Page 113 of Whiskey Chase
“That was part of it. But I remember the need for answers, you know? Someone out there knows exactly what happened to Callie. And I want to know too. Her family deserves answers. Hell, I think we all deserve answers.”
“Was my daddy ever a suspect in the case?” I asked.
Cassidy shrugged. “Just about every adult in Bootleg was interviewed within forty-eight hours of Callie’s disappearance,” she said. “I pulled the files. Jonah showed up at the police station the next morning and offered to help organize a search party. My daddy did an informal interview on the spot. Jonah was alibied by your mama. None of you kids were home that night.”
“We were all at Gibson’s,” I said.
“I remember calling your house as soon as Daddy got the news. Your daddy answered and said y’all were at Gibson’s.”
At least my father had been home that morning. That was one answer. I’d been wracking my brain trying to recall the specifics of a day twelve years ago. Parts of it were burned into my brain like a brand. The rest was like trying to remember what I ate for breakfast on a Tuesday a decade ago.
“Now look, Scarlett. You’re gonna need an attorney. Someone who can stand between you and usandyou and the media.”
“I’m not asking Devlin,” I railed.
“I’m not asking you to ask Devlin,” she snapped back. “I’m telling you to get a lawyer.”
“Dang it, Cass! That’s gonna eat into my savings,” I groaned. I’d planned to start scouting for another rental property this fall and have it ready for renters by next spring.
“Price you pay for being an asshole who doesn’t trust her friends and boyfriend, if you ask me.”
45
Devlin
Cassidy: That thing we talked about happened. All is good.
Iread the text again through bleary eyes. It was two in the morning, and I still hadn’t fallen asleep. When I came home from my drive, I saw Scarlett’s house was dark, and I knew Cassidy had made her move. If I couldn’t convince her over dinner to go to the police, Cassidy was Plan B.
I’d walked away tonight, wanting to give up on her the way she’d given up on me. But I couldn’t. She’d begged Jonah to stay. Hell, she’d been horrified by the idea of him leaving. But me? She’d written me off.
What wouldn’t I have done for her if she’d only asked?
I was mad and hurt. But that didn’t stop me from calling in a favor from my friend from law school. Jayme was a sharp lawyer who ran her own firm in Charleston. She was a shark in a pretty package and used it to her advantage. She was exactly the kind of attorney I’d want in my corner, and that’s who Scarlett was getting whether she wanted her or not. I could at least do that for her.
I’d come home and holed up in the office, intending to work. But I found myself digging back into my Callie research. Cassidy had told me confidentially that Jonah Bodine Sr. had never been considered a suspect. And beside the fact that he was alibi’d the night of her disappearance, there was no record of his movements before or after.
Devlin: Thanks. I talked to Jayme. She’ll be here in the morning.
Cassidy: We’ll hold off on the formal interview until she’s here. Dad’s on board with keeping their names out of the papers. But there’s no way Bootleg won’t know whose house we’re searching.
I blew out a breath and hoped that Bootleg’s loyalty would remain intact when it came to the Bodines.
Devlin: Good work, deputy
Cassidy: She loves you, you know. She’s just thick-headed about it.
I put my phone down and laid back to stare at my ceiling and think about the fact that Scarlett Bodine was too stubborn to trust me... or love me.
* * *
The insistent knocking woke me.I squinted at the clock on my nightstand. It was seven-thirty in the morning, and I’d fallen asleep only an hour or two before. I shuffled into some shorts and cut through the kitchen to get to the front door. It was probably Jayme. She’d always been an annoying early bird.
I pulled the door open on a yawn.
“Oh, my lord! You grew a beard. He grew a beard, Thomas,” my mother gasped.
“Mom? Dad?”
