“Has he ever talked about any of the other missing women?”
“Naw. Cain’t say as I recall—” Suddenly Elmer stopped. He gave Begley a shrewd look, then shifted his rheumy gaze to Hoot, who tried to keep his expression impassive. When Elmer looked back at Begley, he swallowed hard. Hoot could only hope he’d spat out most of his tobacco first. “Y’all thinkin’ Mr. Tierney’s the one snatching those women?”
“Not at all. We just want to talk to him so we can cross him off our list of possibilities.”
Begley had shown more emotion when talking about the Book of Jeremiah, but Gus Elmer wasn’t fooled by his nonchalance. He shook his head, sweeping his chest with his dingy beard. “He’s the last person I’d’ve thought would’ve did any meanness like that.”
Hoot leaned forward, asking, “Have you ever heard him make any derogatory remarks about women?”
“Derog . . . de . . . what?”
“Negative or unflattering comments.”
“Oh. ’Bout women, you say?”
“Either about women in general or about a particular woman?” Hoot asked.
“Naw, I done told you, the only time he said anything ’bout—” He paused, reached for an empty Dr Pepper can, and spat into it. “Hold on. Just a minute now. I just thought on somethin’.” He closed his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, it’s comin’ back to me. It was last fall. I remember, ’cause we was sitting together on the deck out yonder admiring the foliage. He axed did I want to share a drink, and I said sure. Just to take the chill off the evenin’ air, you understand. And somehow we got off on Dutch Burton.”
“The chief of police?” Hoot asked, showing surprise.
“Yep, yep. Dutch hadn’t been chief long, only a month or so, and me and Mr. Tierney was talkin’ ’bout how he’d bit off an awful big bite what with the missing women and all.”
“What did he say about that specifically?”
“Nothing. Just that.” He spat into the can again, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and grinned at them. “Ax me, he was more interested in Dutch’s wife. Ex-wife now.”
Begley glanced at Hoot as though to make sure he was paying attention. “What about her?”
“Seems Mr. Tierney had met her back during the summer.” Gus Elmer’s grin widened with what appeared to be relief. “Matter of fact, I can say for sure he ain’t no fag. Ax me, he seemed right taken with Dutch’s former missus.”
Begley stopped his idle rocking. “Taken with her?”
The old man gave a phlegmy laugh. “Moony eyed, smitten, horny, whatever you want to call it.”
CHAPTER
14
LILLY WOKE UP COLD. IT TOOK A MOMENT FOR her to remember where she was and why. Fully clothed, she lay beneath a triple layer of blankets with her knees pulled up nearly to her chest. The bone-chilling cold had penetrated all the layers.
She lay facing the fireplace, but it was no longer giving off heat. The embers that had been smoldering when Tierney turned out the lights had long since turned to ash. She tipped the blanket down, away from her face, and exhaled through her mouth. Her breath formed a cloud.
The propane tank must have emptied during the night. The fireplace would be their only source of heat now. She should get up and stack the firewood in the grate, get the kindling going. Moving around would help her warm up. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave this cocoon of relative warmth.
The room was still dark, with only dull, gray light limning the edges of the drapes. The wind was as strong as it had been the night before. Every now and then an ice-encrusted tree limb would knock heavily against the roof. If ever there was a perfect day for snuggling, this was it.
Perhaps she should have accepted Tierney’s proposal. If she had, she might not be shivering with cold now.
But no, she’d made the right decision. That much togetherness would have changed the tenor of their isolation and complicated the situation tenfold. It had been complicated enough by a mere kiss.
Mere kiss? Hardly.
It had been breathtaking but brief. Tierney had released her immediately. Turning his back to her, he’d continued their conversation as though the kiss had never happened. He said that it was probably safe for him t
o sleep, since it had been several hours since he’d suffered the concussion.
Trying to appear as blasé as he, she had agreed.