Page 47 of What She Saw
“Anyone else show interest in Laurie?”
“We all thought she was hot. Any one of us would’ve tapped that. That’s half the reason most of those guys were in the band. If she’d offered, I’d have gone for it.” A bitter smile twisted his lips. “I have a picture of Laurie and me taken backstage after our set.”
“Do you still have it?”
He reached in his wallet and removed a rumpled picture. He handed it to me.
I studied the smiling faces, barely recognizing Joe. Laurie was radiant. “A great moment. Can I take a picture of this?”
“Keep it. I’ve carried it long enough.”
“Why did you?”
“Someone needed to remember her. Now you can.”
I understood the obsession to remember. “You’re performing so close to the concert location. Do you ever go back to the festival site?”
“I went back about fifteen years ago. I tried to remember the large crowds and the cheers. But you can’t catch lightning in a bottle.”
“Any theories about the whereabouts of the victims?”
“A million places to hide a body in this area. And once these mountains swallow you up, it’s next to impossible to find you.”
“The mountain didn’t swallow them up. A human disposed of them.”
“Yeah.”
“What did you think about Rafe Colton?”
“Smooth as silk,” he said. “I met a lot of guys like him in the industry, but he was one of the best salesmen I ever met. He believed his bullshit.”
“The commonwealth’s attorney got his murder conviction against Colton without the bodies. No one in court stepped up and said they saw Colton grabbing one of the women, driving a truck off-site, ordigging a hole. That led some to believe he was working with someone else. Someone who helped him hide the bodies.”
“I heard that.”
“Any theories?”
“He could convince anyone to do anything. He had a million-dollar smile. His festivals had their own tribe of groupies.”
“Any one of his followers stand out?”
“Why don’t you talk to Rafe Colton? I hear he’s easy to find.”
“He’s insisted he’s innocent for thirty-one years. And without the bodies, he’ll make parole next month.”
“Like I said, he can make anyone believe anything.” His tone was filled with bitterness.
“Okay, thanks, Joe.”
Smoke circled around his head. “You going to see him?”
“Eventually.”
“And why are you so special? Why will he talk to you?”
“Men like Colton hate to be ignored. And I can be entertaining when I try.”
His lips twisted with a crooked smile. “And you think your showing up is fun for him?”
