Page 148 of To Die For

“Yes, you can. What do you want to ask her?”

“Whether she or her parents knew Rollins.”

“I don’t think they did.”

“Then how did he get dirt on Glass?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’d like to hear it from her,” persisted Braddock.

Devine got Odom. She was already up and dressed and was packing her duffel.

Devine introduced her to Braddock, who said, “Ms. Odom, it’s nice to meet you. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve had to go through.”

“Thanks,” said Odom in a mechanical voice.

“You heard about the death of a man named Perry Rollins?”

She nodded.

“Do you recall that name?”

“No.”

Braddock nodded at Walker, who pulled out a glossy.

“This is Rollins,” she said, handing it to Odom. “Do you remember ever seeing him with your parents?”

Odom studied the photo for a long enough time that Devine was thinking she might say that shehadseen the man.

“No, I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him before.” She handed the photo back.

“This man said he had something incriminating on your uncle. Do you have any idea what that might be?” asked Braddock.

“No. I just met my uncle. And my parents never really talked about him much.” She glanced at Devine. “I did know some things about him because my dad told me. He… he didn’t like my uncle very much.”

“Did your dad ever saywhyhe didn’t like his brother-in-law?”

Odom looked troubled.

Walker gently said, “Whatever you can remember, Betsy.”

“Dad told me that Uncle Danny had done some bad things, some really bad things. When he was in the Army and then after he got out.”

“Did he say what bad things?” asked Walker.

“He… he said he was a liar and that he hurt people for no good reason. And then got rich off stuff like that.”

“Did your mother ever talk to you about her brother?” asked Braddock.

She nodded. “She said that her dad wasn’t a nice person. That he would hit her and stuff. But Uncle Danny would stand up for her. That he mostly took the beatings so she didn’t have to. Or would fight back to defend her.”

“So she liked him, I would imagine,” said Walker.

Odom nodded. “She did, yeah.”

“So it must have been hard for you to make sense of all that,” noted Braddock. “Your dad saying one thing and your mom another.”

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