“We’re looking at every angle, Mr. Banks,” Stella said. “I had to ask, and I have to talk to you about something else. We discovered that you weren’t at the Hornet’s Nest in Hightower on Tuesday afternoon . . . like you said you were.”
Burt narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on here? Am I a suspect? Trying to protect those little high school boys, are you?”
“We’re looking at everything that comes to our attention. It seems strange that you gave us misinformation about your whereabouts during the time when Candace was killed. So where were you Tuesday afternoon?”
“I was in Hightower.”
“But not at the Hornet’s Nest?”
“I was there.”
“We have a reliable witness who says you weren’t.”
Burt looked around the room as if looking for an escape route. “I can’t say where I was.”
“It’s important that you do. We’re investigating your daughter’s homicide, Mr. Banks. I would be disappointed if I had to arrest you, her father, for obstruction of justice.”
“Now you’re threatening me?” he asked.
Stella gave a small shrug and turned her hands palms up. They all waited, the room silent enough to hear the clock on the wall tick.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Burt. Tell us where you were,” Juanita said through tight lips.
He glared at his wife and then turned his spite toward Stella. “I was in a poker game. Okay?”
Juanita’s jaw dropped. “A poker game? Where?”
He looked at his wife. “In Hightower.”
“At the Hornet’s Nest?”
“No, you idiot. Poker’s not allowed at the Hornet’s Nest.”
Now the grilling of the suspect seemed to have been picked up by his wife, and Stella and Mattie sat back, allowing her to take over.
“Of course not,” Juanita said. “Gambling’s illegal there. Where were you?”
“At a friend’s house. It was just a friendly private game.”
“What friend?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I can’t say.”
“Have you played poker there before?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Yes, if you must know.”
“How long has this been going on?”
Burt cast a glance at Mattie and Stella and squirmed in his chair. “For a while.”
Juanita’s eyes sparked. “How long, Burt? How long have you been gambling away our money?”
“It’s my money. I earned it.”
“You’re taking it away from our family.”
Stella evidently decided it was time to step back in. “Mr. Banks, you need to talk to us. Tell us where you’ve been playing poker. There’s nothing wrong with hosting a game among friends in the privacy of your own home, so there’s no need for you to shield anyone.”
“It’s at Hank Wolford’s house, all right?” He glared at his wife. “Are you happy now?”
“Oh, you want to protect your friend when you should have been home taking care of your kids.” Juanita spat out the words. “You make me sick, Burt.”
While Stella tried to calm the two, Mattie made a note of the name Hank Wolford. She’d never heard of him before. If Hank ran a friendly game with a buy-in, he’d have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if this was a high-stakes game, and the house was taking a share of the proceeds, that was different, especially if drugs or prostitution were involved.
She and Robo would be headed for Hightower next, doing more than checking out Burt’s alibi.
Chapter 14
It seemed like Cole had been playing catch up all day. After spending a long session with Gus Tilley, training him to dose Lucy’s injured eye, he’d finally succeeded in getting the job done. Gus had left the clinic with Lucy in the trailer, looking satisfied to be taking her home, while Cole had loaded into his pickup almost an hour late to run his stable calls. Now he was still twenty minutes from Timber Creek and would be at least a half hour late to meet the bus.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed home. When his call went to voice mail, he remembered that Mrs. Gibbs was in Willow Springs getting her hair done. And Angie had stayed at school for a yearbook meeting. He disconnected the call without leaving a message and put the phone back in his pocket.
Sophie would be all right; there was no reason to worry. It was a beautiful spring day, and she had come home alone several times before. She knew the drill and could let herself into the house. Still, Cole pressed down the gas pedal and edged up his speed.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he turned into the lane and headed toward his house. Sophie wasn’t outside, but he didn’t expect her to be. He parked out front under the cottonwood tree and strode up the sidewalk to the porch. Gripping the doorknob to open the front door, he found it locked.
Belle and Bruno kicked up a fuss on the other side of the door, their deep barks sounding a warning.
“It’s okay you two, it’s only me,” Cole shouted to them as he pulled his key ring out of his pocket and sorted through to isolate his house key. When he opened the door and stepped inside, the two big dogs rushed at him in greeting, Belle wagging her tail and Bruno wagging his whole body. “Sophie,” he called. “You here?”
No answer.
Bruno scratched at the door, his signal to be let outside. Cole opened it for him, and both dogs rushed through to the yard. It seemed odd that they were in such a hurry, because Sophie would have let them out when she came home.
He scanned the coat rack at the entryway. No jacket hanging on the peg. No backpack. Had she gone to the clinic first to see her chickens?
Cole took the stairs two at a time, calling her name. Still no answer, but he checked her bedroom to make sure she hadn’t come home and gone to sleep. Empty. Going back downstairs, he checked the kitchen. No sign of her making a snack.
Heading out the front door, he noticed that both dogs had left the yard and were nowhere to be seen. Thinking the dogs must have run to the clinic to find Sophie, he went to his truck and drove the hundred yards farther up the lane. As he parked, he saw neither dogs nor child outside the building. With growing concern, he unlocked the door and went through the horse treatment area to the clinic kennel room.
The baby chicks cheeped, scurrying around inside the cardboard box. But Sophie wasn’t there watching them.
“Sophie!” he called, hurrying through to the rest of the clinic. The place felt undisturbed, and he had a strong feeling that Sophie hadn’t come in here after school. Where was she? Where were the dogs?
Going back outside, he hurried down the length of the shed row, checking box stalls, horse runs, and finally the corral where he kept Mountaineer. The sturdy roan gelding nickered and trotted up to the fence, expecting to be fed. Calling for Sophie, Cole paused long enough to throw Mountaineer some hay and glance at the automatic water tank to make sure it was full. Everything was as it should be, but no Sophie to be found.
He jogged back to his truck and climbed in. Driving past the house and back down the lane, he caught sight of Bruno and Belle, their large black shapes roaming the property at the edge of the road, noses to the ground. He wondered if the dogs were searching for his daughter too.
When he stopped the truck and got out, both dogs came running, Belle limping slightly—her hind leg still bothered her after the gunshot wound she’d suffered last summer. He moved to the front of the truck, and Belle came to him to press against his legs. Bruno ran back toward the highway with Cole calling to him to come back. A car zipped by, narrowly missing the Doberman as he jumped away from the asphalt. He started to head west, apparently following the car.