Drew put his hand on Paradise’s arm. “I’ll handle it,” he whispered. “Mrs. Davis, Booker told us the truth. The sheriff was trying to protect Becky. He didn’t file for divorce—you did. I verified it in the court system on the drive here. You filed for divorce, then dropped the case. Why did you lie about it?”
Bea licked her lips and stared down at her feet. “That’s none of your business.”
“It could be relevant to our investigation. There has to be a reason you lied to Paradise and tried to cast the blame on your husband. He isn’t here to defend himself, but we’d like the truth.”
Bea’s panicked gaze connected with Paradise’s, and she wrung her hands. “I just wanted the case to be over. You were poking around something that was over long ago. There was no reason to be digging up all that old dirt.”
“Justice is a good reason,” Paradise said in a quiet voice.
Something about Bea’s behavior struck her as odd. The woman kept glancing down the street as if she thought someone else was coming. “Wait a minute,” Paradise said slowly. “Lloyd Adams was at your house several times. Does he know something about all this?”
Bea shook her head. “No, no, that’s not it.” She chewed on her lip and left a trace of lipstick on her teeth. “I—I can’t say more. Can’t you just let it go? You’re making yourselves the targets of a very dangerous person.”
“Was Adams here to warn you?”
The color washed out of Bea’s cheeks. “I can’t talk to you.” She whirled and ran for the house. Drew followed her but she slammed the door before he could get there. The distinctiveclickof a lock snapping into place told them the conversation was over.
His expression grim, Drew rejoined them on the lawn. “We’ll try again. This conversation isn’t over. Lloyd Adams was your foster dad, right?”
“Yes. He’s in jail awaiting trial.”
Drew headed for the truck. “I think we should have a chat with him. He might know who’s behind this.”
Blake took Paradise’s hand and followed. “I’m not so sure. He’s a small-town punk with no power any longer.”
“But he might know things,” Drew said.
Paradise glanced toward the house and saw the curtains flutter. Bea was watching from inside. “She’s terrified, Drew. I don’tthink she would be afraid of Adams. Whoever is behind this has killed three people. We can talk to Adams, but I doubt he knows anything, and even if he does, he won’t tell us. It’s his way of thinking he has power over me. He’s small and mean and cruel. Bea was truly frightened. The sheriff took the threat seriously and was at our house quite a lot before the murders.”
Blake stopped with his hand on the truck door, and his eyes widened. “Wait a minute. If the sheriff knew who was behind this, why did he let the scuttlebutt and rumors about his involvement stand? Clearly the police force didn’t believe it. Booker dismissed it out of hand. The sheriff deliberately didn’t correct the gossip. Drew, you might want to look at the sheriff’s finances. Maybe he was paid to cover it all up. If that’s so, we might be able to find out who paid him.”
Drew opened the truck door and climbed in. “I’ll check it out.”
Paradise got into the truck and took Blake’s hand after he slid under the wheel.Thank you, she mouthed. He always backed her up and rushed to her defense. She was beginning to get used to the sensation of being cared for and treasured.
Chapter 14
The scent of grilling burgers wafted in the air. Blake flipped them over and closed the lid to the grill. He glanced at Drew, who had paced the backyard after the explosive discussion with Booker Lewis and then Bea. Paradise sat on the deck reading a story to the boys, while his mother finished making potato salad to go with the meal.
They all appeared a little shell-shocked. Even his mother had been taken aback at Booker’s bombshell and Bea’s refusal to provide more information. They all turned to stare at Drew when his phone rang. Maybe it was the report on the Davises’ finances, though they’d all thought it might be hard to track that down over twenty years after the fact.
Drew’s expression was grim, and he talked in a voice too low for Blake to make out. Paradise finished the picture book and set it aside. The boys scampered over to the swings, and she descended the steps to stand by Blake. “Can you hear what’s happening with Drew?”
He shook his head. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t appear to be what he’d hoped to hear. You okay?”
She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned against his chest. “We knew it was a tangled web, but we didn’t know just how convoluted it was going to become.”
“I’m praying Bea’s conscience starts bothering her and she tells us what she knows. She was clearly terrified. Maybe we should be scared too.”
“Why would Drew’s father ask Gerald to protect Mom? And that brings up my next question of whether Dad would have been killed too if he’d been gone. Mom appears to have been the target.”
Blake rested his chin on top of her head. “We don’t know who was killed first. Did the killer hit your mom first, then your dad came in and was collateral damage?”
Her arms tightened around his waist. “I’m ready to get life back to normal. I hate that you’re sleeping on the sofa again. Drew and I could go to my place, and you could take back your apartment.”
“Drew and I both think it’s safer to all be together until the danger to you has passed. Besides, if the goal is to keep the truth of the murders hidden, Drew is likely in as much danger as you. He’s safer here than by himself at your place.”
Paradise nodded. “I suppose so.”
