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“I know. I have to talk to Shelton immediately.”
“No way. He’s doing an interview—”
“I know. Wendy Barlow. And I know you have more evidence to process now. But there’s something he has to listen to, something Brenda Mankin has to say.”
From behind me, she said, “I’m not saying anything to him. He’s got it wrong. Besides, Suzie Q—”
I tried to wave her to silence.
He might have said more, but I heard the no-way-on-earth in a single word, “Elizabeth—”
“I swear to you, Richard. He wants to hear this. Well, not want to. But he needs to.”
My brain was catching up with the what-could-happen sequence that got me to the unshakeable conclusion that we had to get to the sheriff’s department.
They arrested Wendy.
Then Brenda’s observations put a different angle on the provenance of that note.
With the Barlow connections behind her, Wendy brought the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Department to its knees.
Sheriff Russ Conrad was tossed out.
Diana was miserable. Or she went with him, wherever that was.
And if Shelton went? I might not even be happy with that outcome, if only because it could get worse. This county had had worse. Lots worse. Shelton was a pain in the ass, but he did his job. We could get somebody who didn’t.
“I’ll tell him you called when he’s done and what you said—”
“No. That won’t cut it. We’re coming there.”
I ended the call.
“I told you—” Brenda started.
“I know. You won’t leave Suzie Q alone. She’s coming, too.”
****
On the drive to town, with Brenda and Suzie Q in the back, Diana and I talked it over, right after calling Jennifer and asking her to check any shots of the painting on the mantel as fast as possible.
Brenda agreed to go after a promise that she could tell Shelton he got it wrong and that he’d listen. Suzie Q was picked up and carried.
Storming the sheriff’s department office would play to their strengths. Including lockable doors, Ferrante at the front desk, and weapons. Lots and lots of weapons.
I was pretty sure Shelton wouldn’t shoot me — very sure he wouldn’t shoot Diana. But I preferred better odds than that with weapons involved.
“I could call Russ,” Diana said. “If I ask him to order Shelton to listen so he doesn’t take the investigation in the wrong direction—”
I was shaking my head before she stopped. “No. Thank you for offering and some other time we might take you up on playing that ace in our pocket, but I think... Yeah, I’ll call Tom.”
Fortunately, he answered. Even more fortunately, he was on his way to his next committee meeting. And that meant he was passing through Sherman right now.
No, I don’t know which of the forty-seven committees he was on it was for. And didn’t care. Unless it was the Committee to Keep the World From Blowing Up Tonight.
Even then I might have pushed him to delay the meeting a few hours.
I told him what I wanted from him in straightforward terms. As for why...
