24

Lincoln County Sheriff s Department

Thornton Taylor Parkway, Fayetteville, 8:55 a.m.

Bent didn t try to stop her. He just stood there and watched her walk away.

Vera was too angry. She wouldn t have listened to him anyway.

Higdon pushed out of his chair. Well, I ll get right on requesting those photos. He looked to Bent. You did the right thing, son. The only thing you could do. Those sisters will just have to get right with what their daddy likely did.

Bent forced his jaw to relax, unclamped his gritted teeth. First of all, Vera s right-this is wrong. Second, I am not your son.

Higdon only glared at him, then strutted out of the office, shoulders back and chest puffed out like a gobbler during mating season.

Fury twisted in Bent s gut. It wouldn t be so bad if the old bastard s point was finding the truth, but it wasn t. It was just like Vee said. He wanted to make himself a significant part of this investigation now that it had moved to the next level. He wanted his face on the news.

If the truth had been so damned important, he would have demanded it from Vernon Boyett twenty-some years ago when, in his capacity as medical examiner, he claimed to have noticed the bruises on Vernon s dead wife.

Bent set his hands on his hips. Since he couldn t exactly punch an old man, he felt like he needed to do something. Try to talk to Vera. Some damned thing. And he got how this accusation made her feel. He d been damned angry himself when Higdon brought this to him. Worse, when he admitted that he d spoken to the FBI about it, Bent had barely restrained himself from going off on him.

Not exactly the kind of thing to do if he wanted to maintain the people s trust.

Damn it, Bent had known Evelyn Boyett, and he d thought the world of her. He hadn t been that close to Vernon, but he hadn t heard anything bad about him. Well, beyond the idea that he was a fool for having married Sheree Corbin. But most men had their weaknesses. For some those showed up early, making them rowdy and irresponsible in their youth. Like him, he was sad to say. He had no proper raising, which left him to fend for himself. He learned early on that his looks and the right words could get him all sorts of things-none of which he d needed.

He regretted so much of what he d done before joining the army. Most of all, he regretted having hurt Vee. She d reminded him so much of her mother. That was the draw at first. But then he got to know Vera, and he couldn t let go. She made him feel things and want things he knew he would never have.

Vera was the reason he left so suddenly.

He recognized that he was no good for her. Being involved with him could have ruined her life. It was a flat-out miracle she hadn t ended up pregnant. He hadn t taken any precautions with her . . . he d been too crazy about her. Crazy, period.

One Friday morning he walked into the army recruiter s office, and a few days later he was gone.

Leaving was the one good, selfless thing he did in those days. Leaving gave Vera the opportunity to achieve all the things she had spoken about so enthusiastically. She had big dreams, and he hadn t wanted to stand in her way.

She still held leaving against him, but he could live with that.

Just like he d known she would, she had done great things. The trouble in Memphis wouldn t stop her from continuing to do great things. As soon as this mess was behind her, she would move on to something even bigger. Some people were just meant to change the world, and Vera was one of them.

This time he would be the one left behind.

He dropped into his chair. The selfish part of him wished she would stay. But he d never say that out loud. Vera didn t belong in this little town, and she sure as hell didn t belong to him.

But he would damned well feel a lot better if she would trust him enough to tell him what she was hiding. He figured it was something related to what happened to Sheree, but he couldn t be sure. He didn t want to believe Vernon had killed Sheree, but a man could do some dumb shit when he was angry-especially when it came to the woman in his life.

Even knowing what he did, Bent still couldn t get right with the idea that Vernon had cheated on Evelyn. She had been an amazing woman. A beautiful woman. A good and kind woman. But if she were alive today, she would be the first to look back and say her husband had made a mistake. She would forgive him and show nothing but complete understanding. She d been ill, after all. Dying. He d needed something she couldn t give him.

Vera was a lot like her. Except for the forgiveness part.

Bent wanted desperately to protect her. Eve too. He owed it to Evelyn to do all in his power to see that her daughters came through this unscathed.

The problem was, he might not be able to get the job done if they didn t trust him enough to tell him the parts of the story they were leaving out. Whenever he brought up the idea, Vera bit his head off.

Eve was a little more subtle about it, but the result was the same.

A soft rap on his door sounded just before it opened, and Myra, his assistant, poked her head in. Sheriff, Willard Carmichael is on the phone for you.

He gave her a nod. Thanks.

Myra Jordan was one of the few good people he inherited from Fraley s last years in office. She told him the way it really was. If he wanted to know if a deputy was on the up-and-up, all he had to do was ask Myra. Fraley had assured him he could trust her when he couldn t trust anyone else. All through those first few months, she stood up for Bent, and she stood behind his decisions.

He appreciated her support more than she would ever know.

Pulling his head back into the present, he took a breath, picked up the handset from the phone on his desk, and pressed the blinking light for line one. Willard Carmichael was a deacon at the Church of Christ. There was likely a church fundraiser coming up that required assistance from the sheriff s department. The upside was that these days he had plenty of fine deputies who were happy to volunteer their time off for a good cause.

Mr. Carmichael, what can I do for you?

Sheriff, I need you to come over to the church. Somebody s vandalized my truck.

How do you mean, sir? Bent wasn t sure the elderly man should even be driving anymore, but he wasn t going to be the one to tell him he should give up his driver s license. Bent wasn t afraid of much, but he never liked pissing off a man of the cloth.

He already had plenty of reason to suspect he was going to hell when this life was over. Why push his luck?

Well, I can t really explain it. You know my eyes aren t what they used to be. You should come see for yourself. I m just trying to figure out how in the world it happened. Quite frankly, it s a complete mystery.

I ll be right over.

I ll be waiting, Carmichael said before hanging up.

Bent dropped the handset into the cradle and stood. Just what he needed. Another mystery.