Page 100 of Deeper Than the Dead

With a deep breath, Vera squared her shoulders. “I tracked down Teresa Russ.”

He removed his hat, ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been trying to reach her, but no luck. Keep getting her voicemail.” He placed his hat on a table and studied her. “You want something to drink?”

She shook her head. Her throat was far too constricted to swallow. Before she could stop it, her gaze settled on the case board, where the images of the stones and the remains taunted her.

“Have a seat,” he urged.

She moved to the nearest stool at his worktable and lowered onto it. He took a seat across from her.

“Before I called Russ, I called a friend of mine in Memphis to do some digging for me.” She cleared her throat. Decided she couldn’t tell him about finding Suri’s name on that student roster. Not yet. It was only fair that she talk to Eve first. Blindsiding her sister like that ... Vera couldn’t do it.

“My friend,” she went on, “discovered that Russ was legit. Good reputation.” She handed him the folder, and while he studied the items inside, she explained about Latesha Johnson and Trina Sutton. Then she pressed her lips together and wished she had asked for water, since her mouth felt dry enough for the tissue to crack. Her pulse raced as if she’d run a marathon.

Bent placed the items back in the folder and left it on the table. His gaze settled on hers. “You’re worried your father did this.”

It wasn’t a question. He read her that easily ... still, and the evidence was right there as plain as day. She wondered if he could see the crack widening in her heart. This might very well destroy her family. “I’ve considered that it looks that way, yes.”

She would die before she implicated her mother.

He braced both hands on the table. “It’s feasible. The remains were on his property. Sheree, his second wife, is one of the victims. Based on her reputation for cheating, he had motive.” Bent shook his head. “But I know your father, and he’s not a killer. He wouldn’t have cheated on your mother before the cancer ... he loved her too much. He just wasn’t that kind of man.”

Emotion crowded into Vera’s eyes, and she wanted to kick herself for daring to tear up in front of this man. “But—in Sheree’s case”—she had to get this all out—“it is the most likely scenario.”

Bent watched her for a moment before responding. “You’re right.” He gave an affirming nod. “But we also know that he adored Sheree, and you said yourself how devastated he was when she disappeared.”

The determination and strength that had so abruptly and thoroughly deserted her suddenly returned. Her sense of loyalty and obligation to her family resurrected in full force. She wasn’t doing this. No way. She would not allow this investigation to destroy everything. Bent was right. Her father wasn’t that kind of man. Her mother not that sort of woman. They were good people—whatever their faults.

There had to be another explanation.

“You’re right, of course. The evidence felt so overwhelming as I listened to Russ’s story that I got caught up for a moment. Perhaps I overreacted.”

“It’s tough to stay objective when it’s personal,” he reminded her.

She stood. “In any event, maybe there’s something in that”—she gestured to the folder—“that will help ID the other remains. You should notify Russ if Sutton and Johnson are the victims. She knows the family.”

As desperately as she had needed to turn this over to Bent, she suddenly needed to be away from him. To get out of here. Finding Eve and updating her were essential. They needed to talk about how this would potentially impact their family. Equally important, Vera needed to understand if the connection between Suri and Gates was something to worry about.

As she turned away, she hesitated. At this point she felt like a fool for having rushed here with accusations about her father. “To be clear,” she said, “I love my father. No matter how all this looks, Sheree and that damned cave are the only two elements that connect him to any of this. There’s no evidence and certainly no witnesses. You, the FBI, and everyone involved need to remember that.”

“I’m with you one hundred percent,” Bent confirmed.

She appreciated this more than he could know. “This situation has been difficult for us all. Remember that as well, particularly when factoring in some of Eve’s actions.”

“That’s why she faked the accident,” Bent pointed out. “To distract the investigation from her father.”

Vera nodded. “She also left that warning.” Might as well get it all out there. “On the door.” He didn’t know about the others, and she intended to keep it that way.

“I can see her doing that.” He hesitated a second, then asked, “You don’t think she hired the intruder, do you?”

“No. She did not. We talked about that. She would never go that far and risk hurting anyone.” She thought of Suri and the man, Norton Gates. Vera certainly hoped she was right about that part.

“All right then,” Bent said. “Thank you for getting Russ to talk and for bringing me the folder.” He smiled, a weary one. “You do good work.”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you to see that this is done right.”

He gave her a nod. “No question. I’ll give this information to Conover, and we’ll go from there.”

Vera hesitated again. “What about my mother’s remains?” Just thinking about what Higdon had done made her sick all over again.

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