Mariah Stewart - Hard Truth

“I’m not going to have any statements.”

“That’s pretty much what I figured.” He grinned as she drew closer. “Got rid of them, though.”

“And I thank you for that. The last thing I want is to have pictures of this farm plastered all over the news. We’re going to be putting the property on the market. I’d rather prospective buyers not get their first look at it on the evening news.” She sat down next to him. “I’m thinking if we keep a low profile here, the fallout won’t be so bad.”

“Well, I did learn a little something from them.” He moved over a little to make more room for her on the step. “They definitely found more remains over there. At least one more, but they’re apparently still digging.”

“Oh, my God.” She put a hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe this. What the hell?” She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “Someone must have been sneaking onto our property and burying bodies.” She covered her face. “At some point, while we were living here, someone was coming onto our property and burying bodies and we never knew.”

“It is pretty creepy, I’ll give you that.”

“Okay, where do we go from here? How do we find out what’s really happening? Not rumors, but facts.”

“Well, seems to me the shortest distance is still a straight line.”

She shook her head. “Chief Walker won’t tell me a thing.”

“Then we go to plan B.” He got up and dusted off the back of his shorts. “I’ll walk over and see what I can find out.”

“Am I going to have to bail you out before the day is over?”

“I’ll do my best to avoid confrontation with the Callen PD,” he told her, “but if I’m not back in an hour, call Mitch.”

“I don’t have his number.”

“I was kidding.” He walked toward the field.

“Oh,” she said, though he’d already turned the corner of the house.

Lorna retreated to one of the rocking chairs, and sat down with her feet crossed at the ankles and resting on the porch railing. Her eyes flickered to the road every time she heard a car, then back to the field.

T.J. was back in less than twenty minutes.

“So. How’d you make out, lawman to lawman?”

“Let’s just say those county boys don’t know the meaning of professional courtesy, and we’ll leave it at that.” He took the steps two at a time and sat in the other rocker.

“That bad, eh? Walker see you coming?”

“No. But I didn’t see him coming, either.”

“He kicked you off the site?”

“Yeah, but it could have been worse. At least he didn’t arrest me, like he did one of the reporters who got too close and started snapping pictures.”

“So I guess we need to talk about plan C.”

“This is new territory for me. I’ve never had to go beyond B.” He rocked for a moment. “I could give Mitch a call. I’m sure the Bureau is going to be getting the remains at the lab.”

“Calling Mitch is what got us into this spot. If we contact him before the chief calls them in, we’re just in that much deeper.”

“Good point.” He rocked a little more. “You know, I think we’re getting sidetracked. Our original plan was to speak with some of the witnesses who gave statements back when Melinda disappeared, and a few weeks after that, when Jason disappeared. Let’s get back to that, see if we can develop any new information.”

“Okay. Where do we start? Who should we talk to first?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were hiring me to do the talking.”

“I am. But that doesn’t mean I can’t come along, does it? I know almost everyone on that list. I can tell you things about them you wouldn’t otherwise know.”

“I’d expect you to tell me, anyway.”

“Well, I would. But I think it makes more sense if I come along.”

T.J. went to his car and opened the trunk. He returned to the porch with the leather portfolio he’d had with him the other night. He opened it and took out a piece of paper and handed it to Lorna.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“It’s the list of people I want to talk to.” He sat back down in the rocker. “Start at the top, let’s go through the first five. What can you tell me about them?”

“Billie Eagan, you already know about.” She looked up at him. “I need to take you over to meet her.”

He nodded, and she continued.

“Chris Taylor-his sister Corrie was a friend of mine all through school, she’s married and living in Syracuse now. He was in Jason’s class.” Her eyes scanned the list. “A lot of these people were Jason’s classmates. Fritz Keeler-I just saw him this morning, he and his brother, Mike, own the gas station-convenience store down past the intersection. Dustin Lafferty, he’s the boy who drove Jason home the night he disappeared. Eddie Franklin, he and Dustin and Chris all hung out together, they were all five or six years ahead of me. I mostly knew them because they had sisters I was friendly with.” She read to the bottom of the page, then looked at him. “What would you like to know?”

“Who should I start with?”

“I don’t think it matters, after all this time.” She shrugged. “Start at the beginning.”

“Can you check off the ones you know are still in the area?”

“Sure.”

He took a pen from the folder and handed it to her. She checked off fewer than a dozen names.

“Actually, I’d start with Fritz. He’d already heard about me hiring you, he asked about it this morning, so he’s a good person to start with. I think he’ll cooperate with you, answer whatever questions you ask.”

“Then we move Fritz to the head of the line.” He paused, tilted his head slightly, and asked, “Is that your phone?”

“It’s my cell. I’ll be right back.” She ran into the house and grabbed the phone.

“Lorna? It’s Regan.”

“Hey, Regan. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I was just wondering how you’re doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I turned on the news in time to see the story, and I was wondering how you’re holding up.”

“The story?” Lorna’s stomach twisted. “Of course. The story. Shit. What are they saying?”

“After their big lead-in to The Body Farm?”

“Are you serious? Which channel?”

“Actually, all of the networks.”

“Damn it.” Lorna stalked outside, the phone still up to her ear. “What are they saying?”

“That the remains of four bodies…”

“Four? Oh, my God, they found another one? What the hell is going on? I’m assuming this one was also found on the section we sold off to a developer.”

“They did mention that work has stopped until the entire area has been searched.”

“Oh, swell,” Lorna grumbled. “I’ll never find a buyer for this place now.”

She put her hand over the phone and told T.J., “It’s Regan Landry. She’s watching the news. The press has dubbed this place ‘The Body Farm.’ ”

“Ask her if Mitch can find out if the FBI has been brought in yet.”

“T.J. wants you to ask Mitch if the FBI is on this yet.” She listened, then said, “Okay, that’s great. I’ll be here.”

She disconnected and slid the phone into her pocket.

“She’s going to call Mitch, then she’ll get back to me.” Lorna paced the porch to the far end. “Body Farm. That just stinks.” She made a face. “I should probably let this settle down before I put the house on the market, shouldn’t I?”

She paced a little more. “Or should I sell it quickly, before they find more bodies?”

“Have you spoken with a Realtor yet?”

“I haven’t had time. I’ve only been home a week.”

“You really want to sell this place?” His gaze started at the roadside fence and went right on back to the field. “It’s such a beautiful property. If I were looking for a place with some ground, I’d jump on it. It has charm, Lorna. It has history.”