I let my gun fall to my side. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Four days ago.”
“Where?”
“My place. She’d been staying with me since she’d left Rollie. We were trying to figure out what to do.”
Oh no. He wasn’t insinuating…? Because that would be a total clusterfuck. “What do you mean, what to do?”
Junior looked at me then with such an expression of desolation that my breath caught. “I loved her. She loved me. We… were together, but I wanted it to be more. She did, too, I think. Although I know she still wanted to be with Rollie.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. “How long has this been going on?”
“Started after she found out she was pregnant, less than two months after she had Taj. Rollie didn’t want nothin’ to do with the first baby, and she knew it’d be more of the same with the second. She hid the pregnancy from him as long as she could. Then when Rollie found out? He stopped going home. She needed someone she could count on.” He glanced at the ground. “That was me. I took her to the hospital when she went into labor a month early, and I was with her in the delivery room. Those boys are more mine than his. I, at least, wanted them. And her.”
Despite my reluctance to dig deeper into this bizarre love triangle, I knew I didn’t have a choice, given what Nita had said about Rollie threatening to kill Verline if he found out she was cheating on him. “Did Rollie know you and Verline had feelings for each other? Is that why he kicked you out?”
His head snapped up. “No. He was pissed about me working for Saro. Pissed when he found out I’d been seeing Arlette Shooting Star. But the only reason I did that-”
“Was so he didn’t figure out you and Verline were sleeping together.”
He nodded. “I also wanted to poke Rollie, about me being friends with Arlette. When he let me move in with him two years ago, he was such a dick about who I could and couldn’t hang out with. Entire families on the rez were off limits. Such old-fashioned bullshit, the grudges he kept.”
“Did Rollie know about you and Verline?”
“I don’t know!”
I called bullshit on that. Rollie was too astute not to see what was right in front of him. “Any idea what Rollie would do if he found out?”
“He’d probably kill her.”
We both froze.
Junior didn’t retract the statement. He continued to stare at me with some weird kind of childish hope I’d assure him that his father couldn’t possibly have murdered Verline.
But I couldn’t assure him because he’d just given me exactly what I hadn’t wanted: Rollie’s motive for murder. This insight from Rollie’s son would convince Turnbull of Rollie’s guilt. It’d definitely give him a reason to bring Rollie in for an official interrogation. And knowing Shay like I did, he’d do it tonight. Hammer away at Rollie until the wee small hours.
Rollie needed time to grieve.
Or did he need time to come up with an alibi?
I stilled. Where had that thought come from? As much as I’d like to deny it, the logical side of my brain insisted I consider Rollie a suspect in Verline’s murder.
I had to do my job. I shoved my gun back in the holster. “You need to listen to me very carefully. I’m a federal officer. What you just told me is crucial information on a homicide case. I cannot ignore it. I cannot pass this on to my supervisor as secondhand information. You will have to come in, either to the FBI office in Rapid City, or here to the tribal police station, and answer a few questions.”
He started to back off, and I regretted putting my gun away. “I can’t. I told you what Saro would do to me.”
“Saro’s power is negligible. Mine is not. I can issue a warrant on you. I can actually arrest you for obstruction of justice if you don’t cooperate.” I kept edging closer to him. “Remember one very important thing, Junior. You didn’t tell me this information because we’re friends.” I did question whether Junior had told me this because he wanted to put the screws to his old man.
“But-”
“You told me because you want justice for Verline as much as I do. If you loved her, you wouldn’t hesitate. In fact, if you really loved her, you would follow me back into the station right now so I could take your statement.”
He pulled his hood over his head. “Lemme think about it, okay?”
“I’ll give you twenty-four hours. If I don’t see you or hear from you before then, I’m bringing out the big guns.”
He nodded and slipped into the darkness.
12
Dawson and Lex weren’t home, which was probably a good thing. Sadness had lodged itself deep in my gut at what I’d witnessed today. Violent death. Grief. Hatred. Suspicion. Family rivalries. Add in my questions about Rollie’s guilt… and my brain was fried.
A five-mile run followed by a full hour of yoga would be the healthiest way to push my body into the same exhausted state as my brain.
So why had I headed straight for the liquor cabinet?
I knocked back two generous slugs of Wild Turkey before I put away my gun, or even took off my coat. I carried the third glass with me into the bedroom. Once I’d stripped to nothing, I took it into the bathroom, draining the whiskey before I climbed in the shower.
Steam, water, heat, and a slight buzz took some of the edge off. But didn’t stop the images from flashing in my mind. Verline’s body. Rollie’s tender farewell kiss. The Dupris family’s angry accusations. Junior’s tears. Junior’s accusations. Junior’s stubbornness.
Wet hair braided, lotion applied, I left the bathroom stark naked and heard the kitchen door open. I ducked inside my bedroom. I needed to get into the habit of wearing a robe so Lex wasn’t traumatized by my naked body. I pressed my back into the bedroom door. Had it been only this morning Lex had walked in on us? Seemed like that’d happened a week ago.
As much as I fantasized about crawling into bed with a bottle, I dressed and joined father and son in the kitchen.
Two pizza boxes sat on the table. “I thought we were having antelope?”
“We were starved, and it’d be at least another hour to cook the steaks after we got home, so we’ll save those for another night when we’re not so rushed.”
Mason walked to me and curled his hand around my face, locking his gaze to mine. “So it’s Wild Turkey therapy, not yoga, for your rough day?”
I nodded, appreciating he didn’t pass judgment.
He pressed his mouth to mine, giving me a sweet kiss as his thumb gently stroked my cheekbone. He pulled back and murmured, “I believe I’ll join you in that drink.”
I noticed Dawson had bought spinach salad as a side dish. The man had healthy eating habits, much to Lex’s dismay. I wondered if the kid had ever tasted a fresh vegetable before coming to live with us.
After we dished up, I asked, “So the school project supplies are purchased?”
“Yep, Lex can start on it tomorrow after school.”
“What’s the subject?” I asked Lex.
He gave me a look like he couldn’t believe I cared, but I needed something to take my mind off murder and lies.
Lex launched into an explanation. It was encouraging that he was taking an interest in his classes, given he’d been pulling straight Ds at his previous school. His cell phone vibrated on the table. He ignored it.
Mason picked it up and slid it next to the pizza boxes. “It’s your mother.”
Lex scowled. “I don’t wanna talk to her.”
“We’ve had this discussion, Lex. You can’t just blow her off. She cares about what’s going on with you.”
“Only so she can use it against me. And use it against you.”
“I don’t follow.”
“If she finds out I like living here, she’ll make me go back to Colorado. I just know it.”