“Wait.” Taylor held up a hand. “How did you get his prints?”
“He volunteers part-time for a daycare every week,” Laurel said, trying to read Davie’s emotions. They looked genuine, but she’d been wrong about that before. “He was printed as part of a background check, and those prints are in the state database. Let us help you, Davie.”
He gulped. “I never shot at anybody. Ever.”
“Okay.” Huck gentled his voice. “You touched a bullet, which means you loaded a gun.”
Davie scrunched up his face. “Um, yeah. Last summer, I did shoot a gun at a tree. But that was all. I swear.”
The hair on Laurel’s nape stood up. “Whose gun did you shoot, Davie?”
He looked down and then back up. “It was Tommy’s gun. Tommy Bearing.”
* * *
Laurel shivered in the chilly interrogation room at the rear of the Fish and Wildlife offices as Tommy, Teri, and Steve Bearing finally arrived and sat across from her. She hoped Huck returned soon from his checkup. He’d argued about going, but he did have a concussion, and the doctor wouldn’t clear him for duty without the physical. “Thank you for coming in.”
Teri Bearing’s eyes flared a piercing green. “The two armed officers at our door didn’t give us any choice. Theythreatenedmy son with a felony charge.”
Good. Then they’d done their job and even now waited patiently outside in case she needed to arrest Tommy.
Steve Bearing seemed much calmer than his mother, and his gaze was calculating. “We both know you don’t have the power to charge anybody, Agent Snow. Even so, we’re tired of this nonsense.” He leaned over and drew out a case file folder from his leather briefcase. “Here is Tommy’s full juvenile record. Have fun with it.”
Laurel took the folder, masking her surprise. She scanned the contents, seeing the charging documents, the affidavits, and the plea bargain. It was much as Tommy had claimed. He’d gone ballistic on the girl’s father, but he’d been scared and apparently drunk. “Tommy, did you know that your aunt had an affair with Davie Tate?”
Teri gasped, Steve jerked, and Tommy grimaced.
“Tommy?” Teri asked, what could only be considered shock in her pale expression.
“Yeah. I knew he and Aunt Sharon . . . you know.” He looked at his brother. “She told him it wasn’t illegal because something about age and consent and being sixteen in Washington State. Davie is seventeen.”
Steve looked a little green. “That’s true.”
“Did that make you angry?” Laurel asked.
Tommy made a loud gagging noise. “I didn’t know about it when it was happening, and when he told me afterward, I pretty much wanted to puke. It’s all so gross.”
“Did you know she took photographs of them engaging in sexual relations?” Laurel asked.
“Oh God.” Teri fumbled in her handbag for a tissue to press against her mouth. “I can’t believe this. He’s a kid. What the hell was she thinking?”
Laurel sat back. It was telling the woman was outraged on Davie’s behalf and not worried about scandal. Maybe she wasn’t so mercurial.
Steve shook his head. “Aunt Sharon was always a free spirit, but this is way crossing the line.” He kept his body at a protective angle toward his brother. “Tommy didn’t kill her. I don’t know how screwed up Davie might’ve been after that.”
“Did you know that Davie was seeing a psychiatrist?” Laurel asked.
“No.” Tommy looked at his brother. “I had no clue. That’s not something he would’ve told me. But how did he get there? Maybe those were some of the days he borrowed my truck? I don’t know. Crap. I really didn’t know he’d gone nuts.”
His mother patted his wrist. “Davie isn’t nuts. He just needed help and was smart enough to ask for it.” She looked up at Laurel, her body language not as rigid as before. “I don’t think Davie would’ve killed Sharon or anybody else. He might be angry sometimes, but he’s a good kid.”
Laurel didn’t move her focus. “Why did you lie to me, Tommy?”
Steve straightened and put a hand in front of his brother. “Don’t answer that. Tell me what you’re talking about, Agent Snow.”
Laurel waited several seconds until Tommy dropped his gaze from hers. “You said you didn’t have a gun. You did have a gun last summer, and you and Davie fired at a tree. Why would you lie about that?”
Steve stilled and looked from Tommy to Laurel. “My client does not own a gun.”
