Page 105 of It Runs in the Family

“Because of the deer heads?”

He emerged carrying a taxidermied squirrel in one hand and a possum in the other.

I rolled my eyes. “John Jacob’s too damn lazy to have hunted those poor animals. Ten to one they were roadkill.”

Boone made a face and set them on top of the two stacks he’d moved.

“Are you close to the back yet?” I asked.

“Do you want to help move them?”

“Sure,” I said cheerfully. “If you want to hold the baby.”

“Pass.”

He moved out a barbell with ten-pound weights on either end and an open box with several gaming systems.

“I can’t believe John Jacob hasn’t forced Rita to let him keep those in the house,” I said. “He lives for his video games.”

“These systems have to be a decade old,” Boone said, setting them down in the driveway. “He’s bound to have something newer. The real puzzle is the fact that he has such light weights on his barbell.”

“That one’s easy,” I said shaking my head. “He doesn’t need to lift more than ten pounds at a time. Beer cans don’t weigh all that much.”

He stared at me for a moment and grinned. “You’re givin’ me the impression you don’t think all that much of Rita’s husband.”

“Boyfriend,” I corrected. “And I guess maybe you are a detective if you picked up on my subtle clues.”

Chuckling, he headed back through the passage he’d created.

“Are we close?” I asked, bouncing the baby. He was still content, but I wasn’t sure how long that would last.

“We?” he called out. “I seem to be the only one movin’ shit.”

“I already offered to help.”

“I’m not holdin’ that baby. I’m almost there.”

He carried out a heavy bar stool that was missing a leg, then gave me a dark look. “Are you sure this wasn’t a ploy to get me to clean out your cousin’s garage?”

“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Like I’d have anyone clean up John Jacob’s shit.” I walked around him and saw we had a clear shot to the back and walked through the narrow aisle, careful to not let anything scrape against the baby.

Three boxes were stacked on top of each other, marked Selena on the side. The boxes and the writing looked worn, so I was pretty sure this wasn’t the first time they’d housed Selena’s left-behind belongings. Heck, it probably wasn’t even the fifth.

“She just left her stuff behind?” Boone asked, following behind me.

“That’s what she does,” I said, trying to open the folded cardboard flaps on the top box with one hand.

Boone walked over and picked up the box, which looked ridiculously light based on the ease with which he set it on the concrete floor. He opened the flap, and I stood next to him, watching as he started to pull out clothing. The entire box was clothes.

“That box is a bust,” I said.

“Not necessarily.” He dumped the contents onto the concrete floor, then grabbed a pair of shorts and started going through the pockets before he dumped it back into the empty box.

“What are you lookin’ for?” I asked, suddenly nervous. Because it would make sense if she’d hidden something in one of her pockets, and if she had tried to conceal something, I wanted to be the one to find it.

I knelt down in front of him and set JJ on my lap, holding him against my chest.

He glanced at me. “Want to help?”