They heard the crunch of gravel, headlights appeared, then they heard Jack talking to someone.
“Do you know how to drive a pickup?” Sara asked.
“Yes.”
Sara took Kate’s arm and leaned on it. “I think Jack will want to stay here. After all his soul-baring to two women, I think he needs men and dogs and all things male.”
Kate smiled. “Probably so. Personally, I could use a meal, a hot shower and a couple of episodes of Madam Secretary.”
Sara laughed. “Me, too. Let’s go home.”
Kate liked the sound of that word.
FIVE
When Kate arrived at the real estate office the next morning, there were a dozen reporters waiting for her, all of them firing questions.
“How many bodies were there?”
“Was it a massacre?”
“Murder or suicide?”
“How long have you known Jack Wyatt? Was he involved in the crime?”
Kate did her best to push through the crowd and get inside.
Melissa was waiting for her at the door with excited eyes. “They were here at six a.m. Did you really find a dozen bodies? Were you with Jack? Were you frightened? Did he, uh, comfort you?”
What the woman was saying was so far from reality that Kate couldn’t reply. Tayla’s office was straight ahead, and Kate wanted to see her friend. She gave a single knock, went in, closed the door and leaned on it.
Tayla had her back to her and was looking at a computer screen of current listings. “Bad, isn’t it?”
“Horrible,” Kate said.
Tayla turned and smiled. “Nothing like catastrophe to bond people, is there?” She was tall, slim, and had beautiful gray hair. She was a handsome woman, quite regal-looking, and Kate could see why the sheriff bragged that he was “a Kirkwood.” They obviously had good genes.
She motioned to the chair in front of her desk. Kate took it, and they looked at each other.
“You look like your father,” Tayla said.
“Do I?” Kate’s eyes lit up. “I know nothing about him.”
“A charmer, a sweet talker. Could get anyone to do anything he wanted. If he hadn’t been younger than me, I would have gone after him.” She paused. “Now, tell me what caused all this?” She waved her hand to indicate what was happening outside the office.
“There were two skeletons in the roots of a tree that came down on one of Jack’s properties.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes,” Kate said. She wasn’t about to hint that they thought they knew who the victims were.
“So how was Sheriff Flynn?”
Kate remembered that the man was related to Tayla. She needed to be tactful. “He... He, uh...”
Tayla leaned forward. “He’s a terrible bigot, isn’t he?”
“He’s number four. Not even close to my three uncles,” Kate said, completely deadpan.