Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [101]
“JR, Red, and Maurice are all dead. Buck turned the business over to his son and moved to Arizona. Clint’s still around, up at the VA. So’s Dale. After that business with the preacher’s daughter was shunted aside, Dale quit goin’ to church.”
“Can’t say as I blame him.”
“Well, you know how Dale is. He was more of the
‘eye for an eye,’ and he wanted to make Canter disappear permanently.” Don’s Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed nervously. “Which is why I wanna assure you that Dale din’t have nuthin’ to do with Canter endin’ up dead.”
“You thought Dale might’ve been a murderer just last summer. Now you’re telling me he’s changed?”
“No. I’m tellin’ you in confidence that he ain’t strong enough to’ve killed nobody unless it was with a gun.”
“I can’t say as I disagree. So, back to BD. One thing I didn’t ask him, because I didn’t want to increase his suspicions of me, was the preacher’s name.”
“Why’s that important?”
“I don’t know if it is, but I want to be thorough.”
“Shoot. His name . . .” Don tapped his chin.
“Newman. Patrick Newman. Daughter . . . Lizzie?
Something like that. Anyway, Dale and his missus spent November, December, and January travelin’, and he din’t know Doug’d hired Canter until two weeks 359
ago. Dale paid Doug a visit right away and told him the whole story. Doug was ticked, rightly so, and that’s when he confronted Melvin outside Chaska’s. Apparently, that’s why they had the fistfight.”
“Does Trish know any of this?”
Don shook his head. “Doug said to keep her out of it and that he’d handle it.”
“Seems to be a theme because BD tried to tell Trish what he knew of Melvin’s past and Trish wouldn’t listen to him. But BD said he tried to tell my dad, too, and Dad accused BD of making problems.”
“Doug’s a stubborn cuss, but I doan gotta tell you that.”
“No. But you mentioned a vested interest. I’m not seeing one.”
He twisted his gloves in his hands. “Dale doan know I came to you last summer with my worries about him and Red Granger. He doan know I’m here now. This thing with Canter needs to be made right, and I figure you’re the only one who can do it.”
“Dale disagrees?”
“He thinks you got it in for your daddy so bad you’ll do anything to see him behind bars.”
I kept quiet. Arguing wouldn’t change a damn thing. “What else?”
“Well, BD is afraid you’re gonna track Beth down and ask her a buncha questions. He said he’d try to keep Beth away from you for her own protection.”
“Did you tell BD my name?”
360
He snorted. “No. I do have some evasive skills. But I will say one thing, and you can take this however you want. Why’s that little gal need BD’s protection?
What’s she have to hide?”
I clapped him on the shoulder in a show of solidarity, because I’d been thinking exactly the same thing.
“Great minds, Don. I was wondering that, too. You’d make a fine investigator.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I just hope you don’t use your evasive skills on me.”
“If I was really good, you’d never know, would ya?”
I smiled at his sly grin. “Got me there. Lemme ask you something. How old do you think Beth is?”
“Somewhere around thirty to thirty-five, which was why I couldn’t understand why BD was protectin’
her.”
“She’s not married?”
“Nope. She’s divorced. Doug made a big deal out of her marital status I guess, durin’ that hullabaloo at the church.”
“Thanks for the info. Let me know if anything else pops up, okay?”
“Will do.”
If nothing else shook loose at the office, at least I had three names—Patrick Newman, Lizzie Newman, and Beth McClanahan—to run through the database. 361
Kevin showed up an hour after I did.
Much had happened in the last five days and I couldn’t tell him squat. I expected him to be standoffish; I wasn’t expecting him to envelop me in a big hug.
“What was that for?”
“Because I missed you, dork.”
“Missed you, too, doofus.”
He sidestepped me and plopped in the buffalo skin chair. “I tried to call a couple of times. Something wrong with your cell?”
“No. Martinez and I were out of town and I forgot my charger,” I