might have been because Louise stole Hank’s fortune?”
I ran my hand over my head. “I don’t know. I just don’t see how she could have. Or how it could fit in a toolbox. We already established that he probably didn’t have any offshore accounts, so it’s probably not a flash drive with account numbers and passwords.”
“Maybe she’s lyin’ about the toolbox.”
“Maybe,” I conceded.
“Did you tell Bingham what she said about Hank’s money?”
“No, but he’s not naïve enough to think I’d help her out of the goodness of my heart, so I told him what she said about Jerry’s killer.” My chest tightened. “He didn’t believe that was enough motivation. He was sure that I had some other reason for looking into it.”
He twisted up his mouth. “I hate to say it, but he’s not wrong. There is another motivation, but you would have still looked without it.”
He was right, and it made me feel terrible. Jerry should be enough. He was killed in cold blood, for no greater crime than being my friend. “I guess.”
He reached for my hand in my lap and squeezed. “There’s not a single thing wrong with having two different purposes. Lord knows we’ve been spinning our wheels for months. Besides, I’m sure Louise has lots of things cooking. It stands to reason we can get answers to more than one puzzle through her.”
“If she knows anything at all,” I grumbled. How many people now had suggested Louise was stringing me along? Every single one of them knew her better than I did. “Why wouldn’t she lie to me? I’m not Bingham. She has to know I’m not going to hurt her if she doesn’t come through on her end of the deal.”
“I suppose.”
I huffed out a breath, disgusted with myself. “I still can’t believe I didn’t ask Bingham about the fight between him and Bruce Abernathy.”
“Do you think he would have told you what it was about?”
“That’s just it. I’m not sure.” And there was no use dwelling on it now.
I shifted to face him. “Louise must have told Bart that he was Lula’s father on her visit to his house the day of Walter’s murder, but Bingham and I both think she went there for a different purpose, something related to Hank. What if she went there to give Bart information about Hank, but he didn’t like what she had to say? Or maybe he found out she’d stolen Hank’s money, and he was pissed she’d kept it. Then things escalated and she dropped her daddy bombshell.”
“Maybe.” He cast a glance my way. “It’s all speculation, Care. And the only two people who know about that conversation are Louise and Bart.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “What about Emily?”
His mouth twisted in displeasure. “She’s already playin’ a game with you. She’s not gonna give you anything. Honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t make a bigger deal about you not talking to Bingham.”
I frowned. “It’s not my fault Bingham won’t cooperate.”
“Do you really think that matters to her? Besides, she might be the person responsible for hiring the guy who threatened you. There’s too much we don’t know.”
I thought about all the unknowns, and how one man had a lot of the answers. “Maybe it’s time to tell Hank everything I know.”
Marco was silent for several seconds. “Maybe . . . but in an investigation, you never go to the person you’re lookin’ into right away and lay all your cards on the table. You ask some preliminary questions. Then you circle around the subject of the investigation, talking to friends and associates, getting all the peripheral details and spiraling in, closer and closer. And when you finally reach the target, hopefully you have a stack of evidence to support your case.”
My heart squeezed. “Hank’s not the criminal in this instance.”
“Except he actually was a criminal,” Marco said carefully.
“But Louise is the one who supposedly stole his fortune,” I protested. “I want to find out if it’s true.”
“Look,” he said, casting me a glance. “We both know Hank won’t talk to you, and he might even make it more difficult for you to investigate. I say you hold off talkin’ to him until you have more information. It will make it harder for him to blow you off.”