Page 30 of Mine to Hold
“I couldn’t prove what she was doing?—”
“Lucy Ann. After everything that went down with Trinity, you should have called us before even asking her to leave. We all know she’s bad news. It doesn’t matter that we were all once friends.”
Oh. That was interesting.
“I get it and you don’t need to lecture me. I got enough of that from Phil. It won’t happen again. I feel bad enough she’s dead.”
He squeezed her arm. “That’s not your fault.”
“Doesn’t mean I won’t regret my decision, even if I couldn’t prove what she was doing.” She waved her hand. “I watched the scene and I didn’t see anything passed between her and the people who came to visit. No envelopes. No money or drugs that I saw. They weren’t regulars. Or townspeople. Trust me, I watched them like a hawk and all I saw was conversation.”
“All right. Thanks for letting me know,” he said. “Say hello to Phil and the kids.”
“Get some rest before you fall over, and for the love of God, shave. Facial hair is not a good look for you.” Lucy Ann patted his cheek.
He laughed. “I will.” He jogged down the last few steps and placed his hand on the small of Rumor’s back. “I take it you heard that conversation.”
“Kind of hard not to when I’m standing two feet away,” she admitted.
“I hate to ask, but were you working that shift? Did you see what she was talking about?”
“I was not there.” Thank God for small favors.
“I need you to do me a favor and be very quiet for this conversation.” He pulled open the door to his personal vehicle before sliding behind the wheel. He tapped his cell and set it in the cradle.
“Hey, Emmerson. I’m about to head into a meeting. What’s up?” Rebecca, the chief of police and his mother, asked.
“You mean an interview with Lucy Ann? About the case that I’m supposed to be leading?”
“You’re tired and need to sleep.”
“Not the point. You should have told me.”
“I’ll send you the report when I’m done,” Rebecca said.
“Are you going to pull me off this case? Because if you are, I’d prefer to know that now.”
“Where’s Rumor?” Rebecca asked.
“Waiting for me by my car,” he lied right through his teeth.
Something Rumor wouldn’t have expected from him and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“Look,” Emmerson said. “Rumor mentioned Heather was fighting with a man. Lucy Ann is the only other person to mention Heather with a man. I wanted to?—”
“Cut the bullshit, Ma. Either you know something I don’t and are choosing not to share it with me. Or you don’t trust I can do my job. Or both. So, just be straight with me.”
“All right. You and Heather have a history,” Rebecca said.
“Going to the sophomore dance together isn’t a history. It was two dates when I was a dumbass kid rebelling against authority, which happened to be my mother. And if you’re going to bring in my other exes and how all that turned out, I’m going to march my ass right back into the station and be part of that interview.”
“You’ve got a lot coming at you, especially with this thing with Edwina. That was disturbing to say the least and I’m not happy with how you’re handling it.”
“Seriously? That’s why you pulled this stunt?”
“Yes,” Rebecca said. “And it wasn’t just what you showed me. That woman has been?—”
“Not another word, Ma. I’m dealing with it and you better not meddle. Got it? Now, what else do I need to know that you’re keeping from me?”
