“It’s all from Aunt Sara,” Kate said. “What about Billy and tennis? And not reporting a dead body?”
“Billy won every competition match—until one day he didn’t. He got so mad about losing that he beat the winner to a pulp. Put the kid in a coma. He woke up, but he was never the same. The brothers kept Billy out of prison by paying the family millions not to identify their little brother as the assailant. After they got the case settled, the brothers told him it was time for him to go to work.”
“They put him in the accounting department,” Kate said.
“Yes, they did. And I can tell that you know how that went.”
“He helped himself to the money that came in. So then they made Billy spend a year in construction.”
“Yes,” the sheriff said. “They showed him what his life would be like if he didn’t behave. After that, they sent him to Lachlan House and told him that if he ever got into any trouble again, they’d throw him on the street. By the time Billy found the body, he was already hiding the fact that he was illegally selling the furniture.”
“So the brothers didn’t do that,” Kate said. “If Billy reported finding a dead body, the brothers were sure to classify that as ‘trouble.’” Her head came up. “Was Oliver blackmailing Billy too? Was he was going to tell the brothers what Billy was doing?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about the skull being sawed open? Did Billy do that? And the brain...?” She grimaced. “You know, removing it.”
“I don’t know for sure, but my source said the brothers hinted that Billy had some serious psychological problems as a kid.”
Kate swallowed. “Small animals harmed? That sort of thing?” Her stomach clenched.
“Possibly.”
She leaned back against the booth. “Alish and now Billy.”
“Who’s that?”
“A magic grandmother who was very strong. And had a serious anger problem.”
For a moment, the sheriff was quiet as he watched the singers. “Roy would be proud of his sons.”
“Who told you about Troy’s parentage?” She held up her hand. “Of course it was Dad. Did you tell him about Billy?”
“No. Just you. So when are you going to solve this thing? And how is Sara? Randal said she’s been wandering around kind of mindless.”
“She has a book idea and it’s obsessing her.”
“A book about what?”
Kate was surprised at the question. “I don’t know.”
He crunched a hot tortilla chip loaded with salsa. “My wife has read all her books. She says Sara writes about her life. When Jack was remodeling that big house, Sara wrote four books about restoring old houses.”
“She did.” Kate’s voice was rising. “Do you think that she’s filling her notebook about the murder? But she hasn’t told us?”
He shrugged. “What do I know? It’s just that you guys are taking a lot of time to figure out nothing at all.”
Kate felt defensive. “Jack and I have been busy. And Dad and Lea have found each other. So maybe we have been a wee bit neglectful, but...” She trailed off.
“Sure. Love comes first. Beats the heck out of working on the murder of a man everybody hated.”
Onstage, Jack said, “My brother and I are going to take a break.”
“I’m outta here,” the sheriff said. “I don’t need two Roys interrogating me.”
“Ah, come on, Troy is nice.”
Her insinuation that the man she was going to marry wasn’t “nice” made him laugh. In the next second he’d left the building.
