Page 70 of The Drowned Woman
Forty-Three
Luka had patrol officers corral the Homans and their weapons, secure the evidence, and call animal control while he waited for Krichek to bring a search warrant. Thanks to Nate and Emily, and Emily’s video, they had more than enough probable cause.
Nate and Emily were now both inside the kennel, comforting the dog. “You’re gonna keep him, right?” Luka overheard Emily ask Nate as he approached the fence where Ruby watched them. Nate hugged the dog tight, burying his face in the mangy creature’s fur. Luka hoped he wasn’t getting too attached—he wasn’t even sure that the poor thing would survive.
“Who were you talking about?” he asked Ruby. “When Dale backed down.”
She made a harrumphing noise. “His grandfather and I play poker together. Occasionally we entertain each other in other ways.” An arch smile slid over her features. “He owns all this, runs the family. Those boys do not want to get on his wrong side, believe you me.”
He filed that tidbit away for a future discussion, wondering if Leah knew who her mother was associating with. Although Wallace Homan, the patriarch of the family, kept his hands clean and had never been arrested—he left the dirty work to the younger generations. “How did you know the kids were here?”
“Couldn’t find them for dinner, so I used the find-me function on Emily’s phone. But the real question is where’s Leah? She insists I have to call her if Emily gets a hangnail, but she’s not picking up.”
“That’s my fault. Her phone will be off—she’s doing a sensitive witness interview for us.”
“And she acts like I’m the lousy mother. Wasn’t that the whole reason why she took this new job, so she’d be here for Em? I don’t see her picking her up from school, I don’t see her dealing with that Miss Fancy-pants vice-principal, I don’t see her spending her own damn money buying new toys when there’s a house chock full of toys just across the river—”
Luka took her arm and steered Ruby into the barn, out of earshot of the kids. “I hope you don’t talk like that around Emily. Because Leah is working damn hard at being a good mother, providing for Emily and you, while dealing with her own grief.” His voice was low but filled with unexpected anger. Who was he defending? Leah or his own bad choices? Nate’s mom, his own sister, was dead of a drug overdose and he could have—should have—seen how bad off she was. Cherise was murdered but he let himself be convinced that she’d killed herself.
“Don’t talk to me about grief,” Ruby snapped. “I know about grief. About losing someone so dear it rips out a chunk of your soul.”
“Then you should take it easy on Leah. Anyone can see she misses the ER. Every time a siren goes off, she’s like a thoroughbred ready to race. But she gave it all up for Emily.”
“I know, I know…” She paused. “At least she has a job. And a roof over her head. Life wasn’t as easy for me, you know.” She narrowed her eyes at Luka. “I heard you talking about your fiancée last night, about how it changed your life, how you still visit where she died every year. I’ve spent my whole life struggling since I lost Leah’s father and I didn’t have anyone to help me. I had to go it alone.”
“That’s not true. Leah told me she was raised by her great-aunt Nellie, that Nellie tried to help you, too.”
“Nellie’s help always came with too many strings. Get a job, stop moving around, take my meds, stop drinking. I had a life to live, too, you know. But Leah never gives me credit for that, for all the good things I did for her. Like leaving her with Nellie. Or helping her now. Letting her into my house.”
Nellie had left Leah the house when she died, not Ruby, but Luka didn’t waste breath on arguing. Ruby was damaged, but it was clear that she was also striving to do better for her daughter and granddaughter. “I think Leah appreciates your help,” he said slowly. “But you also need to appreciate what she’s going through. Especially if you’ve gone through it yourself.”
“I know,” Ruby said, as if suddenly Luka was her biggest fan. “I keep telling her, don’t make the same mistakes I made, that I know what I’m talking about, but she never listens to me. She treats me like she’s still that sullen eleven-year-old I left at Nellie’s. Never seems to realize that I gave her the greatest gift of all by leaving her behind—”
The animal control van arrived, interrupting them. Jessie Trevasian hopped out, her usual dour expression pulling her face down. She was in her mid-fifties and had been doing her job for Craven County for a quarter of a century with no intention of leaving anytime soon. People she barely tolerated, but animals she loved.
Luka left Ruby in the barn and joined Jessie, who was assessing the situation, photographing the dog’s living conditions.
“The kids said he had no food or water when they arrived, seemed dehydrated.” He showed her the video Emily had shot. “They saw welts on his back and the Homan boys shoot him with a paintball gun.”
Jessie shot the house a glare that could have been a lethal projectile in its own right. “Lost track of how many animals we’ve had to remove from this family.”
Luka nodded. At least this trip he didn’t have to call Children and Youth.
“That boy, who’s he?” Jessie asked, studying Nate and his interaction with the dog as she and Luka approached the kennel.
“My nephew. Nate.”
“He’s a good one, kind-hearted. Putting himself in harm’s way to protect an animal—there’s grown men wouldn’t do that to save a human’s life.”
Luka found himself beaming with pride. Then he quickly felt guilty. He’d played no role in building Nate’s character. So far. “Kid’s been through a lot. I imagine if you repeated that to him, it would mean a great deal.”
“Happy to.” She left Luka at the gate and entered the kennel, crouching down to Nate and the dog’s level, talking to him softly. “This guy have a name?”
“Rex,” Emily supplied, obviously wanting to be part of the action. “Short for T-Rex.”
But Nate only shook his head. “Dunno. Not sure.”
“Then Rex it is,” Jessie declared as if it were written in stone.
