Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
Sheriff Burke Scott
Burke was halfway through a stack of reports when Luke walked into his office without knocking.
That alone got his attention.
Luke usually knocked.
Burke looked up. “What?”
Luke dropped into the chair across from the desk. “Anne Langford’s back.”
Burke closed the file in front of him. “How bad?”
Scout appeared in the doorway carrying a coffee.
Burke looked from one deputy to the other. “Why do I feel like I’m about to regret asking that?”
Scout grinned. “Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you enjoy watching every man over fifty forget how to act in public.”
Luke shook his head.
"I'm tellin' you, Red forgot how to breathe."
Scout smiled.
"You saying she's attractive?"
Luke shrugged.
"For sixty-eight? Shoot, yeah."
Scout smirked.
"Ohhh, I see how it is. Didn't know you went for the older ladies."
Luke snorted.
"Yeah, your ass."
Burke didn't even look up.
"Glad to see we're tackling the important parts of this homicide."
“That’s not even the best part,” Luke said.
Burke pointed at him. “Any sentence that starts like that is never good.”
Luke leaned back. “She went straight to Bennett.”
“Bennett?”
"She asked if Bennett had been cleared."
Scout shrugged. “To be fair, she also said her sister was murdered, and everybody should be looked at.”
“Which is exactly what we did,” Burke said.
Luke nodded. “I know.”
Burke reached for a folder. "Credit card charges in Florida. Security footage. Flight records. Cell phone records. She was exactly where she said she was."
“So she’s clean.”
“As far as Mabel’s murder goes.”
Burke caught the look. “What?”
Luke shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Luke.”
He sighed. “She’s still gonna be a problem.”
Burke rubbed a hand across his jaw. “That, I don’t doubt.”
A knock sounded at the open doorway.
Sara Parker stepped inside, a yellow legal pad tucked beneath her arm.
“I checked back in with June and Mary Lou, and a few more of the book club ladies who went to school with Harold and Mabel,” she said. “They filled in a little history.”
"Let's hear it."
"According to June, Walter Grady was crazy about Anne Langford when they were younger. Everybody in town knew it."
Scout sighed.
"Did they date?"
Sara shrugged.
"June said Anne kept Walter believing he had a real chance. She'd let him take her dancing now and then, escort her to church socials, things like that. Walter thought he was courting her."
Luke frowned.
"But he wasn't?"
"Not the way he thought." Sara looked back down at the pad. "June said Anne had gotten between Harold and Mabel for a while. After Harold and Mabel found their way back to each other, Walter figured it was finally his turn."
The room grew quiet.
"And was it?" Burke asked.
"June didn't think so. She said Anne cared about Walter, but she'd never really let Harold go."
Scout let out a slow breath.
"That's a rough hand to be dealt."
"Gets worse." Sara paused. "Mary Lou said Walter never quit loving Anne."She paused. "She said folks around town used to joke that Walter never left Blackwood because he figured one day Anne would come home."
Luke finally broke the silence.
"You believe that?"
Sara shrugged.
"I don't know. But Walter never married. Never left. Just kept working at the winery."
"Waiting," Scout said.
Sara nodded once.
"According to June... waiting."
Burke rested his elbows on the desk.
"Did Anne know how Walter felt?"
Sara paused.
"June said everybody knew."
After a moment, Sara continued.
"Mary Lou also said Walter and Mabel argued more than most people realized."
Burke looked up.
"About Anne?"
Sara shrugged.
"She said they argued about near everything."
Burke frowned.
“She did?”
Sara nodded.
"She also said Walter never had much use for Harold after everything that happened."
"So why hold it against Harold?"
Sara closed her notebook.
"June said Walter always believed Harold and Mabel finding their way back to each other was what finally drove Anne away."
Scout thought about that for a moment.
"So Walter never blamed Anne."
Sara shook her head.
"No. According to June, Walter never stopped believing she'd come back."
Nobody said anything.
Burke had worked enough murders to know people didn't always carry the truth.
Sometimes they carried the story they needed to survive.
Luke cleared his throat.
"One more thing. She asked about Walter before she asked about anybody else."
Burke glanced up.
"Really?"
He looked toward the murder board.
Mabel.
Anne. Cleared.
Walter Grady
Red Stephens
Bennett. Found Mabel. Made the 9-1-1 call.
Mercer. Expansion Deal.
The board was getting messier.
And somehow Anne Langford had managed to stir it up less than two hours after arriving in town.
Burke reached for his hat.
"Find out where she's staying."
Luke grinned.
"You planning to welcome her home?"
Burke settled the hat on his head.
"No."
"I'm planning to see what she remembers."