Page 113 of Deeper Than the Dead

She shouldn’t have come. But after visiting the Fraleys, Eve had decided to go to Suri’s. Luna was still staying with Jerome, and suddenly Vera hadn’t wanted to be alone with her thoughts anymore.

What the hell was she doing here?

The porch light came on. She blinked at the brightness.

The door opened, and Bent was there, a wide smile on his face. “I was in the office, but I heard you turn into my driveway.”

Besides being startled, now she was confused. How could he hear her half a mile away?

At her look of confusion, he went on, “I have an alarm and cameras that let me know when someone turns into my drive. Sheriffs aren’t loved by everyone.”

She understood. Made sense he probably had a camera on the porch and watched her indecision about knocking.

“It’s late.” Not that late but ... it was the only thing she could think to say. Funny, she’d had this list of items she wanted to talk with him about, and suddenly her mind was blank, or maybe she was just too damned afraid to start spilling and end up saying far too much.

He reached for her arm and tugged her across the threshold. “Coffee? Beer? Something stronger maybe?”

“Stronger, I think.” She watched while he closed the door and then walked over to the kitchen area.

Part of her wanted to collapse on his sofa, but she couldn’t be that still with all the scenarios spinning in her head. Instead she started to pace. Beatrice Fraley knew the whole story. Damn it. Was the former sheriff covering for her? His theory about how the bodies got into the cave was reasonable but only pointed to her father’s involvement, not her mother’s—which, she supposed, would by association implicate his wife.

The idea that Walt knew what his wife and Florence Higdon had done and still protected them disappointed Vera, no matter that, in his position, she would likely do the same. She’d been protecting Eve for decades ... except apparently it wasn’t Eve who had needed protecting where Sheree was concerned. It was their father. Eve’s confession had rocked Vera to the core.

Why, oh why had her sister not told her this in the first place?

Irrelevant. Move on.

“Here you go.”

She jumped. She’d been so deep in thought she hadn’t realized Bent had appeared next to her. She struggled to recover and accept the tumbler, filled with something amber that promised relief. She sipped it, then indulged in a deeper swallow. The burn that rushed down her throat warned it wouldn’t be long before that edge she tittered on would vanish, or at the very least soften.

“What’s going on, Vee?” His hand was on her arm again, guiding her to the sofa.

She eased down onto the cool leather, and he settled next to her. His closeness had her going for another generous swallow.

“Eve and I stopped by to see Walt and his wife.” She took a breath, hoped it would shore up her wobbly composure. “I wanted to know why he’d told me there were no unsolved missing persons cases on his watch—which as we know isn’t true. He claimed it wasn’t his case, it was FPD’s.”

The urge to tell him the rest was so abrupt and so strong, she barely held back. Would unburdening herself make her feel better in the end? She wasn’t sure anymore. Couldn’t trust herself to make the right choice.

Bent mulled over her words for a time before responding. Vera downed the last of her drink. Wished there was more but recognized the danger in going there.

“I can see his point,” Bent said. “No one wants an unsolved case on their books. He told me the same thing when I called. But I’m not so sure that’s his only motive.”

Eve had been right. Bent really was a good sheriff. She studied his face, the lines and angles she had never been able to evict from her memory. Why wasn’t he married by now? He was clearly a great catch. The sheriff ... handsome as hell. Her gaze traced his beard-shadowed jaw, roved over his full lips. The remembered feel of those lips—

“Vee, you need to stop looking at me that way, or I’m going to get the wrong idea.”

She blinked, told herself to shift her attention from the movement of his lips to his eyes. That piercing blue color zoomed into vivid focus ... the move didn’t help.

“I should go.” She stood, swayed a little. Damn, maybe she should have taken a little more time with that drink.

He stood, set his glass on the coffee table, then did the same with hers. “I know this thing is getting more complicated every day.”

For a moment she had no clue what he was talking about, then the image of the cave tumbled into her rambling thoughts. “Complicated is one way to put it.”

The cell phone stuffed into her back pocket vibrated. She snatched at it, needing two attempts to drag it free.

Eve.

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