Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 127715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Yeah.
That was the fuck of it.
Or at least one huge fuck of the many fucks of it.
“He could have planted something, something more than the obvious plant of the thumbprint, if he really wanted to get nasty,” Cade went on. “But I don’t see it. The goal was to get his friends out of a financial situation. That happened. How Sonny and Avery ended up dead is not going to come from Dern, because he had no idea it went that far.”
“Did you know the Dietrichs?” Rus asked.
Cade shook his head. “Of them. It’s a small town. They got around. But we never met.”
“You know Muggsy Ballard?” Harry put in.
Cade shook his head again. “Nope. Though I know Roy Farrell was a waste of space. And I know Karl Abernathy gave me a wide berth, which was suspicious. But that’s all I got for you on that.”
Harry blew out a sigh and said, “Thanks for coming in, Cade.”
“Anytime, and anything for Sonny and Av, Harry. Anything,” Cade replied.
Harry nodded.
Cade took off.
“I’ll be sure he’s processed then I’ll get home,” Rus said. “Nothing more we can do, so you get home too.”
There was one other thing Harry had to do, and it was time to do it so he could get to Lillian.
He and Rus said their goodnights, and Harry headed to his office.
He closed the door and got his phone out.
He then made the call.
A couple of rings, Rita Zowkower answered.
“Hey there, Harry. You hear something about my boy?”
“Actually, yeah, Rita. He called his ex-wife a few days ago and made some statements to her that made her uncomfortable.”
Silence, then, “You mean he called your girlfriend.”
“One and the same,” Harry returned. “Now, just sayin’, I know you’re worried about him and don’t know where he is. But just in case you know someone who can get word to him, remind him he’s got three warrants for his arrest in Fret County. If he’s seen around here for any reason, odds are, he’s going to be a guest of the state for a good while.”
That got him only silence.
“You there, Rita?” he called.
“I’m here, sheriff,” she said. “Haven’t talked to my boy in a while, but, you know, his ex-wife just took a blow, and she meant the world to him. He might get in touch with his momma so I’d send her flowers or somethin’, and I’ll share what you said if he does.”
“Appreciate you. And maybe refrain on the flowers, Rita. Lillian is going through it right now, she doesn’t have a lot of fond memories about her time as a Zowkower, it’d be the kindest thing you could do not to remind her of them.”
It came tight when she said, “You’re heard.”
“Obliged. You have a good evening.”
“Same to you, sheriff.”
They disconnected, and seeing as that was all he could do unless he could get Willie’s ass in one of his cells, Harry shut down his office and walked to Lillian’s.
TWENTY-NINE
Chicken Tetrazzini
Harry
The minute Harry walked through Lillian’s front door, he saw the town of Misted Pines had gotten on it that day.
This came in the form of flower arrangements dotting pretty much every surface in Lillian’s living room and kitchen.
Proof, Sonny and Avery were good people who were missed.
Proof, the first half of that, Lillian was too.
All his dogs came out to greet him, and Harry immediately felt a tightness enter his chest, because they came out of her parents’ bedroom.
“Lilly?” he called.
“Back here,” she called in return.
Yep, she was in their bedroom.
Shit.
He gave three rubdowns, then, with fur brushing his legs, he headed to the hall and through the open door that had yet to be open any time Harry was there.
He discovered two things.
One, Lillian decorated like her mother. It was a little dated, but the same cozy femininity was all over this room, and Harry wondered if Sonny enjoyed being surrounded by Avery as much as Harry enjoyed the same from Lillian.
He reckoned Sonny did.
He also found Lillian curled up on their bed.
She got up on a forearm and said, “Don’t worry. I actually come in here a lot. Well, not a lot, but I do come in here when I get to missing them too much. It still smells like them.”
She wasn’t wrong.
It was vague, but even so, Harry scented lilies, which wasn’t a surprise, and something spicy and musky.
Her mom’s perfume and her father’s cologne or aftershave.
This didn’t make his chest any less tight.
She patted the bed.
He went and sat on it, then he tucked her hair behind her ear and said quietly, “Got some deliveries, I saw.”
“Front porch was covered with them when I got home from Jenna’s,” she reported. “And we have so many casseroles, Ronetta and George had to put some in their fridge.” She frowned exaggeratedly. “Alas, I gave them a thorough inspection, and none of them are Harry Moran Hot Body Approved.”