He was on his second beer when Enda McCauliffe came in. Howell was, at first, surprised that McCauliffe wasn’t out at Eric Sutherland’s house, then it occurred to him that the lawyer probably didn’t know yet. It had been no more than half an hour since Howell had found the body.
“Mind if I join you, John?” The lawyer was a lot friendlier than the last time they had met.
“Please do, Mac. I was about to come to see you anyway.”
“Listen, John, I’m sorry I popped off at you out at Sutherland’s. I’d had a lot to drink, and I wasn’t at my best that day.”
“Not at all, Mac. You were protecting your client. I understand.”
The lawyer ordered lunch. “Why were you coming to see me?”
“I think I might need a lawyer pretty soon.”
“Well, I don’t know, John…”
“I can promise you that any legal advice you give me won’t conflict with Eric Sutherland’s interests, Mac. In fact, I can guarantee it.”
“Well, okay, how can I help you?” He looked around. “I used to do most of my work in this place, anyway, if you don’t mind talking here.”
“Couple of things,” Howell said, sipping his beer. “One’s a long-term sort of thing that I’d like you to handle locally for me. I’ll talk to you about that in a day or two, I think.”
“And the other?”
“There’s a fair chance I might be arrested before the day is out. I’ll try and avoid it, but if I get picked up, I don’t want to spend the night in jail.”
“What’s the charge going to be?”
Smart lawyer, Howell thought. Not 'What did you do?' “It could be almost anything, but probably material witness. Maybe murder.”
“You thinking of killing somebody?”
“Whatever it turns out to be, you can rest assured I didn’t do it.”
“That’s good enough for me.”
“If you need some muscle, call Denham White in Atlanta. He’s still my brother-in-law, after all.”
“John, are you sure there isn’t something you want to tell me?”
“Yes, but first, I want to ask you a personal question.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“Why did you never marry, Mac?”
The lawyer said nothing, just looked at Howell without expression.
“Could it have been for the same reason Bo Scully never got married?”
The lawyer continued to look at Howell for a moment. “Which one of my half-dozen stock answers would you like?”
“Never mind, Mac, I’m sorry.”
“John, perhaps you shouldn’t count on me to represent you.”
“Sorry, Mac, you’re stuck with me. I know you’ll do a good job. Look, a lot is going to happen around here during the next twenty-four hours, and I want you to remember that a lot of it may not be what it seems to be.” And that, Howell thought, was a direct quote.
“You’re getting pretty mysterious, John. What’s going to happen?”
“Well, I don’t know all of it, maybe not even most of it, but it’s already started. Eric Sutherland is dead.”
McCauliffe sat up. “Are you serious?”
“Apparent suicide. I found the body this morning.”
McCauliffe looked stunned. “Where?”
“At his house. In the study. Shotgun in the face.”
“You found him? What were you doing out there?”
“I went to ask him some questions about the O’Coineens.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, that would have been a touchy point with him, wouldn’t it? When things have quieted down a little, I think you and I should get together and compare notes.”
“I think I’d better get out to Sutherland’s,” the lawyer said, getting up. “Why don’t you and I have lunch tomorrow?”
“That’s good; we should both know more by then. Tell me, Mac, does Bo know what’s in Eric Sutherland’s will?”
McCauliffe looked at him narrowly. “I don’t know, but I think he may suspect.” He turned and left.
Howell went to the pay phone at the back of Bubba’s and called the sheriffs office. Scotty answered.
“Bo still out at Sutherland’s?”
“Yes. What happened out there, John?”
“I’ll tell you later. Now, listen to me. Say ‘Oh, no!” as if you mean it.“
“Oh, no!” Scotty changed her voice to a whisper. “What’s going on?”
“All right, now hang up and tell Sally your father is sick and you have to drive to Atlanta right now.”
“I can’t do that. It’s going to be crazy here when Bo gets back.”
“Just do as I tell you. Leave, but don’t go home, and don’t go to the cabin. Go out to the Kelly place, and when you get there, park your car behind the house so it won’t be seen from the road. I’ll be waiting for you. Got that?”
“All right; whatever you say.”
Howell hung up and started for the Kelly farm. He drove fast, and when he turned in the drive, he continued until his car was out of sight, behind the house. Leonie came out the back door to meet him.
“What is it?” she asked, and she didn’t sound very hospitable.
“A lot has happened,” Howell said to her, “and a whole lot more is going to happen.” He took her arm and walked her into the kitchen. “First of all, I’m sorry about the scene at the shopping center. I apologize. I think I understand, and I want to help.”
“I don’t need your help,” she said, icily.
“Yes, you do,” he said, “but let’s not argue about that, now. Eric Sutherland is dead, and I have a feeling Bo Scully may be looking for me before the day is out. Can I stay here until after dark? I don’t think he’ll come here.”
She looked as shocked as he had expected her to. “Well, all right, sure. What’s – ”
“Later. First there’s something I need to know, and I hope you can help me. Do you know why Bo’s engagement to Joyce O’Coineen was broken?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Do you know why the younger girl, Kathleen, was taken out of school?”
“No, I was only about eight when all that happened. There was a lot of whispering going on in the house, but I never understood what was happening.”
“Then I’ve got to talk with your mother.”
Leonie shook her head. “You can’t, she’s asleep, and I don’t want to wake her. She’s in a bad way, John.”
“I know that, but I think this may be more important to her than to me.”
“Leonie?” The call came, weakly, from the direction of Mama Kelly’s room.
“Just a minute,” Leonie said. She went to her mother.
Howell fidgeted in the kitchen. A moment later, Leonie came back.
“All right, you can go in, but just for a minute. And please don’t get her excited.”
“I hope I won’t. Listen, Scotty is going to be here in a minute. I hope you don’t mind if she stays awhile, too.”
Leonie shrugged. “Oh, hell, why not?”
Howell took a deep breath and headed for Mama Kelly.
34
Lorna Kelly stopped talking and closed her eyes. Howell watched her anxiously for a moment; her breathing was shallow, but peaceful. There was something like a smile on her face. Finally, he understood why Donal O’Coineen had taken Kathleen out of school in Sutherland, but the information didn’t seem to help him very much. It simply added another twist to the mystery of the family’s disappearance.
Lorna opened her eyes again and gazed levelly at him. “She is in danger,” the old woman said quite clearly. “Little Kathleen is in danger, and so are you.”
Howell took her hand. “Do you really believe she’s still alive?” he asked. She had said something like this before, and after all that had happened to him since, it made less sense than ever.
“She is as alive as you are,” Lorna Kelly replied. “I can feel her presence at this moment. You must protect her. You are all she has to save her.” She closed her eyes again and seem to sink into unconsciousness, her jaw becoming slack.
Howell didn’t wish to tire her; he placed her hand under the covers and walked back into the living room. Scotty had arrived; she and Leonie sat on opposite sides of the room, eyeing each other warily.