I knew I should be shocked, but I wasn’t.
“Lula was passed out. For all I knew she was dead, and I’m ashamed to say I held her underwater for about a few seconds, and the bitch just glared at me. So I pulled her up, and carried her to the bank and checked her pulse, all while Louise kept shoutin’ at me to leave her be and help Walter instead. Lula had a weak pulse but wasn’t breathin’, so I did a couple of rounds of mouth-to-mouth, and the girl started coughing. I lied and told Louise that I’d help her get Walter into her car if she told me where to find the gold. She said she didn’t know, that one of my employees had taken care of it. I could hear sirens in the distance, which was surprising given Walter hadn’t been down more than five minutes at most. Drummond must have planned to set Louise up for Lula’s murder. Louise wasn’t talkin’, and I had no desire to be anywhere nearby when the sheriff’s deputies showed up. But I ran into them anyway as they pulled up, so I paid ’em a couple grand to forget I was there.”
Hank settled back in his chair, his story finished, and was still trying to process it all. It was a lot to take in all at once. But one thing felt very clear to me. “You didn’t drown Lula, Hank.”
Shame filled his eyes. “I held her underwater. That’s the definition of drownin’.”
“But you saved her in the end.”
He didn’t respond.
There was a knock at the door, and Marco called out, “Carly? I hate to interrupt, but can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Yeah.” I got up and headed to the front door.
His eyes were a stormy mix of blue and green—his worried look. “I hate to do this, but I need to go. I just got a call that Adam ran away from the foster home. I think I know where he went, but I want to be the one to find him. I think he’ll run otherwise.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Go.”
He shot a cursory glance toward the kitchen. “Are you okay stayin’ here? I don’t want you to be alone.”
“We’re good.”
“Sorry,” he said, leaning forward and giving me a kiss. “Thanks for understandin’.”
“Of course. Go get things straightened out.”
I watched him head out to his car and drive away before I returned to the kitchen. “Marco had an emergency call. So you’re stuck with me for a bit.”
He studied me with a serious expression. “Are you sure you wanna stay with me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, moving over to the sink and turning on the water. “I probably shouldn’t be by myself right now anyway. Marco and I went to Atlanta yesterday to visit my mother’s best friend, and we’re worried my father will be able to find me now.”
“What? What happened?”
I gave him a quick summary of our visit with Tiffany.
“Marco brought up a good point,” I added. “My father had a pattern of killing people with car accidents. He’s not going to send a sniper to kill me. He’ll try to stage another accident.” I made a face. “Marco thinks I need to ask Wyatt what to look for on my car to see if it’s been tampered with.”
He didn’t look happy. “So we need to go see Wyatt.”
“Wait. No,” I stammered. “You don’t have to go, Hank.”
“Was Marco gonna take you?”
“Well, yeah, but I’m not even sure Wyatt’s back yet. Max said he went to Nashville yesterday. He’s coming back sometime today.”
Hank pushed back his chair and reached for the phone on the wall, then punched in a number from memory.
“Junior?” he said. “This is Hank Chalmers. When’s Wyatt supposed to be back in town?” His eyes widened. “Oh, really? Okay. Thanks.”
He hung up and said, “Wyatt’s already at the garage.”
“Didn’t he go to Nashville yesterday?” I asked in confusion.
Given that it was nearly a five-hour drive one way, that was an awfully fast return.
“He didn’t say, but I say we get in my car and drive into Drum.”
“You’re going to chauffeur me for a change?” I teased, even though I wasn’t feeling even remotely lighthearted.
His halting laugh told me he felt the same way.
We left the dirty dishes, and less than ten minutes later we were in his car and headed toward town. His crutch and his shotgun lay on the back seat.
“The gun’s a little much, don’t you think?” I’d asked as he set it in the car.
His dark glare had suggested he held a differing opinion.
“Have you and your men made any progress finding your gold?” I asked after we’d ridden in silence for a few minutes.
“You don’t need to be part of that nonsense,” he said in a gruff tone. “That’s my mess, not yours.” His hands were in near-constant motion, so deftly using the hand levers Wyatt had attached to the gas and brake pedals. It was fascinating how well they worked, and difficult not to get distracted from what was, far all intents and purposes, a serious conversation.
“What if Louise really does have evidence of Bart’s involvement in Jerry’s murder? Wouldn’t that be good for all of us?”
“Louise Baker is full of horseshit,” he grunted. “You need to leave her to me and deal with your own business.”
“You mean my father.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Me gettin’ my gold back don’t mean shit in the long run. I’ve lived just fine without it, and it don’t seem right to use it now that my Mary’s gone. Hell, Barb and Seth aren’t even here to enjoy it.”
I prayed that Barb hadn’t been the third person. I didn’t want Hank to have to deal with another huge loss. I had no plans to suggest it unless it looked glaringly obvious that she had.
He drew a breath. “The only reason I’m goin’ after it now is because I’m not lettin’ that bitch get away with it.” He cast a brief glance my way before shifting his gaze back to the road. “So you let me deal with her.”
“Well, do you at least want to know what I’ve found out so far?” I asked in frustration.
He made a face, then said, “Shoot.”
I spent the rest of the drive giving him a rundown of who I’d talked to and what I’d learned. I left out Barb’s name when I summarized my talk with my anonymous source (Michelle) the night before. A dark look crossed his face when I mentioned Big Joe, but it soon faded. When I finished, he looked impressed.
“You ever think of joinin’ the sheriff’s office and sniffin’ out crimes?”
I laughed. “It would never work.”
“Why not?”
“I hate the uniforms.”
He burst out laughing and shook his head. “I love you, girlie.”
I gave him a soft smile as my heart soaked in his affection. “I love you too, Hank.”
His smile faded as we approached the stop sign at the end of town. “So let’s focus on keepin’ you safe.”
We fell silent as he drove the three blocks through town, then turned into the garage parking lot at the curve of the highway.
The garage bays were open, with a pick-up truck in Junior’s bay and an old Camaro in Wyatt’s.