Eight

Kate and Sara didn't speak as they walked to the car. What the sheriff had said was hanging over them.

"Mind if we stop at the café and get something to drink?" Sara asked.

"That would be nice."

Sara gave directions of where to park and they walked a couple of blocks to a little restaurant. There were outdoor tables under shade umbrellas. They took one and ordered iced tea.

Kate broke the silence. "The town must be really different from when you grew up here."

"This used to be a grocery store. Cal and I rode our bikes over here." Sara was moving her straw up and down in her drink.

"Cal. Jack's grandfather and the love of your—"

Sara looked up. "I feel really bad about all that's happened. It wasn't what I'd planned. I thought you and I would be going sightseeing. We'd get on one of those big air boats and search out alligators. Or drive north to see what Disney is doing. There's a butterfly farm nearby. But..." She looked back at her tea. "I didn't mean for you to be plunged into all the sordid little bits of this town."

Kate took her time in replying. "There's something I really want to know about my parents." When Sara looked about for the waiter, Kate lowered her voice. "I know you don't want to tell me about my father, but—Don't look so shocked. Every time I mention him, you look like you want to run away and hide. Right now I want an honest—and I mean truthful even if it's bad—answer to one question." She waited for Sara's terse nod of agreement. "I want to know if my mother loved my father as much as she says she did. Or is it an illusion she made up?"

Sara's relief made her smile broadly. "Your mother was madly in love with my brother. If Randal had told her to walk off a cliff, she wouldn't have hesitated. She adored him. It was close to worship."

"And my father?"

Sara took a deep breath. "Randal was always a bit of a, uh, scoundrel. But he loved your mother as much as I ever saw him love anyone. Except for you! You were so much like him and he was so very proud of you. He used to brag on you until it was embarrassing. But then, you did everything earlier than the other kids, so you deserved it. I agreed with him."

Sara leaned back in her chair. "You look so much like him that it startles me. You even move your hands like him."

"Do I?" Kate said. "Do you have any photos?"

"A few. They're in one of the boxes in the garage. We can dig them out."

"I'd like that." Kate finished her tea. "Maybe we should go back now and see what mess Jack has made of everything."

"I think you and I should talk about all this now." Sara motioned for refills. "I hate to admit it, but there's a lot to what Flynn said. Maybe we should just put on a quiet, respectful funeral for the two women and leave it at that. No digging into the past, no trying to find out who, what and why about them."

"You think that leaving it alone will clear Jack's name?"

"I don't know. I thought that with all the influx of so many new people that the old disputes would be forgotten." She gave Kate a hard look. "Digging into the past is going to bring up some ugly secrets."

"Are you afraid we might find out that Roy actually did kill them?"

"That's one of my worries. He really was a piece of work. He was jealous of Jack from the day he was born and—" Sara quit talking and looked away.

"Is there any chance that Jack was driving the truck when Evan was killed?"

"No!" Sara said immediately. But then, after a quiet moment, she went on, "They didn't put on their seat belts, and they were tossed around so much..." She looked at Kate. "The truth? It could have been either of them driving. No one saw them get into the truck."

"So it's just Jack's word."

"Yes," Sara said. "I want to thank you for what you did for him, for us, the night we found the bodies. His mother said that no one has been able to get Jack to talk about what happened. There was only four years age difference between him and Evan, but Jack was always the big brother. He protected him from Roy. But then, Evan handled their father better."

"Without the temper the sheriff spoke of?"

"Oh, yeah," Sara said. "To see Jack and Roy go at each other was a scary sight. Like two wild animals, all teeth and claws. No ground rules, nothing held back. The things they said to each other made me sick to my stomach."

"Sounds like Roy could have murdered people."

"I think so. But that's never been the question. That he didn't brag about it is what makes me doubt. Kate?"

"Yes?"

"I wonder if maybe you should go home for a while. Just until this settles down. If your mother knew that I let you become involved in what may be a murder investigation, she'd be, uh, less than pleasant about it."

"Are you kidding? If my mother knew I was part of this, she'd call the FBI. No! Worse. She'd send the uncles after you."

Instantly, Sara's face turned as pale as an opal.

Kate leaned forward. "When I was growing up, the only relatives I had were the uncles, their holier-than-thou wives and their creepy kids. My mother is a martyr to the memory of her late husband. These last days have been the most... I don't know how to describe them. Interesting? Exciting? Maybe fulfilling is the right word. I feel like I'm doing something real and worthwhile. That poor girl! She had such dreams, but they were taken from her."

Sara was smiling. "And the mother?"

Kate glanced at the other tables. "Between you and me, I think there are more important things in a woman's life than what she does with her genitalia."

Sara laughed so loud the other customers turned to look at her. "Oh, Kate," she said, "you and I are going to get along fine. The only question left is how much we should tell Jack of what the sheriff said."

"Every word of it," Kate said. "Only, let me tell him. You'll be so sad that Jack might go after the sheriff with his crutches." She started to get up but Sara took her arm.

"Someone murdered them and was cold enough to plant a tree over the top of them. Are you sure you want to look into that?"

"The person who planted that damn tree interests me less than clearing the names of the innocent. Cheryl wasn't a pedophile; Verna wasn't pimping her daughter; Jack didn't drive drunk. I want everyone to know the truth about them. That is my goal. What about you?"

"I agree," Sara said. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a truly remarkable human being?"

"Other than my mother, no one." Kate got up and started toward the car.

"And you're as fearless as my lying, thieving skunk of a brother," Sara muttered as she followed Kate. "If I had any sense, I'd lock you up now."