Page 52 of Bitter Falls

“Cleanup duty, all of you,” I tell them as I stand up. “I need to make a call. Lanny, put the window back on the alarm circuit and lock it up. Vee, that alarm stays on all the time. You’re free to leave if you want to, but you ask before you open that door. Understand?”

She gives me a tired salute. “Yes, boss.”

“Don’t be a smart-ass, we’re full up.” I’m already walking for the office. Gwen’s added soundproofing, since so many of her phone calls are confidential. I don’t want the kids to hear me right now.

I call J. B.’s number, and she picks up on the first ring. “Sorry, I was about to call you. The court isn’t quite running on time. Gwen’s being arraigned in about an hour, and then I can post her bail.”

“I was hoping the whole thing would be dismissed.”

“I know. I was hoping for that, too, but the local DA is getting his fifteen minutes of press attention before he lets it fall apart; Carol’s already disappeared, and the phone number Gwen used to track her is already dead, so they’ve got nothing. I doubt the cops are going to find her again; this girl seems to have a real talent for vanishing. Did Gwen tell you about—” She leaves it for me to fill in. So I do.

“About the cult the girl’s running from? Yeah. It sounds familiar.”

“There are definitely similarities to the Wolfhunter cult, but that got cut off at the knees. It’s very possible that the Wolfhunter location was just one of several, though. You should check with your friend Mike Lustig. FBI, right?”

“Right,” I say. Mike was intensely involved in our Wolfhunter problems; he saw how it all worked firsthand, and knowing Mike, he’d still be digging into that cult if there were anything left to find. “I’ll ask him about it if it would help.”

“It might,” she admits. “Okay. I’ll get back in touch once Gwen’s free. Just take care out there. Fallout from this is inevitable, I’m afraid.”

“Copy that. Tell Gwen—ah, hell. She knows.”

I hang up after polite goodbyes and pull up the Knoxville criminal courts docket. If the reporters haven’t already recognized her name, the firestorm will start burning our direction soon. I have until then to make sure the kids—including Vee Crockett, now, because I just made her our responsibility—are safe and our defenses are solid.

The first call I make is to Kezia to alert her; she’ll notify the rest of the Norton PD that we’re going to need eyes on our house to control any journalists who stampede this way. We’ve got protocols, so I’m not really worried until Kez says, “I was hoping not to talk to you, Sam.”

I don’t like that. At all. “Why?”

“Because the statements that our suspects are giving contradict what Lanny told us. They say that they knew nothing about Candy, but that they only chased Lanny because they thought she was the one who did it and they were—I’m quoting a Belldene here, remember—trying to bring her to justice.”

“Bullshit,” I bark.

“And they’re shoveling it high and deep. Anyway, we’re going to need that girl in sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“Sam.”

“Come on. I know you’re fair. But will the county DA, or the judges, or a jury around here be that fair? Kez. It’s not like this tie will go to the killer’s daughter.” I can hear the arguments now. We’re the newcomers. The strangers. Lanny’s gotbad influences. The Belldenes have been part of this town since before the Civil War. Tie goes to the locals.

“Sam, I’m going to do what I can, you know that. But you’ve got to bring her in and get this cleared up.”

“Can’t,” I say. “I’m not her legal guardian. Gwen’s not here right now.” I’ve never been so glad of that. They can’t interview someone Lanny’s age without a parent or legal guardian’s permission. And Gwen’s very unavailable right now. “I’ll let you know when she’s back.”

Kez sighs. “Dammit, don’t try to pull something clever. I don’t want to be looking for you too.”

She’s a good friend, Kezia. But that doesn’t mean she won’t come after me and throw my ass in jail. I know that.

“I’ll call when I get Gwen back,” I tell her. “Until then, you’re not talking to Atlanta Proctor. No offense meant.”

“None taken. I’m glad she’s got advocates. Talk to you soon, Sam. A patrol unit’s going to be hanging around the lake, like you asked.” That’s both to help out with the reporters who will descend, and also to alert Kez when Gwen gets back. Dual duty.

I think about what else I can do. Not much, as it turns out, which is frustrating. By the time I could get to Knoxville, Gwen will be bailed out and headed home. But hunkering down here, however logical it is right now, that feels wrong too.

I look up at a knock on the office door, and get up to open it. It’s Vee Crockett. “Hey,” she says. “Can I come in a minute?”

I gesture her into the room and, on a hunch, shut the door behind her. She settles into Gwen’s office chair and spins it around, leaning back at such an angle I’m afraid she’s going to tip and break her neck. I reach over and close down the laptop screen.

“I wasn’t looking,” she says, and suddenly stops spinning to stare at me. “You wonder why I come all the way here, right?”

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