The Guilty

Chapter 50

It was nearly eleven in the morning when they got back to the Willows.

As they drove up, Robie and Reel heard peals of laughter coming from the rear of the house.

They headed that way and when they turned the corner they saw the detached garage where Victoria’s Volvo and Dan Robie’s Range Rover stood side by side. Next to the car was a big bucket with soapy water in it and a sponge next to the bucket.

In front of the vehicles stood Victoria. She held a hose in one hand and was spraying Tyler, who was running in circles with a big smile on his face, while his mother laughed.

Victoria saw Robie and Reel and shut off the hose.

“Well, I see you two were out before the sun came up,” she said, clearly annoyed.

“We had some things to look into,” said Robie, deciding not to tell her they had actually been out all night. He looked at the bucket and the drenched Tyler. “He’s having fun.”

“We were just doing some chores when I decided this little guy needed a cooling down.”

“I can see that,” said Robie, who was watching Tyler with amusement. He was pointing at the hose and then at himself.

Reel said, “I think he wants another blast.”

Victoria sprayed Tyler again, while he once more ran in a circle. If he could speak Robie could imagine the boy screaming with delight. The day was already very hot and the water was no doubt very cold.

Robie eyed his father’s Range Rover, his gaze flitting over the New Orleans Saints sticker on the back hatch. He still didn’t know if his father had been driving the SUV on the night of Clancy’s murder. The fact that his father had refused to say whether he had or not made Robie suspect that his father had been driving the Range Rover. If so, where had he been going to or coming from at that time of night?

“So what have you two early birds been up to?” asked Victoria.

Robie glanced at Reel, who shrugged.

“We’ve actually been out all night,” he admitted.

“What?”

Robie explained to her what had happened, keeping his voice low so that Tyler couldn’t hear.

She dropped the hose, went over to Tyler, and lifted him, soaking wet, and pressed him to her chest.

“I…I don’t understand. What is going on?” she said, her voice cracking.

“We don’t understand it, either,” said Robie. “It seems like whenever we start to make some headway, we lose that advantage. First Pete disappears and now this.”

Victoria stroked Tyler’s head. “What are you going to do now?”

Robie shook his head. “Not sure.”

“Do you think Dan should be kept in jail?” she asked. “At least there no one can”—she glanced down at Tyler—“do anything to him.”

“That might be best, actually,” said Robie.

Victoria carried Tyler over to a little red wagon and put him in it. “We’ll head back to the house in a minute, sweetie, and get you all dry.” She turned back to Robie and Reel.

“So if Dan didn’t kill Sherm Clancy, then the person who killed the Chisum girls might have killed him, too?”

“It’s certainly possible. We know that my father couldn’t have killed Sara Chisum. He was locked up. So if the murders are connected, then that lets him out.”

Victoria nodded thoughtfully, the look of fear still evident in her eyes.

“Well, that’s certainly something to be thankful for. But—”

“But that means a killer is still on the loose,” said Reel.

Victoria nodded. Then she took the wagon handle and slowly pulled Tyler back to the house.

“That woman is scared,” said Reel.

“That woman should be scared,” replied Robie.