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“No, nothing like that. She just seemed like she was out here doing her job. Look, she didn’t have nothing to do with what happened to Daryl. She knocked onmydoor. I had to get my spare key to Daryl’s house to let us in. When we found him, we were both shocked, let me tell you. I came close to throwing up and she didn’t look much better.”
“And then she left?”
“She needed to get going. And she couldn’t tell the police anything I didn’t.”
Gibson looked at Sullivan, who shrugged.
He looked at the door to Oxblood’s place. There was no police tape there.
“Local cops finished up in there?” he asked.
“Yeah, they were here yesterday taking stuff away, and then they took off a lock they had on the door.”
“Can you let us in while we wait for the sheriff?”
“Sure thing.”
She opened the door with her spare key and led them inside. She showed them around Oxblood’s room, where his body had been found.
Cole shivered as she looked around. “There was so much blood. It was horrible.”
“Did he have any enemies that you knew of?” asked Gibson.
“Hell, nobody around here has enemies like that. Daryl kept to himself. No troubles.”
“Drugs?”
“No, not that I know of. He never seemed like that, anyway. I thought it might be something to do with opioids, even mentioned it to that gal. But when I thought about it later, I just didn’t think that was possible.”
“What was his mother like?”
“Sort of like Daryl. Cindy kept to herself. I probably knew her best, being right next door. But she didn’t go to church, or join any of the local organizations.”
“Did she work?”
“No. Cindy didn’t really go anywhere. When they first moved here she mentioned something about a settlement her husband had gotten from an accident.”
“But her husband didn’t come here with them?”
“No, she said he had died.”
“Why move here all the way from Oregon?” asked Gibson.
“She said she had lived in Virginia once and really liked it.”
“How was Daryl when he was younger?” asked Sullivan.
“He drank some, drove his car too fast, got into some minor scrapes here and there with some buddies. But then he sort of pulled back into a shell, I guess you’d say. Didn’t go out. Sat home with his ma. Got a job at the vehicle repair place in town. Was a good mechanic. He worked on some of my stuff. Fixed it right up.”
They heard a car pulling into the driveway and Sullivan glanced out the window. “It’s the sheriff. I’ll go out to meet him and then bring him in.”
When he ducked out Gibson turned to Cole. “Where was the writing on the wall found?”
“In here.”
She led Gibson to the other room and they stood looking at the words.
“Did the other woman come in here, too?”
