35

Lincoln County Sheriff s Department

Thornton Taylor Parkway, Fayetteville, 5:30 p.m.

Vera hadn t found Beatrice Fraley. She hadn t been at home. If her husband was there, he hadn t answered the door. Maybe she d taken the man to an appointment. Vera s calls went unanswered, her voicemails unreturned.

Next she d gone in search of Eve. Not at Barrett s. Not at the farm. No one had been at home at Suri s, and Suri wasn t at work either. Maybe Suri had taken Eve to pick up her car. The repairs were supposed to be finished today.

Then Vera had run out of time, and this had been necessary.

Bent was stationed at the head of the conference table. Vera was seated to his right, and the two FBI agents sat like stone statues on his left. Bent had made the introductions. Special Agent Wayne Gallagher was the senior agent, at least in age. Gray hair and eyes set in a face worn and furrowed by time and the work. The typical I ve been at this too long face. Special Agent Arnold Trotter was on the other side of the spectrum. Young, maybe thirty, fresh faced, with military-short black hair and brown eyes. His cocky posture told Vera he wanted to be the boss, but that wasn t happening as long as Gallagher was breathing.

The TBI agent, whom she d never met, was not in the meeting. It was possible he d stepped aside since the FBI had basically taken over the case. Or he was playing out his part by coordinating between the investigation here and the lab in Nashville.

Vera had psyched herself up for this meeting-assumed the critical analyst persona that had made her a star at Memphis PD.

Except she wasn t a star. A star would have spotted the trouble before it happened.

She banished the thought. There could be no distractions during this crucial meeting.

Should I address you by your rank, Chief Boyett? Gallagher asked.

So he already knew she d tendered her resignation. Of course he did. The FBI was very good at fact gathering. It was the actual solving of crime where they failed more regularly of late.

Not necessary. As I m sure you re aware, I recently resigned from the MPD.

Bent s expression showed his surprise. She should have told him, but there hadn t been a time when it felt relevant amid this building mess.

Gallagher nodded. Very well, Ms. Boyett. We appreciate your cooperation.

Vera said nothing.

Let s go back, the senior agent suggested, to April, twenty-two years ago. On the seventeenth of that month you were in school, but your sister, Eve, had stayed home since she wasn t feeling well. Is that correct?

That s correct. Vera answered the question without the addition of extraneous information. Never give them more than they ask for.

According to yours and your sister s statements when the missing persons report was filed, Eve was awakened by the baby-Luna-crying. That was when she realized your stepmother was missing.

Vera saw no need to respond since he didn t ask a question.

Why did Eve call you at school? Trotter tossed out. Was she afraid to be at home alone with an infant?

Eve wasn t feeling well, Vera explained. She needed me to come home and see after Luna until Sheree returned.

But she didn t return, Trotter pointed out.

Effort was required not to roll her eyes. No doubt her silence conveyed the feeling.

Gallagher waved his hands. We could go over all the details of your statement, but I m sure you recall what you said.

Another nonquestion, so she waited for wherever he intended to go next.

You were at school, he went on. Eve was at home, and your father was at work.

When he appeared determined to wait for a response, she said, Is there a question related to that statement?

Were you aware, Gallagher said, that your father left work at nine forty-five that morning? He returned at eleven fifteen.

If he had wanted to surprise Vera, he d done so. But she d learned the art of keeping her feelings to herself.

No. She felt Bent s gaze on her, but she didn t glance in his direction. It would be seen as a sign of weakness or uncertainty.

Your father, Trotter said, was the manager of the accounting division at Monroe Floyd. As such he didn t need an excuse for leaving the office in the middle of the morning.

Vera waited for a query relevant to his statement. To her knowledge, no one had come forward to say he d left work that day.

But, Gallagher picked up from there, one of his staff members who wasn t interviewed twenty-two years ago has told us that your father borrowed his car to run home for a few minutes. This staff member recalled that he seemed a bit frazzled when he returned.

Again, there was nothing she could or would say to his statement.

Let s be candid here, Ms. Boyett, Gallagher suggested, when she remained silent. I don t fully understand why this particular person at your father s place of employment was not interviewed at the time of your stepmother s disappearance, but obviously he should have been. As you know, your father had motive and, we now understand, opportunity to murder her.

Do you have a question for me? He wanted to rattle her, and to some degree, he had succeeded, but she would not allow him to see any measure of success. Otherwise I would refer you to former Sheriff Walter Fraley, since he was the sheriff who conducted the investigation.

Less than a week after she disappeared, Trotter said, the man she was rumored to be cheating on your father with was murdered. Beaten to death with a baseball bat.

This was growing tedious.

We ve spoken with your father s physician, Gallagher said. He has agreed that an interview won t be detrimental to his condition.

Vera laughed. Nor will it be useful to your investigation. As you well know, anything he says isn t going to make it to a courtroom. He is mentally incompetent.

We don t need his testimony for a courtroom, Trotter said, angling his head to study her. We re hoping for a detail that will help us determine who else had a motive to want Sheree out of the way. You have any ideas about that? His gaze narrowed. Seems as if you and your sister didn t really like her.

Well. Vera pushed back her chair and stood. This has been . . . interesting, if not enlightening. You know where to reach me if you have other questions.

Bent was on his feet but made no attempt to slow or to stop her departure. She would thank him later.

The agents said nothing.

She closed the door behind her and walked down the long corridor that led past the sheriff s office, as well as the offices of others in the department, until she reached the lobby. Once she was out of the building, she strode straight to her SUV, climbed in, and drove away.

It wasn t until she was on the Thornton Taylor Parkway that she let out all the emotions that had built inside her. She screamed.

Then she took a breath and drove straight to Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe. She went inside, ordered a vanilla ice cream cone, and asked to borrow the phone. She called Barrett s Funeral Home and asked for Eve-rather than calling her cell.

While Vera s phone was silenced during the meeting with the FBI, Eve had tried to call her back. That was just like her sister to return a call at the most inopportune time.

As soon as Eve said hello, Vera instructed her to go to the park where they played as kids. They had to talk.

If Eve was protecting their father . . . or their mother, Vera needed to know why and to what extent.