Bone Harvest - Mary Logue [59]
When she got out of the car, she stood quietly for a moment or two. She listened. He could still be close by. He could be watching to see what would happen. She had her hand on her gun.
An owl hooted from the edge of the field. She could make out a bat or two flying in the light on the barn, feeding on the insects that circled there.
Celia Daniels stuck her head out the door. “Thanks for coming so fast.”
“You’re welcome.” Claire walked toward her. “Jilly still up?”
“Yes, but she’s getting ready for bed.”
Claire wanted to talk to Jilly before the little girl went to sleep and forgot everything she might have noticed about the man. Celia presented her to Claire. The little girl’s face was scrubbed to a soft pink and she was wearing dinosaur pajamas.
“Nice pajamas,” Claire said.
“My best pajamas,” Jilly told her.
“She’ll hardly wear anything else,” Celia said, patting her daughter on the head.
Claire sat down on the floor so she was the same height as the little girl. “Jilly, I’d like to ask you some questions about the man who was here.”
“Mom already did.”
“I know. But could you answer a few more for me?”
“Sure.” She rubbed her nose.
“Did you know this man?”
Jilly scrunched up her face. “Not really.”
“Have you ever seen him before?” Claire dared hope she might get something.
“I don’t think so.”
“Was he as big as your daddy?” Claire glanced over to where Jeff Daniels was standing. He looked to be about six feet tall and probably carried about one hundred and ninety pounds.
“No.”
“Was he old or young?”
“Pretty old.”
“Older than your daddy?”
“I think so.”
“He was wearing a hat?”
Jilly nodded.
“What kind of hat?”
“Like Thomas wears.”
Claire looked at Celia. “A baseball cap,” she said.
“Was he fat or skinny?”
Jilly turned her hands out. “Not fat, not skinny.”
“In between?”
“Yup.”
“What color of hair?”
“Don’t remember.”
“Could you see his eyes?”
“They were black.”
“Did he wear glasses?”
“Huh-uh.” Jilly shook her head.
She answered no to Claire’s questions about a beard and a mustache.
“Anything else you can remember?”
“He seemed nice.”
Celia wrapped her arms around her daughter. “I think it’s time she went to bed.”
Claire nodded and wished she could go with Jilly. Bed was where she wanted to be right now, but as she stood up she saw a squad car pull in behind her car. She had a long night ahead of her.
CHAPTER 18
The light was on at the Sands Hotel just outside of Wichita, Kansas. The sign overhead advertised rooms at thirty-nine dollars a night. When Earl Lowman tried to stand up from his car seat to check into the motel, he thought his legs were going to go out from under him. He was bone-tired, had to pee so bad he could taste it, eyes were dry in the sockets, and he was hungry to the pit of his stomach. He should have stopped four hours ago, but now he could make it to Wisconsin in a day’s time.
Things like that were important to him. He figured out how long it would take him to get someplace and then he wanted to get there on time. As if time were a special commodity. As if being on time was the same as being holy. If it were, he’d be a saint.
He held on to the car and steadied himself. It was a typical Kansas summer night, hot and muggy, weather only mosquitoes liked. Enough water in the air to lay a slick on your body.
It had been a sweltering day like this when he had gone over to the Schulers’.
All the long day driving he had been remembering what had happened that day, nearly fifty years ago. If he could have that moment back and live it over again, he would do it differently. He had been so young.
He pushed himself out of the car and headed toward the motel registration. Walking up to the desk, he saw a dark-haired young woman bent over something behind the desk. When he got closer, he saw that she had a baby with her. It was sleeping in a carrier and it looked pretty close to a year old. Same age as the youngest Schuler had been.
“Evening,” Earl said.
“Can I help you?” The woman snapped to attention,