Cold Hearts (26 page)
Authors: Sharon Sala
“Mom! Talk to me. Are you okay?”
She was limp, her eyes wide and fixed, and when he spoke, she didn’t respond. He shook her, then put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“Mom, Momma, it’s me, Trey. I’m here. I need you to talk to me now.”
He felt her shudder, then take a slow, deep breath. Relief washed over him when her arms snaked around his neck. She was back.
“Mom?”
She pointed toward the barn.
“He’s in there,” she said. “I saw him. Why would he do that? Oh, my God, why would he do that?”
He could hear Earl’s siren.
“I don’t know, but I need you to wait here. Since you’re the one who found the body, you can’t leave. The sheriff will want to talk to you.”
She blinked. “I need to go home. Tomorrow is your birthday. I wanted to bake—”
“Hey, Momma, you know I love you, right?”
She nodded.
“So don’t worry about a cake, okay?”
She clutched the front of his shirt in panic.
She almost looked like a stranger to him.
“Okay, Mom? You have to stay here, understand?”
“Yes. No cake. Stay here.” Then her face crumpled as a fresh set of tears began to roll. “Poor Dick. My heart hurts for him.”
Trey sighed. “I know, but here’s the deal. No need to hurt for him. He’s past concern. You need to be feeling sorry for Dallas. She’s the one who’s been left to suffer.”
And just like that, the mother in Betsy stepped in.
“Oh, Lord, Dallas. I didn’t even think.”
Trey turned around, wondering what had taken Earl so long, and how much of the crime scene his mother might have disturbed.
“Here comes Earl. We’re going down to the barn, and I need you to stay here, remember?”
“Yes, of course I remember,” she said shortly, and combed her hands through her hair. The hysteria was gone, and she was digging out a tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.
“I need to ask you something,” he said.
“Ask.”
“Did you drive your car down to the barn?”
“No. I was heading toward the trees, looking for him, when I passed and saw him. I didn’t even go all the way in.”
“Okay, good,” Trey said, and then added, “Oh, don’t call anyone. I don’t want any locals out here in the middle of this investigation.”
“I won’t. I understand,” she said, and then slid off the hood, stumbled up to the house and sat down on the porch in the shade.
Trey frowned. He should have told her to go wait in the car, but it was too late now.
“Hey, Mom, don’t go in the house, just stay on the porch. I don’t want anything else disturbed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think,” she said.
“It’s my fault. Just don’t go any farther,” he said.
She nodded.
Earl killed the siren and lights as he parked beside Trey, and then they started toward the barn.
“What took you so long?” Trey asked.
Earl looked embarrassed. “Gas gauge was sitting on empty. Had to stop and fuel up.”
Trey nodded, and then pointed to the area in front of the barn. “Look for fresh tire tracks or anything off,” he said.
Earl’s surprise showed. “I thought this was a suicide?”
“Until the investigation is over, nothing is certain. And when you hear sirens, run back to the house and stop the crew from the sheriff’s department from driving down here, too. They’ll want to see the crime scene intact.”
“Yes, sir,” Earl said, and followed Trey down to the barn.
Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Sala
ISBN-13: 9781460390177
Cold Hearts
Copyright © 2015 by Sharon Sala
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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