Page 132 of Bourbon Bliss
“Fortunately, they keep lots of records, so I was able to drum up a guest list from the event,” Cassidy said. “Y’all, Mrs. Kendall was there that day.”
“You think our mama went there to see Mrs. Kendall?” Scarlett asked.
“It seems likely,” Cassidy said. “It doesn’t prove anything, and without talking to Mrs. Kendall, we don’t know why. But it sure looks like she went out there to talk to Mrs. Kendall, and got in an accident on the way home.”
“Let’s be logical about this,” Bowie said. “Let’s say Dad did something. Maybe he didn’t kill Callie on purpose. Maybe it was an accident. What if he tried to hide what had happened and Mom found out? If Mom discovered the truth, she could have decided to tell Mrs. Kendall.”
“Would she have done that first?” Jonah asked. “Or gone to the police?”
“And if she told Mrs. Kendall, why didn’t the Kendalls do anything?” Jameson asked. “If they had the truth from Mom, why didn’ttheytell the police? They’ve said they wish the investigation was over. If they could end it with evidence from Mom, why stay quiet about it?”
“Because Mom died?” Scarlett asked. “She wasn’t around to confirm the story?”
“I suppose,” Bowie said. “Or maybe Mrs. Kendall didn’t believe Mom. Or hell, maybe Mom changed her mind and didn’t tell.”
“She could have decided to protect Dad,” Jameson said, his voice quiet. “Maybe she drove all the way out there and turned around before she talked to Mrs. Kendall.”
Cassidy glanced at Bowie, and he gave her a nod. “I have to be honest with y’all. I don’t know if your mom’s accident was an accident. There weren’t any brake marks on the road.”
“What?” Scarlett shrieked. “Are you saying someone might have run her off the road?”
“It’s a possibility,” Cassidy said.
“Did the forensics lab find anything when they reexamined the car?” Devlin asked. “Something that would tell us whether she was forced off the road?”
“Their results wereinconclusive,” Cassidy said, emphasizing the word.
“I hate to even say this out loud,” Jameson said, his voice quiet. “But could Mom have driven off the road on purpose?”
“Mom wouldn’t have done that,” Scarlett said. “I know she had her frustrations, but she never would have left us like that.”
“I think Scarlett’s right,” Bowie said. “Mom was too stubborn to give up on life. Hell, she never even gave up on Dad. Not entirely.”
Bowie raised an important point. Jonah and Connie Bodine hadn’t exhibited the traits of a happy marriage. But they’d seemed to do their best to hold their family together.
“No, she didn’t give up on him,” Scarlett said. “She didn’t give up on our family.”
“Y’all are right,” Jameson said. “But that means…”
“Could it have still been an accident?” Devlin asked. “A hit and run?”
“That’s possible,” Cassidy said.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes. “But you don’t think so.”
“There’s something about this whole thing that doesn’t add up,” Cassidy said. “She went to Baltimore, where she might have had contact with Mrs. Kendall, and then she got in a car accident on the way home. When you add in the sweater, and the fingerprints in her car…”
“It’s suspicious at best,” Bowie said.
“I hate leaving y’all with more questions and no answers,” Cassidy said. “But I’m going to do everything I can to find out the truth—about Callie, and your parents.”
There were mutters of, “Thanks, Cass,” from around the room.
I leaned against George, turning the facts over in my mind. The sweater and the fingerprints pointed to Jonah Bodine’s involvement. But what about Connie? It was her car. Had she done something and Jonah had been covering for her? Was it the other way around?
Connie Bodine could have given Callie a ride somewhere on another day. We were a small town, a close-knit community. It wasn’t uncommon for Bootleggers to parent other people’s kids.
But why had they kept her sweater? And why had Connie gone to Baltimore that day, a year later? And the biggest question of all—had Callie’s body finally been found?
