Every Deadly Suspicion

Chapter 36

CHAPTER 36

W HEN H ANNA GOT HOME, her intent was to shower, make some super-strong coffee, and go back to work. But the light was on in Joe’s room. One of the caregivers told her that though Joe tired out quickly, he often had difficulty sleeping. She poked her head in. The caregiver sat in the corner reading a book. Joe was in bed reading the Bible. He looked up. His expression brightened. “Hanna.”

“Joe. Do you feel up to answering some questions?”

“Will answering them help you?” Each word was slow and halting.

“Yes. If you tell me the truth.”

“I’ll tell you what I can.”

“We found two bodies in Buckley Lake. They were in oil drums. They’d been there a long time. Thirty-five years, we think.”

Joe blinked, then swallowed. Hanna saw his Adam’s apple move. An odd expression rolled over his eyes; the look there became far away.

“So much excitement... when your mother told me... she was pregnant. Wanted to be a dad... was ready... and I was going to... straighten up and... fly right to provide for you.” So many words seemed to take a toll on him. His chest heaved, the Bible closed, and he gripped the top sheet tightly, closing his eyes for a moment.

Hanna stood next to the bed. He was deflecting her. She needed to redirect him, but she also wanted to hear more. For as long as she could remember, she wondered if Joe ever wanted to be a father. If he was happy not to have any responsibility for her. If he thought of her, if he missed her. She was too tired to put up all the walls that kept her from melting into the little girl who wanted her daddy.

“Joe, we found Blake and Sophia. You put them in oil drums and dropped them in the lake.”

His head slowly went side to side. “No.”

Hanna squeezed the bridge of her nose, not sure where to go now.

“You believe, don’t you?” He croaked out the question while tapping on the Bible.

“What?” At first, she was going to say no, she didn’t believe, that she thought he was lying, but then she realized that wasn’t what he meant.

“Yes, I believe. I’m a Christian. What does that have to do with your answering my questions?”

“Warms my heart.”

“Joe, I want to talk to you about Blake and Sophia.”

He put both hands on the Bible.

“Amanda was wrong. I do have... something to lose. Truth will come out... It always wants to come out. You’re smart. You will find it.”

He started to cough, a hacking cough where he couldn’t catch his breath. The caregiver got up and began to prepare the nebulizer. “Probably enough for today.”

Frustrated and exhausted, Hanna left the two of them and went into the kitchen. Part of her felt that Joe was sandbagging, that he had more energy than he let on. But leaning on his weakness kept him from answering the important questions. She started coffee so it would be ready when she got out of the shower.

Hanna had never looked through Joe’s arrest report and the accompanying crime report. He’d never been a part of her life, and she’d never wanted to dig that deep into his. Something was off here. She’d have to go get the file and look over everything.

After the shower, she ran her fingers through her hair, then untangled it with a comb. It was short enough to air-dry. It was getting light outside. The sun was beginning to rise on Friday morning. She filled her travel mug and headed out her front door and almost ran into Jared.

“What are you doing here?”

He had two cups of coffee in his hands. “I just got off work. I was hoping to have a cup of coffee with you and talk about that find yesterday. Have you gotten any sleep?”

Hanna shook her head. Though she’d been laser focused on getting to work, she was glad to see Jared. Maybe he could help her sort the myriad emotions running rampant inside.

“All afternoon into the early morning hours, I was with the coroner.”

“Was it Blake and Sophia?”

She nodded. “That’s preliminary. Do you mind sitting on the porch steps? I don’t want to go into the house and wake Joe.”

He grinned. “Not at all. My porch or yours, we can talk anywhere. You’ll need to get yourself some chairs if we make it a habit.”

Hanna chuckled, feeling as if the bit of humor brightened the dark morning. “I’ll work on that.”

They sat on the top step and Jared put the extra cup of coffee between them.

“I had a bad feeling when we helped pull that barrel out,” Jared said. “But it does solve a mystery.”

“Maybe. Unfortunately for me, finding the remains raises more questions than it answers.” Hanna sighed.

“You mean because the story is wrong now?”

“Exactly. I have to dig back into the original investigation. The story most people know now is what Marcus wrote. Is it the truth? I don’t know if he had official details.”

“Where does Marcus say he got his information?”

Hanna gave a mirthless chuckle. “It was all a figment of his imagination, at least that’s what my mom always used to say. Though I know he included some things she’d told him in confidence. I remember her complaining about that. I need the report the original cops wrote.”

“I would have thought you’d have already read that by now.”

“I didn’t. All my life I’ve just wanted to move on from Joe, you know? It was a done deal. He confessed and went to prison, justice satisfied.” She held Jared’s gaze. “I made peace with the past.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I remember. What’s he like now? Repentant?”

She stared off across the lawn. “He claims he found faith, and he’s apologized some. But he’s weak, very weak. He won’t answer direct questions. And when he does talk, he loses steam quickly. He’s certainly not the big bad murderer Marcus or my mother always described.”

“Thirty-five years in prison and stage-four lung cancer would change anyone. Are you sorry you let him come here?”

Hanna jerked around to face Jared. He watched her with a neutral expression and a warmth grew inside her. She knew he didn’t ask the question with any judgment intended. He understood her and her struggle. For a second, they were fifteen again and he was encouraging her to ignore the bullies. She had to look away.

Turning back to look straight ahead, she sipped her coffee. “I don’t know. What am I supposed to feel? What I know about Joe came from my mother. I’ve been a cop long enough to know that there are two sides to every story. I—” Hanna stopped. Emotion bubbled up and her throat thickened.

“What?”

She swallowed and sniffled. “I find myself wishing my mother hadn’t kept us apart. Maybe I should have visited him over the years.” Back in control, she told him about the TV program she’d seen when she waited for Braden.

“A few days ago, I was in the waiting room at the hospital. A show was playing on the television. I don’t know what it was, but there was this kid whose dad was in prison. He didn’t think that his mother took him to visit often enough; the prison was a couple of hours from home. So, one day the kid skips school and takes a bus to visit his dad. His mom doesn’t find out until she goes to school to pick her son up. And then it’s the corrections officer calling to tell her where her son is.”

“Mom probably wasn’t happy.”

“No. The kid so wanted to see his dad. I don’t know what the guy was in for, but this boy, ten or twelve years old, I guess, is allowed to visit and he gives his dad a hug and they catch up on life. Even though the dad was in prison, he was still Dad. It kind of hit me. What if my mother had allowed visits? What if I’d been allowed to get to know him? I know it’s useless to ask such a question, but I might feel differently now.”

He leaned close, his voice lowered.

“Your mom pounded it into your head that Joe was a monster. That must cloud your thoughts and emotions. Try and get her out of your mind and look at Joe without blinders on.”

She met Jared’s gaze and kept her voice steady, aware that the emotions swirling inside her right now were stronger than anything she felt when she was with Nathan. “Easier said than done, I’m afraid.”

His crooked half smile shone back at her. “You’ll figure it out. Why were you headed to work so early?”

“I’m going to Sonora, to the sheriff’s department to dig up the old case file. I need to do it before the firestorm erupts over the bodies we found. And I want to be back in time to watch them pull that car up.”

“You have a busy morning. I’ll let you go then.” He stood.

About the same time, a car pulled up, a county car. Nathan. Hanna tensed. Where would he go with Jared being here?

He parked and walked toward them. “Good morning. I was worried.”

Hanna stood. “Worried? Why?”

He cast an appraising gaze toward Jared. “I’ve been trying to call, got no response.”

“Oh.” Hanna grabbed her phone. “I shut it off at the coroner’s last night, uh, this morning. Sorry, forgot to turn it back on.” She noticed the way he was looking at Jared.

“Nathan, this is Jared Hodges. Jared, Nathan Sharp.”

“Nice to meet you, Nathan,” Jared said amiably. “I just stopped by on my way home to ask about the barrels. I’ll be on my way now.”

Nathan nodded, his expression cold. “Likewise. Have a good day.”

Jared walked off to his truck and Nathan watched him go, while Hanna watched Nathan. “What’s that about?” Hanna asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You seem angry.”

“Like I said, I was worried about you. I didn’t expect to find Hodges here. I was coming to apologize, and I walk up on this.”

“You didn’t walk up on anything. He’s a good friend. He was at the lake yesterday when we pulled up the barrels. His curiosity was understandable.” Hanna struggled to stop from becoming furious.

He blew out a breath and scrubbed his face with his hands. Nathan looked at Hanna. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and frustrated.” Stepping closer, he said, “I heard about the tentative ID. You’ve found Blake and Sophia after all.”

Hanna relaxed; she was tired and frustrated as well. “I’m headed to Sonora. I want to look at the original crime and arrest report.”

“That’s right, you’ve never looked at it before.” His brows scrunched together.

“What? It’s still in storage, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah. It’s, well, there is not much to it. Since Joe’s here, why not ask him?”

“He weakens easily. And he’s not been very forthcoming about anything. I take it you’re not getting anywhere with Edda’s case or the other murders.”

“No. This online suspect is good at covering his tracks. Tech thinks he used multiple burner phones. Nothing we’ve found on the victims’ computers provides any clue to his identity. I wish we had their phones.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”

“You have enough on your plate. Maybe we can carve out some time for lunch today. I’d like things to get back to normal for us.”

“I’d like that too. But Nathan, Jared will always be my friend.”

“I guess I’ll have to live with that.”

Nathan walked Hanna to her car, but a distance yawned between them.

Is that distance my fault or his?