Dani stared at the man with Ben, who was shaking his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said. “If you’re talking about the night your dad died, I was in Chattanooga.”
“Whoa.” Ben held up his hand. “You have it wrong about me too. I was with Craig.”
Dani pressed her lips together. Was she wrong? Was she having false memories? Like the memory of her dad burying something? She’d been almost to the woods when she remembered he’d been digging up a box, not burying it.
She’d read about false memories in her research. And Ben was the Pearl Springs mayor . . . What was she thinking? “Did you ever come here to see my dad?”
“Well, yeah.” Ben lowered his hand. “I told you yesterday your mama fed me sometimes. And your dad and I . . . well, I’d never kill either one of them.”
“And I knew both your parents,” Craig said. “I’d never intentionally hurt them.”
They sounded sincere. Why couldn’t she remember? She pressed her hand to her forehead. It wasn’t right for her to accuse someone with nothing to go on. Dani sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I guess I’m just tired.”
Mark squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay.”
She leaned into him. It wasn’t okay to go around accusing people of murder.
“Why don’t you take her back inside,” Alex said. “I’ll talk to Craig and Ben.”
“Want me to carry you?” Mark asked.
“I can walk.” Once they were inside the house, she asked, “Who was that man with Ben?”
“That’s his uncle, Craig Tennyson. He’s the one who offered to buy this place.” Mark led her to the kitchen table and pulled out a red and white vinyl chair.
She sank into it. Like she had so many times before. Dani ran her hand over the Formica table, remembering how excited her mom had been when the used furniture store delivered the table and chairs and took away the old wooden set. She scanned the rest of the kitchen. It was coming back to her—the dishes that were guaranteed not to break that Nonny had given them for Christmas, and how had she missed the bowl of fake fruit on the table?
She took a pear from the bowl. Not even dusty. Dani could not believe how her grandmother had kept the house in pristine condition, waiting for her to return. Or maybe it was a way to honor her daughter?
“You want some water?”
“The faucet works?” Why did she even ask? Of course it did.
“Yeah, but I planned to grab a bottle from the car.”
“I’m sure the water is fine.”
“Maybe so, but I’ll be right back.”
Mark was barely gone a minute before he returned with a bottle of water and uncapped it. “Why did you go into the woods?” he asked after she’d taken a long sip.
“Before I tell you, why don’t you record it on your phone. I’m sure Alex will want to know and that way I only have to tell it once.”
“Good idea,” he said.
Once he punched the record button, she began. “I remembered I followed my dad that day.” She told him what she’d remembered. “I couldn’t tell what he buried. I thought maybe it was the diamonds. That’s why I went into the woods, to see if I could find the old homeplace where he buried a box. But before I reached the woods, I remembered he wasn’t burying something—he dug something up. It must have been the diamonds.”
“And you found a body instead.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t want to say until we have a positive ID.”
She understood that. “Can you still take me to my grandmother’s house?”
“If Alex approves.”
They both turned as Alex entered the back door. “Craig and Ben have gone back to town,” she said.
Mark nodded. “I have Dani’s statement on my phone. I’m sending it to you.”
“Good. I’ll listen to it later. The Hamilton County medical examiner is on his way,” Alex said. “I called Max, and he’s bringing the state forensic team to help our crime scene investigators.”
“What about us going to Mae’s house?” Mark said.
She sat at the table across from Dani. “Once Dylan and Taylor get here, you can take Hayes and drive over there. Max and his people should be here by the time you return, so I’ll have enough deputies to escort you back to town then.”
Dani clasped her hands. “I hate being so much trouble. After I get the photos, why don’t I stay here and look at them until you’re ready to go back to Pearl Springs? Everybody can go at the same time.”
“I appreciate your willingness to do that.” Alex cocked her head. “And that sounds like it might be our CSI team now.”
Dani’s heart went into double time as Mark and Alex unsnapped the straps over their guns. Both eased to the back door and then relaxed. “It’s Dylan and Taylor,” Alex said. “I’ll go with them to the grave and send Hayes to accompany you to Mae’s.”
Fifteen minutes later, Hayes followed as they drove to her grandmother’s house and got out. Mark released Gem, and she bounded from the SUV to the house.
Dani couldn’t keep from searching out the bullet hole in the post and shuddered when she found it. Maybe she should’ve gotten in the Navigator that night and driven straight back to Montana.
No. She didn’t regret for one second staying and meeting her grandmother. And Alex and her family and . . . Mark. Warmth spread through her chest. Other than Evelyn, she’d never had real friends before, and it was nice. But even nicer was to have someone who made her heart beat faster. She just wished Mark felt the same way.
Hayes waited outside while Mark unlocked the door and entered the house. Dani followed him inside to the small living room. She remembered staying at Nonny’s while her parents worked, her mom at a factory, her dad in construction. “Did you tell me where my mom and dad worked?”
“What?”
She repeated the question, and he shook his head. “I never knew where either of them worked.”
Yes! Dani wanted to do a happy dance. Her mind was slowly releasing the memories locked in it. “They worked in town. I think I must’ve stayed here with my grandmother a lot.”
She scanned the room, taking in once again the rich cedar walls, blue sofa, two gold chairs, tables . . . framed photos of the mountains and a photo of a small girl over the sofa. Dani at seven or eight, taken by her mother.
She hadn’t gone to Nonny’s bedroom when she’d been here the other day. “My grandmother’s bedroom is down the hall. Right?”
“Right,” he replied.
In Mae’s room, Mark knelt beside the bed and pulled out a cardboard box with a strip of gingham tied around it. Her heart thudded as he slid the cloth off and lifted the lid. The box was packed full of photos. She picked up one on top and caught her breath. “Oh, my goodness,” she said. “This is my mother and me at Easter.”
“You remember.”
She did. Dani looked up at him and smiled. “I told you the photos would make a difference.”
Mark replaced the lid. “Let’s take them to your parents’ house. You can go through the box while we wait for Alex to finish up at the crime scene.”
She followed Mark to the SUV, where he opened her door. “Mind if we stop by my house to see if everything is okay?”
“Sure. I’d love to see your bachelor pad anyway.”
“Where’d you get the idea it’s a bachelor pad? It’s our home—mine and Gem’s.”
“From the articles I read in magazines, I thought single guys had bachelor pads.”
“You’ve been reading the wrong articles,” he said and called Hayes to relay what they were going to do.
A few minutes later, they pulled into Mark’s drive, and the deputy pulled in behind him but didn’t get out. Dani climbed out of Mark’s vehicle and looked around. “I was so scared yesterday I didn’t notice you live in a log cabin.”
He nodded. “My grandfather built the original four rooms, and I’ve added a couple more, a loft, and another bathroom.”
Dani took in the house and yard. “What are those?” She pointed to several bushes that were blooming along the front of the house. Beside them was a freshly dug plot of ground.
“The ones with blooms are azaleas, and the others are rhododendrons—they’ll bloom in June. And I just put out deer-resistant wildflower seed in that patch of ground that’s broken up.”
He seemed pleased that she noticed. “I wouldn’t have figured you for a gardener.”
“And why not?” His voice was teasing.
Dani felt her face getting hot. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe instead of reading articles about men, you should get to know some real ones.” He flexed his muscle.
“Be still my heart,” she said, patting her chest. “Don’t you think we need to finish checking your place out?”
He sobered. “You’re right.”
Mark surveyed the outside of the house, pointing out the splintered post near the back porch. “That looks like damage from a .270 or .30-06.”
Deer rifles, meant for long-distance shooting. “He meant business.”
Mark’s jaw muscle worked furiously. “We have to find him before he makes good on his threat.”
“Yeah, but he’s like a ghost, and what happened was twenty-five years ago.” If there ever was a cold case, this one was.
“He’ll make a mistake, and then we’ll have him.” Mark ran his hand through his dark hair and then nodded toward his car. “You ready?”
She nodded. “Lead the way.”
When they returned to her parents’ house, Alex was ready to leave. “The state forensic team doesn’t want our help, but I’m leaving Dylan and Taylor anyway,” she said. “I forwarded Dani’s statement to Max, and he’ll contact you if he has more questions. So, if you two are ready, we’ll go back to Pearl Springs and have the briefing like I’d planned before this happened.”
As Dani walked to Mark’s SUV, the sun ducked behind a cloud, sending a shiver down her back. There were so many places someone could hide with a rifle between here and Pearl Springs. What if the person who’d shot at them earlier was lying in wait?
The thought cut off her breath.
What was that verse Mark had told her? Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you.
Her breathing became a little easier. She said it silently again.
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you.
The bands around her chest loosened a little more, and she kept repeating the verse until the Russell County Sheriff’s Office building came into sight.