“I’m getting ready to go back up to the site, and I don’t know when I’ll come down. If I make it back early enough, I already have a commitment this evening with Mama T.”
“Maybe tomorrow?”
“I’ll call you in the morning to let you know.”
“Okay. And if you find you can drop by this evening, even for a short time, we’d all like to see you.” Cole paused before he added. “I’d like to see you tonight even if it’s late. Will you call me when you’re free?”
Mattie didn’t know why she hesitated to agree. Perhaps it was years of licking her own wounds that made it uncomfortable to even think about letting someone else in on her grief. “I’ll try to, Cole. It’s hard for me to predict how this day is going to go, but I’ll check in with you if I can.”
“Don’t worry if it gets late. I’ll keep my cell phone with me tonight.”
Mattie wrapped it up and ended the call. Cole’s compassionate tone made the pain in her heart swell, and she took a moment to restrain her sadness.
Robo lay on his cushion, his eyes pinned on her every move. She’d learned from experience that her emotions went straight to her dog, and she knelt beside him to rub his fur. “It’ll be all right, buddy. We’ll be all right.”
As she continued to pet him, she hoped that time would prove her words to be true. Because right at this moment, she didn’t know how this was all going to resolve. Who brought Willie back to Timber Creek to kill him? And why?
Mattie decided to grab a moment to see if she could find Bret Flynn at home before he left for work with the county road crew. She hurried outside with Robo trotting beside her. After loading him up, she drove west of town where Riley lived on a small acreage that contained an old log cabin and a newly constructed horse barn with an attached corral.
The early morning sun slanted in, its rays casting long shadows to the west of the upright hayrack in the middle of the corral. Two horses, a sorrel with a bandaged hind leg and a bay with a coat so dark and rich that the sun’s rays glinted off it, browsed at their feed in a lazy way, indicating they’d already eaten their fill.
Mattie pulled up to the house and parked. “You’re going to wait here,” she said to Robo, hating to see his look of disappointment. “You’ll get to go on a long run soon.”
Mattie followed a stone pathway through a yard left in natural buffalo grass. She stepped up onto a concrete porch and knocked on the door.
Riley opened it. “Hey, Mattie. What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to your dad. Is he still home?”
Riley turned and looked behind her, but due to the dim light inside the house, Mattie couldn’t see beyond the screen door.
A man with longish brown hair streaked with gray and dark eyes that resembled Riley’s materialized beside the girl. “I’m Riley’s dad.”
Mattie introduced herself. “Could I speak with you for a few minutes?”
“All right.” He opened the screen door and stepped out onto the porch.
“I met Riley at the high school. Has she mentioned me to you?”
“Can’t say that she has.”
“She comes by my house occasionally after I get off work, and we have dinner together once in a while.”
“I’ll tell her to quit bothering you.”
“Oh, no, I’m not complaining, and she’s not a bother. I’m just telling you about it because she seems at loose ends after school and into the evening. I’ve had some ideas about how I might be able to help out, and I thought we should talk.”
He raised one brow. “And you’re involved because?”
“Riley and I have struck up a friendship. I’d like to make sure she has things to occupy her time while you’re at work.”
“Has she gotten into any kind of trouble?”
“Not at all, but I hope to keep her busy so it stays that way. I’ve found two after school jobs so far that she might be interested in, one helping with child care in a foster home and another at Dr. Walker’s vet clinic.”
“Dr. Walker? What would she do there?”
“Clean cages and stalls. It would be just a few hours twice a week.”
He reached behind him to grasp the screen doorknob and partially opened the door. “I’ve really got to go or I’ll be late for work, but I guess it’s all right with me if she wants to do it. I’ll be at work though, and I can’t drive her out there.”
“She’d have to ride her bike as long as weather allows. I’m sure Dr. Walker would let her cancel otherwise. Before you leave though, I thought I’d see if you had ideas for someone who could stay with Riley when you’re working late at night or at least someone she could contact if she had concerns or whatever. You know, just someone to stay in touch with.”
He frowned. “Riley is old enough to take care of herself. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“I misspoke. I should have said someone she can contact if she gets lonely. I think it’s hard on her to be alone night after night.”
Irritation showed in his frown. “I’ll talk to Riley, but she’s a big girl now and she’s used to fending for herself. I don’t think you need to be concerned, and if she’s not in any trouble, it certainly doesn’t look like you need to be involved.”
Mattie realized she must have offended him and tried to explain. “Part of my job in Timber Creek is prevention oriented. We don’t have many programs for kids or places for them to hang out. Until she gets connected with a group of friends, I’ll keep an eye out for her. You know, kind of an ‘it takes a village’ philosophy when it comes to raising kids. And she’s welcome to spend time with me if she wants to. It’s just that I’m also often at work.”
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you imagine it to be. She has a home she can come to, and I’ll make sure that she does. Now, I really have to go.” He stepped inside and closed the door, leaving Mattie hanging on the doorstep.
Walking back down the stone path to her SUV, she regretted that their conversation had turned south. She lacked experience in this type of parental contact, and she hoped it wouldn’t result in negative consequences for Riley. But she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that it would.
SIXTEEN
Garrett Hartman led the way up the trail to Willie’s gravesite with Mattie riding behind him and Sheriff McCoy bringing up the rear. Mattie found riding the steadfast Mountaineer less frightening each day, and though her body felt more relaxed in the saddle, her thoughts continued to chase around in her head.
Her mind flitted between images of Willie as a child beaten by their dad, and of him as a burned corpse, combining to create a sharp twist in her gut. Since she had no good memories in between to fall back on, she told herself that Willie had found happiness at the end of his life with Tamara and Elliott. He’d found a family, and that was the most comforting thought she could come up with.
When they arrived at the suspected gravesites at the edge of the meadow, things had changed. Yellow tape surrounded the area, taking in not only the three depressions that Mattie had spotted, but also a large area encircling them. The excavation team had assembled along with their tools.
They began to dig carefully, at first using shovels and then hand trowels. Rick Lawson watched over the process, at times on his knees with the rest of the crew.
At one point, the team leader gave further direction to the others. “Evidence of fire. Screen that out and save it.”