CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Miner walked down the steps and across the square. He greeted the men planting pansies around the park gazebo. “Gonna freeze tonight,” one man said.

“Hope so,” Miner replied.

Miner looked forward to the year’s first freeze. He loved the crunch of his boots as he walked across the frost-encrusted pasture to feed the horses. The soft nickers converted to steam as their warm breath hit the cold air. The pitter-patter of mice feet across the floor as he opened the tack room door. The smell of straw and manure as he cleaned the stalls. The crunch of sweet feed and oats as the horses ate. An occasional stamp of a back foot. The swish of a tail. Too bad he couldn’t make a living with horses ’cause they sure as hell were easier than humans.

Miner entered the Book Bank to a chorus of greetings and good-natured ribbing from the group of old men who played dominoes at the café tables by the front window.

“Why ain’t you out catching the bad guys?”

“A cop at a coffee shop, if that ain’t stereotypical, I don’t know what is.”

“It’s donut shops, not coffee shops, Walt,” Miner called with a smile and a wave. He ambled over to the counter.

Kelly Kendrick leaned against the empty pastry case talking to Ellie Martin. “They clean you out yesterday?” Miner asked.

Ellie nodded. “Fellowshipping is hungry business. Earline should be here any minute.”

He raised his eyebrows and patted his stomach. “She bringing fried pies?”

“She might be,” Ellie said, coyly.

“Guess I’ll have to stick around until she comes.”

“In the meantime, you can grill us about Saturday night,” Kelly said.

“Well, grill is a mighty strong word.”

“I’ve seen enough cop shows to know what’s coming. But shouldn’t you have someone with you to play bad cop?”

“How do you know I’m not the bad cop?”

“Miner, you couldn’t hurt a fly,” Kelly said.

“I’m glad you think so. You two have a minute to talk?”

“Anything for you.” Kelly’s smile was winning and, if he hadn’t known Kelly Kendrick his entire life, he would think she was flirting with him.

“I’ll have to keep an eye out for customers and Earline,” Ellie said. “Let’s go to the back.” Ellie led him to the children’s section. Two chairs and a comfortable couch formed three sides of an area centered by a wooden train table. A bookshelf whose top row was low enough for toddlers to reach was on the back wall. Kelly took one of the chairs, Miner sat on the couch. Ellie went to the bookshelf and started organizing the books.

“I’m listening,” Ellie said over her shoulder.

The radio on Miner’s shoulder crackled. Bishop’s voice replied, picking up the call. He turned down the volume. “Saturday night. Matt and Amy seemed normal?”

“Yeah,” Kelly said.

“No arguments?”

“You know how people can get when they’re, you know.”

“Drunk? High?”

Kelly’s face pinked from embarrassment. Her eyes darted to Ellie’s back then to Miner. “People always do and say things they regret when they’re drunk.”

“People who?”

Kelly picked at the arm of the chair.

Ellie straightened from her task and turned. “Brian was a little confrontational.”

Miner turned to her. “Confrontational with Matt?”

“Did Jack tell you what happened?”

“I’d like to hear it from you, too.”

“Most of us were making s’mores when Brian jumped Matt over by the smoker,” Ellie said. “Matt is using someone else for his lake house. Was.”

“I understand why Brian was mad,” Kelly said. “Matt’d told him he had the job. To go back on it … I think it was Michelle who made him do it.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Who knows, with her?” Ellie said.

“How did Amy react?” Miner asked.

“She ignored it. Started packing everything up,” Ellie said.

“Where were the others while the fight was going on?”

Ellie glanced at Kelly. “Julie, Kelly, Jack, Amy, and I were by the fire making s’mores. Eddie and Michelle were coming in from the woods.” Miner filed the nugget away, as well as Ellie’s apparent disinterest in the information, but didn’t react. “Jack went to help break up the fight. Chris pulled Brian off of Matt.”

“Brian’s been going through some tough times, hasn’t he?”

“It’s the economy,” Kelly said.

Miner nodded, though he was tired of the economy being used as a convenient excuse for all manner of problems people had. People these days wanted to take all the credit when things went well but none of the blame when it didn’t.

“How did everyone leave? Who left first and such?”

“Brian and Susan left first,” Ellie said.

“In his truck?”

“Yeah,” Kelly said. “Then Chris and Michelle left with the smoker. Matt and Amy gave me a ride home since we live in the same neighborhood. I helped Amy unpack her coolers then walked home.”

There was a loud curse, and men at the front of the store whooped and laughed amid the click and clatter of shuffling dominoes. “Sorry, Ellie!” one of the men called.

Ellie waved acknowledgment and shook her head with a smile. “Poor Walt can’t win to save his life.”

Kelly continued. “I got home about 12:45. Talked to Seth, took the dog out, and was in bed by one. When I took Bruno out, I saw Matt drive out of the neighborhood.”

Miner looked up. “Did he mention anything about leaving when you were in their house?”

“No. There was a lot of tension between Matt and Amy. They barely said a word to each other. I got out of there as quickly as I could.” Kelly sighed. “Now I wish I hadn’t.”

“So you could be killed, too?” Ellie asked.

“No. Well, you never think it might be the last time you see anyone, or talk to them.”

“Ellie, what about you and Eddie? When did you get home?”

“I got home about 12:30.”

“Y’all went straight back to your place.”

“Yeah.”

“And, Eddie. Know where he went?”

Ellie paused. “He was with me.”

“What?” Kelly said. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“All night?”

“Until about dawn, I guess.”

“What?” Kelly crossed her arms.

“He slept on the couch.”

Miner pursed his lips and wrote down covering for Eddie with a question mark. He closed his notebook, put it in his pocket.

“Okay, ladies.” Miner rose. “Thank you for your time.”

“Sure thing,” Kelly said.

When they were near the bar, he said, “When does Paige get in?”

“Four-thirty or five,” Ellie said.

“Susan says Paige took her to the hospital.”

Ellie and Kelly exchanged a knowing look. Ellie said, “She did. She also said Brian wasn’t home when they got back, about 4 a.m.”

“Huh,” Miner said. No surprise Susan would lie for her husband, but disappointing all the same. “Susan mentioned Brian got a big contract, bigger than the lake house.”

Both women stopped and stared at him. “Did he?” Kelly asked.

“He told her on the way home Saturday night.”

“Good for him,” Ellie said.

Miner could tell they didn’t believe it, and neither did he.