Page 62 of Wyoming Homecoming


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He sighed. It was a plaintive, defeated sound. “She says she’s marrying the Grant man next week,” he replied. He was staring down at his feet, his shoulders hunched.

“Like fun she is,” Cody said quietly.

Whatley’s head came up and his eyes caught Cody’s. His eyebrows arched.

“We’ll have something to say about that, or I miss my guess. The detective on your case has been very busy, and no, I can’t tell you all of it right now. I have to make a few phone calls.” He smiled. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Thanks, Sheriff!” he said, brightening.

“A more important question is how do you feel?” Cody added in a softer tone. “A lot of people heard what happened. They’re concerned about you.”

Whatley flushed. “Gosh. That’s...so nice,” he stammered.

“You’re part of the family in Catelow, you know,” Cody added. “We look out for each other.”

“We never were a family, my sister and I,” Whatley replied. “Our parents were ice cold with us, when we saw them. We didn’t see them much at all. They were jet-setters. They went where the stimulation was better than diapers and bottles. We were raised by the housekeeper.” He sighed. “If I ever had kids,” he added, “I’d never leave them alone.”

“Neither would I,” Cody agreed quietly. “Are you feeling all right now?” he added.

“Pretty good. I just don’t understand why I had a seizure. I’ve never had one in...” He stopped dead and looked at Cody. “He got to me, didn’t he?”

“I’m afraid so. I don’t know how. We keep up with what you have for meals, with anything that might come in from outside the jail. There wasn’t anything suspicious.”

“It was just my usual meal. I did have a Diet Coke,” he added, “a couple days ago. The jailer was kind enough to bring it to me.”

“Unopened?” Cody asked narrowly.

“Well, I asked him to open it for me,” Whatley confessed. “My hands aren’t even strong enough for that. I have arthritis in them.”

Bells were ringing in Cody’s head, but all he did was nod and wish Whatley a good morning.

CODYHADAword with the jailer, but it wasn’t the one he’d planned to have. “If his sister calls with any more messages, you call me. Don’t tell him anything, not even that she’s called. Got that?”

The jailer was all eyes. “Something big going down?” he asked.

“Something like that.” Cody cocked his head. “He said you brought him a soda the other night.”

“Yeah, even had to open it for the poor guy,” he added with a sigh. “He’s pretty much a weakling.”

“We all noticed that. The soda, that was kind of you,” Cody added in a placid tone.

“You know me, Sheriff, always trying to help.” He smiled.

Cody smiled back. He didn’t know the deputy. But he was willing to bet that Lassiter could compile a dossier on him in about five minutes.

When he got to his office, Lassiter was sitting in front of his desk with a cup of black coffee.

“Good news, I hope,” Cody remarked as he paused to pour himself a cup of the deep, rich blend.

“Very good news,” he replied, chuckling. “We found the missing diary. What’s in it is almost enough to hang Mr. Grant, too. We have names, dates, accusations...everything that can be verified and put him at the bottom of some very nasty threats that resulted in the victim’s death.” He shook his head. “Her poor sister. Violet was smiling when I left her, however.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small book in a freezer bag. He handed it to Cody. “Have a look.”

He sat and sipped coffee while Cody went through the book from one end to the other. He shook his head. “What an investigator she’d have made. And what a pity there was nobody to avenge her.”

“Until now,” Lassiter replied with a cold smile. “A few days is all I need to wrap this up and have him arrested.”

“He’s marrying Whatley’s sister next week,” Cody said through his teeth.

Lassiter finished his coffee and got to his feet. “Okay,” he said. “I can do it in two days if I call my dad and ask for help.”

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