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.That lasted a few months, and then the TBI wiped them out, too.They nabbed him, and held on to him for as long as they could, but eventually they had to let him go for lack of proof.He moved on to Chattanooga and Jackson, and then to Clarksville, where he had something to do with thefts from the military base.Earlier this year, he showed up in Nashville.Where he was on the scene when Brenda Puckett was murdered.”“He was on the scene 45 minutes later,” I corrected.“We’ve talked about this, Todd.He didn’t have anything to do with killing Brenda.Or Clarice Webb.”Todd ignored me.“And two weeks before that, my dad suspected him of having had a hand in doing away with his mother.”“Your dad had no proof that anyone was involved in LaDonna Collier’s death,” I protested.“If he did, he would have arrested someone by now.”“Just because there’s no proof, doesn’t mean Collier didn’t do it,” Todd said.Just because Todd wanted Rafe to be guilty, didn’t mean he was, either, but I had no time to say so.Todd added, “All it means is, he’s very good at covering his tracks.”“I’m not so sure about that,” I answered.“Doesn’t it seem more likely that he’s just not a very good criminal? Everything he’s ever gotten involved in has been shut down by the police after a month or two.”Todd shrugged.We sat in silence for a moment or two while Todd ate his cheesecake and I drank my coffee.“So is that it?” I asked eventually, keeping my voice level.“Because it’s interesting, but not really surprising.I already suspected that he had an alternate source of income.One that wasn’t entirely legal.”Todd looked at me.I could see the wheels ticking behind his eyes.He was debating whether to tell me something, and he wasn’t sure.But was it because he wanted to keep it in reserve for next time, or was it because he wasn’t entirely sure it was accurate.?Eventually he decided.“There’s more.Do you remember Elspeth Caulfield?”I wrinkled my brows.“I can’t say I do, no.Who is she?”“She went to high school with us.You, me, and Collier.My year.Her father was a preacher for some little fundamentalist sect west of Sweetwater.”A glimmer of a memory was beginning to come to me.“Petite, blond girl? Very quiet? Had some sort of nervous breakdown, and never came back?”“Her parents took her out of school before senior year, just after you and I started dating.”I nodded.I remembered now.Vaguely.I hadn’t had anything to do with Elspeth and wasn’t sure I’d recognize her if she walked through the door right now.“What about her?”“There were rumors at the time that she was pregnant and they were taking her somewhere to have the baby so no one would know.”I tightened my stomach muscles.I’ve heard it can help someone beat a lie detector test, and I could really use some help in not showing my reaction right then.I had a feeling I knew what was coming, and I didn’t want Todd to guess that I knew, or more accurately, that the idea bothered me.Todd smirked knowingly.“Would you care to speculate as to whose baby it was?”“Not Rafe’s,” I said.“I asked him just the other day if he had any children, and he said no.” None he knew about.“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Todd said, playing right into my secret worry.“He was in jail by then.Or maybe she had an abortion.It’s not difficult to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy.”His attitude said, very clearly, that any child of Rafe’s would be unwanted by any woman in her right mind.I didn’t answer.I’m not sure I could have spoken even if I’d tried.It’s not something a lot of people know, and Todd certainly didn’t, but at one point during my short and ill-fated marriage to Bradley, I’d had a miscarriage.It had happened very early in what was an unplanned pregnancy, almost before I knew I was expecting, albeit not before I’d had time to get over the initial shock and start looking forward to the happy event.In retrospect, considering the way things turned out between Bradley and me, it was probably just as well it had happened the way it did.Our simple, uncontested divorce would have been a thousand times messier had there been children involved, and a child would have tied me irrevocably to Bradley for the rest of my natural life.All in all, I couldn’t really regret the way things had fallen out.Still, there were times like now, when I was reminded, that I mourned the loss.“Have you spoken to Elspeth about this?” I asked when I could trust my voice again.Todd looked shocked.“Of course not.I can’t pry into her personal life.”The fact that he’d pried into mine, not to mention Rafe’s, didn’t seem to have occurred to him.“So how do you know she was pregnant? Maybe it was just a rumor.”“Everyone knows what happened,” Todd said.“But you don’t have to take my word for it.Talk to Cletus Johnson.He was there; he’ll tell you.”“Marquita’s ex-husband? That Cletus Johnson?”“Deputy Sheriff Cletus Johnson,” Todd said.“The same Cletus Johnson who gave Rafe a black eye a couple of weeks ago? And I would trust his word because.?”Todd flushed.“Just go talk to him, Savannah.He’ll tell you.”“Fine,” I said coldly, “maybe I will.”Or maybe I’d talk to Rafe instead.Someone who’d actually be in a position to tell me something definite, and not just rumors and speculation and innuendo and sour grapes.Chapter 12For a few moments after leaving the Wayside Inn, I thought seriously about driving back to Nashville rather than facing mother.But it was late and in spite of what I’d tried to show Todd, I was upset by what he’d told me, so I turned the car toward the Martin mansion after all.And was rewarded by not seeing Mother.Her bedroom door was closed and the lights out, and by the time I got up the next morning, I was alone.If it had been anyone but my mother, I would have suspected that she’d spent the night elsewhere, because her bed showed no evidence of having been slept in, but knowing her as I do, I didn’t think anything of it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]