She—”
“I know where Dublin is, Lizzy. I may not have a doctorate, but I did manage a few years at Del State.”
“I’m sorry,” she answered. “I didn’t mean—”
He grinned at her. “I’m a waterman. It’s in my blood, like it’s in yours. I’m not cut out for classrooms or a nine-to-five job. But that doesn’t make me Jed Clampett, either.”
Emotion made her voice husky. “Twenty years is a long time, Jack. I didn’t know what you were doing.”
“Didn’t you?” He pushed the throttle to full. “I heard when you got your divorce.”
She wanted to ask how he’d found out. Instead, she gripped the side of the boat and fixed her gaze on an osprey’s nest atop a buoy. After several minutes, she asked, “Do you have any children?”
“Divorced. No kids.”
“Significant other?”
He shook his head.
“Tracy?”
He scowled. “I told you, she was a friend. She lived down the street. Tracy didn’t have much in the way of family. No father. Mother’s in jail someplace down South. Texas or Arkansas. There’s Aunt Charlene, but she never did much for Tracy except spend the kid’s welfare allotment on beer, cigarettes, and the slots. My mom used to buy Tracy school clothes and shoes.”
“She had ambition.”
“She wanted something more out of life than she had. And she was sweet. Too sweet to be with a guy like Wayne.”
“Did the police question you about her death?”
“Nope. Never found me.”
“Why were you still in the parking lot when Amelia and I arrived? I was late. Tracy was murdered—”
“Earlier,” he finished for her. “She was probably killed while I was sitting there waiting for her.”
“Why would you wait for forty, forty-five minutes?”
“Tracy told me she had this important appointment with her history professor. She wanted to keep it, but she didn’t plan to stay at school that day. She was scared of Wayne, and she wanted to move out of her trailer. After I dropped her off, she asked me to wait and take her home.”
“But you were leaving when I arrived. Why did you go without her, if you thought she—”
“Look, Lizzy, either you believe me or you don’t. Tracy said that she’d see if you’d give her an extension on a paper that was due. She thought it wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. If she wasn’t back in half an hour, she said for me to just go. There was another guy who had an early class and then nothing until after lunch. She thought he’d give her a ride home.”
“So you waited how long?”
“Half an hour. Then another ten, maybe fifteen minutes, before I took off. I’m not sure. I wasn’t expecting to provide an alibi. Hell, I didn’t expect her to end up dead.”
She took a deep breath. “Did you have anything to do with that truck in the river?”
“If I did, would I be stupid enough to tell you?”
Liz felt suddenly chilled despite the warmth of the morning. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
His gaze locked with hers for what seemed an eternity. “I didn’t do anything to Tracy or to Wayne. If I had found him, I wouldn’t finish it that way.”
Was he telling the truth? She thought he was. She’d never known Jack to lie to her, not even when he knew that his words would tear her world in two. On the other hand, he had a temper, and he was capable of violence. She’d always known that.
She remembered an afternoon in August hot enough to scorch the soles of her bare feet on the sandy Bowers Beach streets. She must have been seven, eight at the most. She and Crystal had been waiting outside of Casey’s for their dad when they’d heard yelling in the vacant lot behind the bar. Running to find the cause of the excitement, Liz had discovered Jack and a taller boy, Sonny Shahan, rolling on the ground locked in bloody combat.
Fists, knees, and curses flew. Hooting local kids egged the pair on, but they needed no encouragement. Both opponents were already bruised and bleeding. Liz had started backing
“I know where Dublin is, Lizzy. I may not have a doctorate, but I did manage a few years at Del State.”
“I’m sorry,” she answered. “I didn’t mean—”
He grinned at her. “I’m a waterman. It’s in my blood, like it’s in yours. I’m not cut out for classrooms or a nine-to-five job. But that doesn’t make me Jed Clampett, either.”
Emotion made her voice husky. “Twenty years is a long time, Jack. I didn’t know what you were doing.”
“Didn’t you?” He pushed the throttle to full. “I heard when you got your divorce.”
She wanted to ask how he’d found out. Instead, she gripped the side of the boat and fixed her gaze on an osprey’s nest atop a buoy. After several minutes, she asked, “Do you have any children?”
“Divorced. No kids.”
“Significant other?”
He shook his head.
“Tracy?”
He scowled. “I told you, she was a friend. She lived down the street. Tracy didn’t have much in the way of family. No father. Mother’s in jail someplace down South. Texas or Arkansas. There’s Aunt Charlene, but she never did much for Tracy except spend the kid’s welfare allotment on beer, cigarettes, and the slots. My mom used to buy Tracy school clothes and shoes.”
“She had ambition.”
“She wanted something more out of life than she had. And she was sweet. Too sweet to be with a guy like Wayne.”
“Did the police question you about her death?”
“Nope. Never found me.”
“Why were you still in the parking lot when Amelia and I arrived? I was late. Tracy was murdered—”
“Earlier,” he finished for her. “She was probably killed while I was sitting there waiting for her.”
“Why would you wait for forty, forty-five minutes?”
“Tracy told me she had this important appointment with her history professor. She wanted to keep it, but she didn’t plan to stay at school that day. She was scared of Wayne, and she wanted to move out of her trailer. After I dropped her off, she asked me to wait and take her home.”
“But you were leaving when I arrived. Why did you go without her, if you thought she—”
“Look, Lizzy, either you believe me or you don’t. Tracy said that she’d see if you’d give her an extension on a paper that was due. She thought it wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. If she wasn’t back in half an hour, she said for me to just go. There was another guy who had an early class and then nothing until after lunch. She thought he’d give her a ride home.”
“So you waited how long?”
“Half an hour. Then another ten, maybe fifteen minutes, before I took off. I’m not sure. I wasn’t expecting to provide an alibi. Hell, I didn’t expect her to end up dead.”
She took a deep breath. “Did you have anything to do with that truck in the river?”
“If I did, would I be stupid enough to tell you?”
Liz felt suddenly chilled despite the warmth of the morning. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
His gaze locked with hers for what seemed an eternity. “I didn’t do anything to Tracy or to Wayne. If I had found him, I wouldn’t finish it that way.”
Was he telling the truth? She thought he was. She’d never known Jack to lie to her, not even when he knew that his words would tear her world in two. On the other hand, he had a temper, and he was capable of violence. She’d always known that.
She remembered an afternoon in August hot enough to scorch the soles of her bare feet on the sandy Bowers Beach streets. She must have been seven, eight at the most. She and Crystal had been waiting outside of Casey’s for their dad when they’d heard yelling in the vacant lot behind the bar. Running to find the cause of the excitement, Liz had discovered Jack and a taller boy, Sonny Shahan, rolling on the ground locked in bloody combat.
Fists, knees, and curses flew. Hooting local kids egged the pair on, but they needed no encouragement. Both opponents were already bruised and bleeding. Liz had started backing
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