“Looks like you’re planning on doing some fishing,” I said as he tinkered with the small outboard motor.
“Yup. Thought I might toss a line in the lake this year. Never even got my fishing pole out the past couple years, but with the early spring, I find myself motivated.”
“I used to love to troll around with you when I was a kid,” I said.
“I remember that. You loved to toss a line in the water, but you didn’t want to catch anything, so we’d weight your line but leave the hook off. You were such a tenderhearted child.”
“I guess I was. I still am in some ways, but I will fish with a hook now. Do you still have that old rowboat?”
He nodded. “It’s dry-docked out behind the old shed.”
“It might be fun to teach Paisley how to row. I remember floating around on the lake, watching the clouds change shapes when I was her age.”
“I’ll dig it out and fix it up once I get done working on the fishing boat. Are the girls still working in the sewing room?”
I nodded. “I’m actually heading into town in a few minutes. I’m afraid my schedule has caused the cookout to be moved until tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. I need to clean up the old grill anyway. It’ll give me more time. I’m hoping to get all my projects not garden related done before Gracie decides it’s time to tackle the cleaning, planting, and weeding of the beds for the season. It seems that once the garden season begins, it keeps us both busy until fall arrives, and we tuck the plants in.”
I looked at my watch. “I need to run, so I’ll let you go. I hope the old boat starts up okay once you get it in the water.”
I was on my way up to my room to grab my sweater and purse when my cell rang. It was Cass.
“Hey, Cass. I was just getting ready to head into town.”
“I’m going to have to miss our meeting this afternoon. I just received a call to respond to a shooting.”
“Oh, no,” I gasped. “Who was shot?”
“Bobby Brighton.”
My hand flew to my mouth. “Is he...”
“Yes, he’s dead.”
“Do you think his death has anything to do with the Austin Brady case?” I asked. “I imagine everyone knows we’re taking a second look at the case by now, and if Austin did meet with foul play all those years ago and Bobby knew what happened, it seems to me that someone might have decided to silence him before he spoke to us.” I remembered how Toby had said that Bobby seemed to be frightened about something at the time Austin disappeared.
“That explanation makes as much sense as anything, but I guess at this point, I just need to follow the clues and see where they take me. It’s also possible Bobby was shot because of something he had going on in his current life, and the timing of it is just coincidental.”
I doubted it, but I did see why Cass would need to look at all the angles. I decided to keep the meeting with Hope and Naomi. I could hear what they had to say about Austin’s disappearance, and I could ask them about Bobby’s death and their opinions relating to his death while I was there as well.
Chapter 6
“I can’t believe someone shot Bobby Brighton,” Hope said after I arrived at the library where she’d been chatting with Naomi. “Do you know where this happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “Cass was in a hurry when he called, so I didn’t ask any questions. Did you know him well?”
“Not well,” Hope admitted, “but I did know of him. He used to be married to Tamara Harwell, one of the teachers at the elementary school. They have two children. Talia is three, and Tasha is seven months.”
“Used to be married? Are they divorced now?” I asked.
Hope nodded. “They actually split up before Tasha was born. Actually,” she chuckled, “before she was conceived. I guess after Talia was born, Tamara had some issues with depression, which Bobby was unwilling or unable to deal with. They separated when Talia was one. At some point between becoming separated and becoming divorced, the two had an encounter of the intimate sort, and Tasha was conceived. When Tamara first found out she was pregnant, the two tried to reconcile, but it didn’t work out, so Tamara, who is a very nice woman, by the way, has been raising her two daughters on her own.”
“And the depression she’d been suffering from?” I asked.
Hope shrugged. “She seems fine to me. She’s a popular teacher and a wonderful mother. She seems to have worked through whatever it was she needed to work through. I don’t know either Bobby or Tamara well, but based on what I do know, I don’t think Bobby was a very good husband. In fact, he seemed to be the sort who simply would never grow up. Tamara and I have a friend in common, Brandyanne Bradford. Brandyanne told me that it was her opinion that it was Bobby and his irresponsible behavior that caused Tamara’s depression in the first place. She told me that the guy would do the dumbest things like gambling away the money they had set aside to pay their mortgage. She told me that on more than one occasion, he would head out for beer and not come back until the following day.”
“It does sound like she was better off without the guy. And I do hope she’s okay. I know that you know that depression can be complicated, and sometimes removing the source of stress might not take care of those hollow feelings entirely.”
“Of course, you’re right. I guess I should check in on her. Especially now. I know she was glad to have Bobby out of her life as a husband and life partner, but it does seem that Tamara maintained a friendship with Bobby for the sake of her girls. I imagine his death will upset her.”
I sat back in my chair. I really wasn’t sure what to make of any of this.
“Do you think Bobby’s death is related to the second look you and Cass are making into the Austin Brady disappearance?” Naomi asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “The timing makes it seem that they are related, but Cass pointed out that it’s too early to jump on that bandwagon to the exclusion of all others. I didn’t know Bobby at all. I was seven when Austin disappeared. I vaguely remember it because all the adults were talking about it. Austin, Bobby, and the others, except for Toby, went to middle school while I was just getting started in elementary school. Toby Wallis was a year ahead of me, and I knew who he was, but I didn’t know him well until we got much older. High school, actually. As an adult, I was living away from Foxtail Lake until this past fall, so I really don’t know the history.”
“Bobby was a popular guy,” Naomi said. “He worked for a local contractor and seemed to do okay for himself. After he and Tamara divorced, he could be found at one of the local pubs most evenings. He seemed to hang out at Jack’s Place the most,” she referred to a local bar. “Many of the other men in town who work in the construction trade hang out there as well.”
“Any known enemies?” I asked.
“He did like to gamble and drink, and that’s never a good combination,” Hope said.
“Hope makes a good point,” Naomi admitted. “If Bobby was killed for a reason not having to do with what he knew about Austin’s death, he was probably killed over a poker game. Either he was caught cheating, or he lost big and then couldn’t make good with what he owed.”
“There was that accident this past fall,” Hope said.
“Accident?” I asked.
“One of the guys who worked with Bobby fell off a ladder,” Naomi explained. “Now, Jimmy’s paralyzed from the waist down. He insists that his fall was Bobby’s fault since the ground beneath the ladder was uneven, and Bobby was supposed to be holding the ladder steady. Bobby swore he was holding the ladder, but that Jimmy lost his balance and fell to the left, taking the ladder with him. At one point, I heard that Jimmy was going to sue Bobby, but then he realized that since Bobby didn’t have any money, there wasn’t anything to sue for, so he dropped the whole thing. But Hope is right, Jimmy is still pretty darn mad and has made threats about payback on numerous occasions.”