Page 13 of Outlaw Ridge: Reed
From the corner of her eye, Hallie saw that Reed was giving Corman a blankI’ll wait you outstare similar to hers. It must have worked because Corman huffed.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. “She’s a counselor, and she has some clients she sees in their homes. Maybe this guy was one of them.”
Not that they could find, but it was possible that Elenore had been working off the books. Or doing a favor for Walt. But there was no indication whatsoever that Walt had ever sought out counseling, and considering that the man had excellent medical insurance, he likely wouldn’t have done that off the book.
“Had your sister ever mentioned Walt Garner?” Reed asked.
Corman shook his head. “No. But if he was a client, she wouldn’t have. She doesn’t spill the names of people she’s counseling.”
Most counselors didn’t, but Hallie had been hoping that Elenore had broken the rule if Walt had indeed been her client. “When’s the last time you saw Elenore?” she asked, taking a different turn in the questioning.
“A month or two ago. Maybe a little longer. We’ve both been busy,” Corman added in a snap when Hallie lifted an eyebrow. “I’m tied up with a big gaming project, and Elenore’s working…was working,” he amended, “mainly with that bleeding heart group who helps women in prison.”
“Do you know the name of the group?” Hallie pressed though that was something Reed and she could find out. She just wanted to see how much Corman knew about it.
Apparently, he knew a lot judging from his response, accompanied by some huffs, muttered profanity and eyerolls.
“New Horizons Initiative,” Corman provided. “She was doing some pro bono counseling for them. Wasting her time if you ask me, but Elenore claimed they needed her help.” He aimed his index finger at them. “Those women need to be punished for what they’ve done, not coddled for fuck’s sake.”
It was a risk for Hallie to bring up anything about her parents since Corman might just shut down, but it wassomething that had to be asked. “Was Elenore trying to help my mother?”
Well, Corman didn’t shut down, that was for sure. The question lit some fresh anger in his eyes though. “Not directly. Not that I know of anyway. Elenore couldn’t have been that stupid,” he spat out. “But she was stupid enough to listen to the rantings of that asswipe reporter, Luther Crowe.”
Hallie’s stomach clenched, a cold wave washing over her. Her fingers tensed at her sides, but she forced herself to stay calm. “What are you saying?” she asked, her voice steady as her mind raced to piece together the implications of this.
“I’m saying that my sister became fucking brainwashed by that reporter and the piece of shit article he wrote about your piece of shit mother.” Corman cursed some more and shook his head in disgust. “Elenore started whining about maybe it was true, that maybe the murdering bitch didn’t belong in jail after all. Well, I told her just where she could shove that notion.”
“Elenore believed Luther Crowe,” Hallie stated. “And just what did he say in that article to make her think that way?”
He dismissed that with a wave. “How the fuck should I know? Elenore was always gullible, but this went well past that and into pure, blind stupidity.”
“It sounds as if it put a strain on your relationship with your sister,” Reed remarked.
The back of Reed’s hand brushed against hers. A subtle gesture no doubt to try to comfort her. Or maybe rein in that storm of emotions he knew she was feeling. And there was a storm, but there always was whenever she had to talk about her parents.
“Damn straight there was a strain,” he blurted, but then Corman seemed to backpedal when it must have occurred to him that this ranting and anger were motives for him to have murdered his sister.
“I decided to step back from Elenore for a while,” Corman amended several moments later. He was visibly calmer now. “Maybe wait until she came to her senses.” Another pause. “But Elenore didn’t get a chance to come to her senses, did she? Because someone murdered her.”
Since Corman seemed to be gearing up for another tirade, Hallie went ahead with a question that she knew would piss him off. “Where were you in the past twenty-four hours?”
Corman’s response surprised exactly no one. His eyes bulged. His lips pulled back in a snarl, and Hallie thought he looked as if cartoon smoke might actually shoot from his ears. “How dare you—”
“I dare because I intend to find out who murdered your sister,” Hallie interrupted, cutting him off. “And to do that, I have to rule out suspects. As her next of kin, you know I have to look at you.” Especially with thatriftbetween them. “So, answer the question, or I’ll assume you have something to hide.”
Of course, that didn’t improve his mood. “I’ve been home working on a game project for the past three days,” he replied through seriously clenched teeth. So clenched that she was surprised he could actually speak.
“Can anyone verify that?” Reed pressed.
“No. You’ll just have to take my word for it.” He stopped, gave another shake of his head before his narrowed eyes shifted back to Hallie. “You should have worked this hard to uncover your parents’ crimes.”
“She did,” Reed assured him. “And so did I.”
“Right,” Corman spat out, and he went to the front door to open it. “You can leave now, and the only way you’ll get back in is if you have a warrant.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Hallie said as Reed and she stepped out onto the small porch. “I’ll call you to set up a formal interview at Outlaw Ridge PD.”
Corman slammed the door in their faces, and the swooshing sound nearly muffled something else. Nearly. The footsteps hurrying toward them from the side of the house.
