Part 27 (2/2)
”When I heard about the heart medication in her system, I thought she might have taken it on purpose,” Ellen said. ”But...”
”But?” Billy prodded.
”Eve told me in the same phone conversation that she and Blackjack hadn't been getting along well. And the circ.u.mstances of her death aren't remotely typical of a suicide. It looks a great deal more like she was murdered. And the most logical suspect seems to be-I'm sorry, Summer-her husband.”
Summer gasped at this indictment of her father.
”I suppose that means your sister didn't ask you about helicopter hydraulic lines or explosives during that conversation,” Billy said.
Ellen managed a smile. ”No. Just heart medication. Can the two of you stay for dinner?”
”Sorry, ma'am. We-”
”Please, call me Aunt Ellen,” she said. ”After all, we're family.”
Billy saw the imploring look Summer shot him and said, ”Thanks for your help, Aunt Ellen. But we've got more traveling to do today. I have just one more question.”
This time Ellen waited for him to speak.
”You're the sole beneficiary of your sister, is that correct?”
”Yes.”
”What's your financial situation like?”
Aunt Ellen made a face. ”I had no reason to want Eve dead,” she said. ”The DeWitt family is disgustingly rich. I don't need Eve's share of the corporate profits, if that's what you're getting at.”
This had turned out to be a dead end.
”I guess we'll be taking off,” Billy said.
”Heading up to Huntsville?” Ellen asked.
Billy snorted softly. So much for clandestine investigation. ”Yes, ma'am, we are.”
”Russell Handy won't tell you anything that would hurt Eve,” Ellen warned. ”If you want him to help you, make sure he thinks you're on her side.”
”Thank you, Aunt Ellen,” Billy said. ”I appreciate the advice.”
Summer crossed to kiss her aunt on the cheek, and Billy found himself doing the same thing when Ellen crossed to say good-bye to him.
”Don't be strangers,” she said as she let the screen door slide closed behind them.
Billy headed the pickup toward Victoria, where they'd pick up U.S. 59 to Houston. ”I like your aunt,” Billy said. ”How did she end up so different from your mother?”
”Momma was older than Ellen, and I think it hit her a lot harder when Grandpa DeWitt divorced their mother.”
”Divorces can do a lot of damage,” Billy agreed. ”Almost as much damage as two people staying together who ought to get the h.e.l.l away from one another.”
Billy felt Summer's hand on his arm, an offer of comfort. He felt like shrugging it off, but that would be admitting the pain that he so seldom let anyone see. So he let it be.
Billy got on the Sam Houston tollway, which kept him out of Houston, and shortly after lunchtime he took the exit heading north on I-45. ”You hungry?”
Summer rubbed her stomach. ”Starved.”
”There's a barbecue joint just off the interstate in Spring. How does that sound?”
”Do we have time to stop and eat? When do we have to be at the prison?”
”There are some advantages to having a Texas Ranger for a brother-in-law,” Billy said. ”Owen made arrangements for us to see Handy whenever we get there this afternoon.”
”When did you call Owen?” Summer asked.
”When I realized that the sooner I got Blackjack cleared and out of jail the sooner you'd be free to come back home to me.”
Summer stared at him. ”And you thought that's all it would take to get me to leave Bitter Creek? My father back at the helm?”
”A fellow can always hope.” Billy was glad they'd arrived at the barbecue joint, because the conversation was stepping toward dangerous ground.
The barbecue consisted of stripped pork and links of pork sausage served right onto sheets of waxed butcher paper placed in front of them-one sheet up, one sheet down-to prevent the grease from seeping through to the red and white checked plastic tablecloth. The only eating utensil offered was a tinny-looking soup spoon that came with the cup of pink-tinged pork fat and pinto beans.
Ketchup dispensers had been filled with barbecue sauces that ranged from sweet to red-hot. Billy grabbed for the sweet and noticed Summer reached for the red-hot.
”I like it spicy,” she said when she saw him staring.
He grinned. ”I can see that.”
The meal was a primitive delight, from the use of fingers, to the necessity of gnawing on bones for the last morsel of tasty gristle.
”How did you find this place?” Summer asked.
”I had engine trouble the last time I traveled to Huntsville and ended up spending the afternoon here. You might have noticed there aren't a lot of dining choices.”
Summer's head came up, and she dropped her bone on the butcher paper. ”When was this? Why were you traveling to Huntsville?”
”Two years ago, before I headed to Amarillo. I wanted to see your biological father.”
”What for?” Summer asked.
”I wondered how a man could know he had a child and not acknowledge it.”
”What did you find out?”
”That your mother wasn't any more honest with him than she was with Blackjack.”
”What do you mean?”
<script>