house. Maybe it’s time we asked the hard questions. But I can tell you this. If there are shameful secrets, getting anyone to talk about them will be like asking a tree to speak.”
Cork leaned nearer and said quietly, “If she was abused, it might not have been by her family. I just talked with Demetri Verga, Carrie’s father. There’s a man I’m not much inclined tolike. And I heard and saw things that make me think digging deeper into the dynamic of that particular family would be a good idea.”
Their drinks arrived. When the barmaid had gone, Cork related his interview with Verga.
After he’d finished, Jenny said, “Her mother drowned and only Verga and Carrie were around? Only their word about what happened? But if there was something fishy about her death, wouldn’t Carrie have said so?”
“Maybe she didn’t know anything. Or maybe she had reasons of her own for not coming forward. But I find it uncomfortably coincidental that both Carrie and her mother died in the same lake in the same way.”
Lines of concern cut across English’s broad smooth brow. “You think Demetri Verga is a man capable of killing? Maybe killing twice?”
“What I believe is that, under the right circumstances, anyone is capable of anything. Verga told me quite a lot, but what of it was true I couldn’t say for sure. It all sounded rehearsed. He got mad when I told him that Hammer thinks Carrie might have been trafficked, but even that didn’t ring true. He tried to hire me, ostensibly to find who killed Carrie. I’m thinking it was more a question of trying to keep track of what I discover. So I’d like to know more about Demetrius Verga. Particularly in light of Mariah’s post about old guys looking at her hungrily.”
“Where do we go from here?” Jenny asked.
“Dinner with Red and Louise,” Cork said. “And I’d like to talk to Puck Arceneaux, if he’s around. I’d also like to see if we can track down the family of Raven Duvall.”
“Raven? The girl Mariah and Carrie were hanging with toward the end here? You found out her last name?” Jenny finally sounded a hopeful note.
“They weren’t just hanging around with her. I think she might have been their way out. According to Verga, a girl picked up Carrie the day she disappeared.”
“Hammer didn’t say anything about that when we talked to him this morning,” English said.
“Maybe he didn’t investigate as thoroughly as he tried to make us believe,” Cork replied.
Jenny said, “Verga told you Raven’s last name?”
Cork shook his head. “He claimed not to know who it was that had picked up Carrie. But like I said, I don’t know what was true and what was bullshit. The chief of the Bad Bluff police told me Raven’s last name. I thought it might be a good lead, so I made a call to Tamarack County and asked Marsha Dross—our sheriff and a good friend of mine,” he explained to English, “to check on a driver’s license. She got back to me pretty quick. Said no license had been issued in that name in either Wisconsin or Minnesota. So a dead end there. But I keep coming back to Bigboy, the Bad Bluff police chief. In the end, he didn’t really give me much. Seemed awfully protective of his town.”
“What do you mean?” Jenny asked.
“In my experience, a small town is like a family,” Cork said. “Nobody wants to air the dirty laundry in public. And although they may all know the dirty secrets, even among themselves they don’t talk about it. But, you know, I got a bad feeling from Bigboy that didn’t necessarily have anything do with being protective, so there may be more to dig into on that front.”
Jenny looked perplexed. “If nobody talks, how do you get your questions answered?”
“Two ways. You find the right arms and you twist really hard.”
“Or?” English said.
“In a place like this, you get Henry Meloux to ask the questions.”
Chapter 13
----
T he table, at least, was clean. Or cleared of debris anyway.
Cork leaned nearer and said quietly, “If she was abused, it might not have been by her family. I just talked with Demetri Verga, Carrie’s father. There’s a man I’m not much inclined tolike. And I heard and saw things that make me think digging deeper into the dynamic of that particular family would be a good idea.”
Their drinks arrived. When the barmaid had gone, Cork related his interview with Verga.
After he’d finished, Jenny said, “Her mother drowned and only Verga and Carrie were around? Only their word about what happened? But if there was something fishy about her death, wouldn’t Carrie have said so?”
“Maybe she didn’t know anything. Or maybe she had reasons of her own for not coming forward. But I find it uncomfortably coincidental that both Carrie and her mother died in the same lake in the same way.”
Lines of concern cut across English’s broad smooth brow. “You think Demetri Verga is a man capable of killing? Maybe killing twice?”
“What I believe is that, under the right circumstances, anyone is capable of anything. Verga told me quite a lot, but what of it was true I couldn’t say for sure. It all sounded rehearsed. He got mad when I told him that Hammer thinks Carrie might have been trafficked, but even that didn’t ring true. He tried to hire me, ostensibly to find who killed Carrie. I’m thinking it was more a question of trying to keep track of what I discover. So I’d like to know more about Demetrius Verga. Particularly in light of Mariah’s post about old guys looking at her hungrily.”
“Where do we go from here?” Jenny asked.
“Dinner with Red and Louise,” Cork said. “And I’d like to talk to Puck Arceneaux, if he’s around. I’d also like to see if we can track down the family of Raven Duvall.”
“Raven? The girl Mariah and Carrie were hanging with toward the end here? You found out her last name?” Jenny finally sounded a hopeful note.
“They weren’t just hanging around with her. I think she might have been their way out. According to Verga, a girl picked up Carrie the day she disappeared.”
“Hammer didn’t say anything about that when we talked to him this morning,” English said.
“Maybe he didn’t investigate as thoroughly as he tried to make us believe,” Cork replied.
Jenny said, “Verga told you Raven’s last name?”
Cork shook his head. “He claimed not to know who it was that had picked up Carrie. But like I said, I don’t know what was true and what was bullshit. The chief of the Bad Bluff police told me Raven’s last name. I thought it might be a good lead, so I made a call to Tamarack County and asked Marsha Dross—our sheriff and a good friend of mine,” he explained to English, “to check on a driver’s license. She got back to me pretty quick. Said no license had been issued in that name in either Wisconsin or Minnesota. So a dead end there. But I keep coming back to Bigboy, the Bad Bluff police chief. In the end, he didn’t really give me much. Seemed awfully protective of his town.”
“What do you mean?” Jenny asked.
“In my experience, a small town is like a family,” Cork said. “Nobody wants to air the dirty laundry in public. And although they may all know the dirty secrets, even among themselves they don’t talk about it. But, you know, I got a bad feeling from Bigboy that didn’t necessarily have anything do with being protective, so there may be more to dig into on that front.”
Jenny looked perplexed. “If nobody talks, how do you get your questions answered?”
“Two ways. You find the right arms and you twist really hard.”
“Or?” English said.
“In a place like this, you get Henry Meloux to ask the questions.”
Chapter 13
----
T he table, at least, was clean. Or cleared of debris anyway.
Similar Books
