The Deepest Water Read Free Page B

make her erupt in tears. And she was determined not to cry now, not now. Get through this, that was all that mattered.
    “Tell me about the dog,” Caldwell said, paying no attention whatever to Brice.
    Brice squeezed her shoulder harder.
    “Spook? What about her?” Abby asked.
    “Mr. Halburtson said she barked during the night, all the next morning. Did she bark a lot?”
    Coop Halburtson was the nearest neighbor to her father’s cabin; he always heard Spook when she barked. Abby shook her head. “No. Just if a raccoon came around, or a cougar, or a stranger, something like that.”
    “Did the dog stay out every night?”
    “No. Sometimes there are bears, or cougars… He kept her inside. She has a dog door and can come and go when she wants to, but he always locked it at night.” She added, “She, Spook, tangled with a skunk once and he said… He said he never wanted that to happen again.” She looked down at her hands; they were clutching each other hard.
    “Mrs. Connors,” the lieutenant said then, “from all we’ve been able to find out up to now you’re probably the one who was closest to your father. You lived with him for years after your mother moved to Seattle; you kept in touch. Did he have enemies? Did he ever tell you about anyone who might have wanted to harm him, kill him even?”
    She shook her head.
    “Do you know where Matthew Petrie is?”
    She looked up, startled. “No. I haven’t seen him or heard from him since… since we were divorced, eight years ago.”
    “Why did your father give Petrie a check for fifteen thousand dollars the day after you divorced him?”
    Caldwell didn’t look menacing, merely puzzled, but suddenly Abby began to feel as if he had been building a trap, luring her toward it gently, effortlessly even, but knowing exactly what he was after, where he intended to lead her. She shook her head again. “I don’t know anything about that. Dad didn’t have that kind of money back then. Who told you that?”
    Caldwell shrugged. “You see, when it comes to a murder investigation, we have to go through a lot of history, records, bank records, things like that. It came up. Did your father and Petrie have a big fight before Petrie took off?”
    “Not a fight. Just yelling back and forth. But Matthew wouldn’t have a reason to come back, to hurt him.” Then she whispered, “You’ve been going through all his papers, his private affairs, everything.”
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Connors, but it’s part of the routine. We have to try to tie up some loose ends.”
    Abruptly Brice stood up. “I think this has gone on long enough, Lieutenant. The sheriff summed it up. Some psycho, probably high on meth or something, went to the cabin and shot Jud. The dog barked and the guy got away. It has nothing to do with Abby or with the past.”
    Caldwell eyed him speculatively, then nodded. “You’re probably right. Occam’s razor, the simplest solution is most often the right one, but we’re stuck with routine, like most people. We just have to follow up if there are a lot of loose ends.” He looked at Abby once more and asked, “Do you know why your father got cashier’s checks a couple of times a year for the past seven years, who they were for?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “See? A loose end. Was he giving you an allowance, paying for your schooling?”
    “Yes. He said it was his job, to see that I got an education even if it took a lifetime to do it.” She blinked rapidly, then ducked her head again. “But not cashier’s checks, just a regular check every month.”
    Brice was still standing, his face flushed with anger. “People get cashier’s checks for a lot of reasons. He traveled a lot, maybe he didn’t like to use credit cards, or carry cash with him. What’s that go to do with his murder?”
    “Over a hundred thousand dollars, walking around money? And he did use credit cards, you see. So, a loose end.”
    “A hundred thousand?”