“So he was at the dance last evening?”
“As far as I know.”
From JD’s frown of concern, Mattie could tell he was worried that Flint might have strayed from the straight and narrow, too, but then Flint himself came out of the house. The years hadn’t changed him much; he looked older, but he was as tall and lean as he’d ever been. He had dark hair and eyes like JD, but unlike his father’s, his handshake was hesitant and soft. He looked nervous, and his eyes bounced from his dad to Mattie and Stella during the introductions, then settled on the K-9 unit and Robo for a few seconds as he apparently took in the situation.
JD Thornton leaned against the front of the Explorer, arms crossed over his chest, and Mattie worried that he planned to stay for their interview with his son. No one liked to confess or share critical information in front of an audience, and as an adult, Flint had the right to privacy. But she needn’t have worried, because she and Stella were evidently on the same wavelength.
“Mr. Thornton, we appreciate your time and help this morning, but we need to talk to Flint privately,” Stella said. “Would you please give us a moment?”
JD squinted, his gazing moving from Stella to Flint, who stood with his head lowered as he studied the ground.
“All right,” JD said, dropping his arms from his chest and stepping away from the Explorer. And then to his son: “I’ll be in the house if you need me.”
“Thank you, sir,” Stella said. “This is just routine, and I have only a few questions.”
After JD went inside, Mattie wondered if he would linger at the door to try to listen.
Stella opened the interview. “Flint, your dad said that Tyler called this morning to tell you Nate was shot last night. How much do you know about it?”
Flint looked up from the ground to meet Stella’s gaze. “Tyler said Nate was killed and his van was burned. That’s all I know.”
Mattie watched as Stella nodded encouragement, working at getting him to open up. “We heard that Nate went to Nebraska for the weekend. Is that true?” Stella asked.
“Yeah, as far as I know.”
“When did you expect him back?”
“I thought he was coming home today. We have a fishing trip scheduled for tomorrow.”
“Why do you think he came home early?”
“I have no idea.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Mattie thought he looked defensive, and evidently Stella did too, because she changed the subject.
“I’m unfamiliar with the outfitting business,” Stella said, her body language open and friendly. “What do you do as Nate’s employee?”
“I’m mostly just a gofer. I handle supplies, take care of the horses and the tack, help set up camp and cook meals.”
“Sounds like a lot.”
Flint nodded, releasing his crossed arms to let them hang at his sides. “Between trips, I repair equipment, trim the horses’ hooves, and replace shoes if they’ve lost them.”
Since he appeared more relaxed, Mattie decided it was safe to interject with a question, as long as it was about Nate’s business. “How does Nate get his customers?”
Flint shifted his gaze to Mattie. “From his website. He also advertises in hunting and outdoor magazines, and there’s a certain amount of referral from satisfied customers.”
This led perfectly into what Mattie had been wondering about—she hoped it would give them a lead. “Were there any dissatisfied customers that you’re aware of? Someone who might’ve wanted to hurt Nate?”
Flint appeared to give the question some thought before he answered. “Nothing like that. Sometimes people get cranky because they didn’t get a deer or didn’t catch the number of fish they wanted, but Nate can usually talk them out of it, and he shows them a good time.”
Mattie thought of the cocaine in the van. A party drug. “How does he do that?”
Flint’s attention seemed to turn inward before he responded with a sad smile, the first real emotion he’d shown other than apprehension. “Nate was a great guy. He liked to party, and we always had plenty of booze to cheer up the customers. People had a great time when they were with him.”
“Just booze? Any marijuana?”
Flint shook his head. “Nah. Nate said pot was illegal on federal land. He didn’t want anything to do with drugs. We provided beer, wine, tequila, and whiskey—enough to fill one pannier.”
Mattie thought he looked sincere. “Did Nate use drugs himself?”
Flint frowned, meeting her gaze as he shook his head. “Not whenever we were together. He drank only beer, not even the hard stuff. That was for the clients.”
Mattie nodded. His answer might have given her a dead end, but she would pursue the lead elsewhere.
Stella spoke up. “Flint, do you have any idea who might have wanted to shoot Nate?”
Flint looked down at his feet. “I’ve been wondering about that since I heard about it. I haven’t come up with anybody.”
“If you do think of someone or something, it’s important that you call us. We need to know anything at all, even if it seems minor,” Stella said, handing Flint her card. “Will you do that?”
“Yeah.” Flint took the card and studied it.
Mattie figured that Stella would ask Flint about his own alibi before they left, but she wanted to know more about Nate’s business first. “Tyler plans to carry on with the fishing trip Nate had scheduled for tomorrow. Does he usually participate in the outfitting business?”
“No, this is a first.” Flint’s chest puffed slightly. “That’s why he called to make sure I could be in charge.”
“Does Kasey go on the trips?”
“She used to. She used to be a lot of fun at the campfire, too.” Flint shook his head slowly, and his face took on sadness again. “She hasn’t been able to help out since Mr. Doyle’s stroke.”
Even though Flint’s irregular eye contact appeared deceptive, the respectful way he said Mr. Doyle made Mattie think maybe they were dealing with a big kid who hadn’t yet grown out of the awkward stage. She couldn’t think of any other questions, so she glanced at Stella to see if she wanted to wrap up.
“Flint, I have one more routine bit of information that we’re getting from everyone,” Stella said. “Tell us where you were last night around eleven o’clock.”
“I went to the dance last night.”
Mattie noticed a flush was beginning to color the skin at his neck. “Were you there when the siren went off to signal the volunteer firefighters?” she asked.
“Uh-uh.” He blushed as he shook his head. “I left before then.”
Mattie wondered what had caused the flushing. “Where did you go?”
He shook his head, avoiding eye contact. “Just for a drive.”
“By yourself?”
“I went with a girl, someone I met at the dance.”
Maybe he was embarrassed. Or maybe he was lying. “We’ll need her name, Flint.”
He glanced at Mattie before looking away. “Sadie. I don’t know her last name.”
“Did she give you a phone number?” Stella asked.
“Nah.” He was shaking his head as his arms crossed over his chest again.
Stella evidently decided that was all they were going to get. “It’s important that we identify where you were last night, Flint, so we can cross you off our list and move on to other people. If you get back in touch with Sadie, please get her name and number so we can follow up and confirm your alibi.”