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The heat was searing. I adjusted my hat as we stepped even closer.

Calloway stood next to me. “Damn.”

“Yep.”

There was nothing inside the hole. It wasn’t six feet deep, but maybe about four or so. There was no doubt in my mind that the second skeleton, Johnny Clark most likely, had been buried here, but testing would still need to happen.

I looked down toward the old shack where George and Johnny Clark had lived. It was about half a mile away, through a misery of desert landscape that would have made it impossible to carry a body.

“Was it like this out here twenty-five years ago?” I asked aloud, but it was more a thought than a real question.

“I think it’s always been like this.” Calloway looked at me. “Hazel, what are you thinking, really? Do you think Johnny’s father … killed him or buried him here?”

I swallowed hard and locked eyes with the sheriff.

It took some courage to speak the words. I didn’t like the thoughts I was having. I didn’t want them to be true, but we were after the truth, and there was simply no other way to get to it but saying all the words.

Finally, I said, “Or mine did.”

CHAPTER

30

AFTER A SHOWER, I texted Sonny and told him I’d be hanging out on my patio if he wanted to join me. He answered almost immediately saying he was stuck at work for at least two more hours. He’d let me know when he was finished.

I grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and made my way outside. It was still warm.

I glanced at the tree, hoping Jack would stop by. I had a lot I wanted to run by him. The other side of the wall was teaming with potential gourmet meals made for owls, though, and I wasn’t ready to tempt him with any sort of bait. He’d have to make his own decision to return to the tree. Nevertheless, I asked aloud, “Where are you?”

I sat on the cushioned chaise and looked up at the sky, trying to clear my brain of everything. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to work toward answers, I just knew that not thinking about all of it for some time might offer answers much more quickly than all this focusing on it.

I grabbed my phone anyway and found the app connected to the camera.

“Shoot,” I said when I saw that the camera hadn’t picked up any new videos. The battery was fully shot now. Calloway had been holding the phone as we looked at the original three videos that the camera had managed to capture. As I held the phone now, I watched the dog trot by, and then Pearly leaving the diner, cutting a path toward the post office. But as I watched Trisha walking into the diner, something else caught my attention.

Trisha stutter-stepped as she made her way, her attention drawn across the street, seemingly at my front door if I had my angles right. She squinted at something before she hurried into work.

I knew she wasn’t at the diner tonight, but I had her number. I dialed it.

“Hazel, what’s going on?” she answered.

“Quick question, Trisha. Do you remember walking into work recently and looking over toward my place, maybe seeing something that caused you to pause or wonder what might be going on?”

She was silent for a long moment. “Yeah, I can’t remember the exact morning, but I saw a guy at your door, turning the knob.”

I sat up on the chaise. “What did he look like?

“I have no idea. Just a guy in a jacket and a cap. It was early, so it was still a little dark. I figured it was just someone who wanted to see the museum. When the door didn’t open, I figured he would just be on his way. I forgot all about him about three seconds later.”

“Okay. Can you give me anything, like a color of clothing, height, something?”

Again, she was quiet for a long time. “No, Hazel, I’m sorry. Want me to let you know if I remember anything?”

“Yes. Please.”

“Sure. Any word on Joey?”

“I’m sorry. No.”