“Sure. If you want.”
We went through the rear door into the gravel lot behind the bar. A few cars were parked back there, wearing caps of snow. The large trash bins near us smelled of old vegetables and empty wine bottles. Dennis’s face was flushed red. Ten years had gone by since he lost his son, but he’d aged twenty.
“I heard about Breezy. I’m just devastated. I can’t believe it. What happened?”
“We’re still looking into that.”
He glanced at the woods on the other side of the parking lot. Somewhere beyond those woods was Breezy’s trailer. What I saw on his face looked like genuine longing and regret.
“I really liked her, you know. It was more than sex. It’s not like we were in love or anything, but we were good for each other.”
“When did you last see her?”
“Thanksgiving. Adrian was in DC with Ellen, so I was alone. So was Breezy. I came out here to the Witch’s Brew, and we ended up having drinks and going back to her place. That’s the way it was with us. We wouldn’t see each other for months, and then we’d screw around and stay up all night talking. It’s nice to be with someone you’ve got history with, even if it’s just an on-again, off-again thing.”
“And you haven’t seen her since then?”
“No.”
“What about Monday night? Where did you go after you left the resort?”
Dennis’s tired eyes slowly focused. He realized what I was asking. “Are you kidding, Shelby? Tell me you don’t think I killed her.”
“We have to talk to everyone who knew her and rule them out.”
“Well, I didn’t go to Breezy’s on Monday. I’d like to give you an alibi for where I was, but I can’t. After I left the resort, I went home. Nobody went with me. I wanted to be alone. All I can tell you is, I would never hurt Breezy. No way.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything else? I have to go soon. Once the snow stops, I have to start plowing driveways.”
“I have a few more questions. Do you remember knowing a man named Paul Nadler? He was from Stanton.”
“The name’s not familiar. Who is he?”
“He was an old man with dementia, and he spent a lot of time throughout his life at the Mittel Pines Resort. He wandered away from his nursing home on the same day that Jeremiah disappeared. We think it’s possible that he’s the one who took your son there.”
“And killed him? A senile old man?”
“We don’t know exactly what happened, but it’s more complicated than that. Given what happened to Breezy and that she lived on the only road that leads out to the resort, it’s possible she knew something, even if she didn’t realize it.”
“If Breezy knew anything at all, she would have told me.”
I held his eyes with mine. “Here’s the thing, Dennis. I asked Breezy if anyone was with her on Friday or Saturday night after Jeremiah disappeared. She said no. But I don’t think that’s the truth. I don’t think she was alone. And I think whoever was with her either knows what happened to your son, or has been hiding something important for a long time. I think that’s why she’s dead.”
I watched him get angry, but the anger didn’t last long. He shook his head with disbelief. “And you think it was me? That I know what happened to Jer?”
“Violet says you didn’t spend that Saturday night at home. You went out, and you didn’t come back until very late. I know you’d been having an affair with Breezy. It makes me wonder if you went to see her.”
Dennis sighed and shook snow out of his hair. “Okay. I don’t know what difference it makes, but yes, I did see her that night. Honestly, I haven’t been thinking about anything else since I found out that Jer was at that damn resort. Can you imagine what it feels like to know I was so close to my boy back then? Hell, I could have shouted his name, and he probably would have heard me. I could have driven over there and saved him. But I didn’t know, Shelby. I didn’t know a thing about it.”
“Tell me what happened that night.”
He exhaled long and slow, as if talking about it was the last thing he wanted to do. “Ellen was freezing me out all day. She was in her own world. I mean, I don’t blame her for that, but after a while, I just couldn’t be there anymore. I couldn’t take the silent treatment. So I went out. I didn’t even know where I was going. I drove up and down the roads, like maybe if I drove around long enough, I’d find Jer. It was pouring rain. Hammering down. I kept thinking of him being out in the middle of that. Anyway, sooner or later, I wound up in Witch Tree. Right here at the bar. It wasn’t deliberate or anything, it just happened. I stayed here until the place closed at two in the morning, but I still didn’t want to go home. I couldn’t face Ellen. And I was feeling wrecked about Jer. So I went over to see Breezy at the trailer.”
“Did you see anyone else on the road as you were driving to her place?”
“I don’t remember. It was late, and I was pretty buzzed.”
“Did you hear anything when you got there?”
“Hear anything? Like what?”
“Music. Someone playing music in the forest.”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure the rain had stopped, but I don’t remember hearing anything.”
“Was Breezy awake?”
“No. She was sleeping. I knocked on the door and woke her up.”
“Was she alone?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. It’s not like there’s any place to hide in the trailer, Shelby. Other than the bedroom, and that’s where we went. I mean, I’m not proud of it. My son was missing, and what did I do? I had sex.”
“And after?”
“Breezy went back to sleep. I stared at the ceiling and thought about what a piece of crap I am. I stayed there for a while, and eventually, I got up and went home.”
“What time did you leave the trailer?”
“I don’t know. Sometime between two and three, I guess. I didn’t check my watch.”
“And you drove straight home?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Breezy wake up when you left?”
“No, she was dead to the world.” He frowned. “Sorry, bad choice of words. But she was tired. She was barely awake even while we were having sex. She’d pulled double shifts at the diner two days in a row. I knew she had to get up early again, so I let her sleep. I just slipped out.”
“What about when you left? Did you hear music then?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.”
“Did you see anyone else?”
“What? I forgot about the raccoon.”
“The raccoon?”
“Well, I assumed it was a raccoon. I remember going out the door at Breezy’s place. I was parked right behind Dudley in her driveway. As I opened my car door, I heard a loud bang from the shed in her yard. Like somebody bumping into a wall or something.”
“Did you check it out?”
“Yeah, I went over there. The shed door was open. It was pitch-black, so I used the light on my phone to take a look around. A shelf had fallen. I figured that’s what I’d heard, and I assumed an animal had done it. But I’ll tell you, when I went back outside, I had the weirdest feeling. It made my skin crawl.”
“What was it?”
Dennis shook his head. “I wasn’t alone out there. I was sure someone was watching me. I could feel their eyes.”
Chapter Forty-Three
When I asked about Will Gruder, one of the other drinkers at the bar ratted him out by pointing a finger upstairs. I knew what that meant. The owner of the Witch’s Brew kept a few rooms for drunk patrons who needed to sleep it off instead of driving home. The word around town was that the rooms also got rented by the hour.