Page 85 of The Secrets We Hide
“Lee, why are you here?”
His reptilian gaze flickered back to Jude. “Terrible thing that happened in town yesterday. An innocent mother and daughter minding their own business. Neither one of ’em deserved it.”
“Bad things happen all the time.”
“They do indeed, but Woody was not involved.” Lee leaned forward again, putting himself close to Jude. “A cop getting herself murdered, now that’s bad for business. More cops shaking down my customers. Not acceptable.”
Jude lifted her chin in defiance. “Tell me what you came here to tell me.”
“Bill owes a hell of a lot of money to some really bad men.”
“You wouldn’t be one of those bad men, would you?”
He laughed like they were a pair of old friends shooting the shit. “Might’ve been my grandson went about pushing Bill to pay in the wrong direction.”
“You mean intimidating a sixteen-year-old girl?”
“Yeah.” The flirty banter had drained away. “That’s exactly what I mean. You know I can’t abide a young girl being punished for something that ain’t her fault.”
Emmy heard forty-plus years of silence stretch out between them. Jude had lied to her face. She hadn’t just gone to school with Lee and Tanya Rawley. Sheknewthem.
“All right.” Lee stuck the grin back on his face. “Woody let Bill get under his skin. You meet that jackass yet?”
Jude shook her head. “No.”
“Whiny little bitch. Always bites off more than he can chew. Pisses off the wrong people.” He lifted his chin in Emmy’s direction. “Not my business telling you what to do, Sheriff, but you should be looking at him.”
Emmy guessed even psychopaths could watch Brett mouth off to the Atlanta news.
Lee grinned at Jude. “She’s got that Clifton Quiet, huh?”
Jude was so tensed that her mouth barely moved when she spoke. “Make your point.”
His gaze slithered toward Emmy again. “You get two questions,sweetheart. I’ll give you the answers, then we can all get out of here.”
Emmy thought it was pretty clever to act as a go-between so she couldn’t pin Woody down on the answers. Still, she had an idea. “Do you control the Clayville Police Department?”
He laughed, then looked at Jude. “She’s a smart one, ain’t she?”
Jude shrugged. “You said you’d answer two questions.”
“Not that one.”
Emmy was ready. “Why did Allison confront Woody at the motel?”
Lee nodded, like she needed his approval. “Allison was understandably upset. Thought he laid hands on her baby. He did not.”
“What’s Woody’s alibi for the shooting?”
“You can take that up with your counterparts in Dekalb County.” Lee held up his left hand, wagged his fingers as if to prove he wasn’t holding a weapon, then he used his index and middle finger to tease a business card out of his front pocket. “Chief Deputy Pritzker asked him to come in for some questioning on an unrelated matter.”
Jude took the card before Emmy could. “We’re done here.”
“Are we?” Lee flashed the same toothy grin, but even from twelve feet away, Emmy could sense the warning. “My condolences on your daddy and mama. Both of you.”
Emmy felt the heat of his attention.
“Sheriff.” Lee tipped an imaginary hat. “Good luck with the debate next week. Make your daddy proud.”
