Dani hadn’t forgotten about the double homicide. She knew the kind of stuff Daryl was into, and as a result, she had more than a good idea that he deserved what he got. She had never liked him before she left for the Anointed Daughters, and the stories she heard about him when she got back to Baptist Flats were especially disturbing.
Still, she felt like she’d stumbled onto a good lead, and she wanted to pursue it. She almost smiled at the thought of having so much actual police work to do. She didn’t exactly like herself for it, but the thought of feeling useful was hard not to enjoy.
She sat at her desk and started to jot down her list of leads when Randle approached. “Afternoon, Deputy Savage.”
Dani turned to him with a suspicious glare. She couldn’t recall a time when he’d actually addressed her as Deputy Savage.
“You still working on the business we discussed yesterday?”
Dani scanned the station for prying eyes and ears. “I already agreed to take your Sundays. What else do you want?”
He waved her off. “It ain’t about that. My curiosity has just been sparked, that’s all.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Your curiosity?”
“I’m bored, Deputy. I ain’t got shit to do, and I’ve seen just about every bit of porn there is on the Internet. I need something interesting to do.”
She placed her hand over her list. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“C’mon, you must’ve come across something. Give me just a taste.”
“It ain’t been but a day. What makes you think I’ve come across something?”
“ ’Cause I know you. Once you get set on something, you usually turn something up.”
She nearly laughed at his phony compliment.
“Look, tell me or I walk into Otis’s office and tell him straightaway that you lifted evidence from the scene of a double homicide.”
She shook her head. “Then I’ll back out of your Sundays.”
“Fine.”
She stared at him, determined not to tell him anything, but when he motioned toward her uncle’s office she relented. “All right, I’ll tell you what I got. It ain’t much, but I’ll tell you.”
He sat down on her desk. “Shoot.”
She sighed and decided it didn’t really matter whether Randle knew what she had found because she really didn’t know if she’d found anything significant. “I went out to the cigarette place you told me about.”
“Yeah.”
“I ran into these two fellas. They were slopers, mountain boys. No doubt about it.”
Randle pretended this was new information to him.
“One of them was carrying a box of Porter 100s. Boy’s name was Stephen Walden Crawford. Goes by Step.”
Randle furrowed his brow. “How the hell’d you get his name? You talk to them?”
“Yeah, but they didn’t say much. I ran his plates.”
“And you think these two boys have something to do with the Son Crow killings?”
Dani shrugged. “Can’t say. Crawford’s never been too deep in with the law before. Couple of assaults is all I could find.”
“What about the other one?”
“Kenny Fable: in and out of prison a few times.” She leaned toward him. “You really want to help me on this?”
He smiled. “Like you wouldn’t believe, Deputy. Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Otis has got me working on something else, so he’s gonna have a sharp eye out on me.”
“What’s he got you working on?”
“Nothing important,” she lied, “but what matters is it’ll free you up to run down these fellas.”
Randle nodded. “Okay, but how?”
She smiled. “I got video.”
“Video?” Randle asked, sounding shocked.
“Pulled it from the store surveillance system. Got a clear shot of both fellas. If I print off a still, you could run it over to Son’s and see if anyone recognizes them.”
Randle hesitated before nodding. “Yeah, of course.” He stood. “You get me that picture, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Dani smiled halfheartedly. She wanted to believe that he was truly interested in helping her, but she knew him too well. Something else was going on, but she didn’t have the time to find out what. It’s not that she didn’t trust him exactly; the worst thing about him was that he was a lazy and self-entitled small-town cop. That he was suddenly interested in doing actual police work was strange, to say the least. By the time she handed him the printout, she was curious to see what he’d do with it. Part of her was even hopeful that he’d prove her wrong and actually come back with some useful information.
Randle took the image and grinned from ear to ear. He had a feeling ol’ Cousin Step would pay a pretty penny for the information Dani had given him.